SAN DIEGO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--San Diego Tourism Marketing District Chairman Terry Brown issued a statement this afternoon subsequent to a closed session board meeting stating the following:
“The Mayor’s proposal is not only contrary to all of the approvals last year by the San Diego City Council, but we also believe it is illegal.
“The Charter does not grant power to the Mayor to enter into a new contract without City Council approval. Further, the Charter and municipal law is clear that the Council is the only entity that can approve contracts and any contract entered into without their approval would be void. Although we believe this proposal is illegal, even if it could be accepted, it would irreparably damage the tourism economy and create even more instability for the over 160,000 San Diegans who work in tourism and hospitality services.
“As a result, we cannot accept this new contract and will look forward to the court's resolution of this matter. We are disappointed that we have to seek a court order to compel the Mayor to do something we and the City Council believe he is legally obligated to do. We believe this is in the best long term interest of the many thousands who work in the tourism industry and for all San Diego taxpayers who benefit from the hundreds of millions of dollars tourism generates in taxes and economic benefit for our city.”