SAN DIEGO (KGTV) - The mystery over who leaked a confidential City Attorney's memorandum on the SoccerCity proposal in Mission Valley was resolved Wednesday when Councilman Chris Cate stepped forward to claim responsibility.
At a news conference, Cate said he came forward more than three months after the leak became known because City Council members were questioned as part of a lawsuit in the matter.
Cate said the City Attorney's Office released two memos on the SoccerCity citizen's initiative, the first of which was public and the second of which was marked for attorney-client privilege. He said he was seeking information just days before a crucial vote on the project.
"Following the release of the second memo, I sent a copy to a representative of the SoccerCity team," Cate said, referring to an email to Craig Benedetto.
"I was not seeking to undermine the City Attorney or the city," he said. "My goal was to seek from the proponents' input and clarification regarding the points that were raised."
The 16-page confidential memo was issued June 15, and after it found its way into the hands of the developers, it was published on the San Diego Union- Tribune's website.
The document raised multiple issues with the plan for the project, which the City Council ultimately decided to put before voters sometime next year.
At a City Council meeting after the memo became public, City Attorney Mara Elliott called the leak an "egregious breach of public trust." She called on the responsible person to resign.
Cate told reporters he did not intend to step down from office. He said he and Elliott met earlier today.
The city attorney's spokesman, Gerry Braun, said Elliott "has made it clear that this was an egregious betrayal of the public trust. The matter is being investigated by the Public Integrity Unit of the District Attorney's Office."
He said the City Attorney's Office would have no further comment for now.
