Michael Aguirre (D)
SAN DIEGO (Legal Newsline)- San Diego's city pension system has lost $789 million in the past year as a result of the nation's financial crisis, said City Attorney Michael Aguirre.
At a press conference Friday, Aguirre, who is running for re-election on Nov. 4 faulted San Diego Mayor Jerry Sanders for not doing more to protect the city's investments.
Aguirre said the Republican mayor should immediately release details of the city pension system's losses, the San Diego Union-Tribune reported Saturday.
"We are in the midst of a financial meltdown in our city, and the mayor of our city is not coming clean about the problem because he's trying to postpone the release of the information until after the election," Aguirre was quoted as saying.
The San Diego pension system's assets slid from $5.1 billion in September 2007 to $4.3 billion in September 2008, he added.
Aguirre, a Democrat, is in the midst of a fierce reelection campaign. He is being challenged by San Diego County Superior Court Judge Jan Goldsmith, who has been sharply critical of the way he says Aguirre's political leanings have clouded his judgment as city attorney.
From Legal Newsline: Reach reporter Chris Rizo at chrisrizo@legalnewsline.com.