![]() ![]() Yet Puetz and other former city officials have acknowledged under oath in recent months that they did know Hughes wanted to make money.įilner appointed Hughes as a special assistant to advise him on the city’s downtown real estate needs in April 2013 and wrote in a letter that he’d do so “without compensation from any party.” None of that happened and former city officials including ex-Mayor Kevin Faulconer are adamant that they didn’t know that the city’s landlord paid Hughes.Ī blistering city auditor’s report last year faulted Faulconer’s office for failing to establish a formal contract with Hughes, to document the scope of his work or to determine whether he needed to fill out financial disclosures.įaulconer’s then-chief of staff Stephen Puetz said in a February deposition that he thought Hughes was operating under the unpaid arrangement set under ex-Mayor Bob Filner and didn’t order Hughes to file disclosures because he thought Hughes “wasn’t making money.” He also says city officials could have ordered Hughes to fill out financial disclosures or to sign a contract formalizing his role – and whether he could be paid. Hughes’ attorney has argued that city officials could have clarified Hughes’ plans after he told them he wanted to get paid. lease led the city to accuse Hughes of violating a state conflict-of-interest law and to file legal actions seeking to void both deals. The revelation last year that Hughes was paid for his work on that transaction and the later 101 Ash St. Hughes later quietly inked a contract with soon-to-be city landlord Cisterra Development that promised him 45 percent of net profits if a city deal to acquire downtown high-rise Civic Center Plaza went forward and put him on the hook for 45 percent of the developer’s upfront costs if it didn’t.īut while he told some city officials he wanted to be paid, documents show he also specifically asked the city’s landlord not to include his payment in a financial breakdown of the transaction they were preparing to share with the city in fall 2014. Brews & News: Voice of San Diego Live Podcastsįormer city officials maintain they didn’t know their purportedly volunteer real estate adviser was paid $9.4 million for his work on two city leases, but this much is clear: Several knew he wanted to be paid.ĭeposition transcripts and other documents obtained by Voice of San Diego reveal that prominent downtown real estate broker Jason Hughes – who in 2013 agreed to advise the city for free – wasn’t shy about telling city officials and the city’s landlord that he wanted to be paid just over a year after announcing his volunteer role.Docs: City Officials Knew ‘Volunteer’ Real Estate Guru Wanted Compensation | Voice of San Diego Close ![]()
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