San Diego Ballpark Faces Another Conflict Of Interest Charge

A member of San Diego's downtown redevelopment board said yesterday that "he has been selling Padres merchandise in his stores while casting votes on the proposed ballpark, the latest in a series of entanglements to trouble the project," according to Heller & Rother of the SAN DIEGO UNION-TRIBUNE. Centre City Development Corp. member Harold Johnson said that he will sever his ties with the Padres to "avoid the appearance of a conflict of interest." At a special board meeting today, the Centre City Development board will "recast all of its ballpark-related votes" since '98, but Johnson will abstain. In addition, the City Council will recast all 25 of its own votes at a special meeting tomorrow. The Johnson affair "frustrated city officials who hoped to wrap up the ballpark's financing package by the end of the month and resume construction in January." But Joe Cohen, a spokesperson for Merrill Lynch, the underwriter of the ballpark bonds, said that the firm is "committed to ... this deal" (UNION-TRIBUNE, 12/13).