Absent much of the dramatic public opposition that was expected when former sheriff Bill Gore was under consideration for a seat on the San Diego Ethics Commission, the City Council on Tuesday approved attorney Deval Zaveri as the oversight panel’s newest member.
Zaveri and Gore were both nominated by Gloria in late September, but the career lawman withdrew from consideration after a torrent of criticism from criminal-justice reform advocates and others.
Zaveri is a San Diego lawyer in private practice whose term on the ethics commission runs through June 2027.
“She is a terrific candidate for the ethics commission,” Councilmember Stephen Whitburn, who initially recommended Zaveri, said minutes before the unanimous vote. “Her resume and qualifications speak for themselves.”
Zaveri was unable to attend the afternoon session. She waited inside the council chambers throughout the morning to address the elected body, but the session ran late and she could not stay, according to the council discussion.
The Zaveri approval came less than 24 hours after Gloria’s staff announced that Gore, who had been picked to another empty seat weeks after her nomination, was no longer under consideration for a seat on the ethics commission.
The September nomination of the former sheriff generated a slew of opposition from people who were concerned about how Gore managed the San Diego County jails during his 12-plus years running the sheriff’s department. More than 170 people died in his department’s custody between 2009 and his retirement last year.
Despite Gore’s late-hour withdrawal, several public speakers chastised Councilmember Jennifer Campbell for suggesting the former sheriff as a member of the ethics panel and the mayor for putting the nomination forward.
“It’s a slap in the face,” said Sabrina Weddle, whose younger brother, Saxon Rodriguez, was among 18 people to die in San Diego County jails in 2021. “Bill Gore was a failure as sheriff.”
The San Diego Ethics Commission is an independent panel that enforces the city’s campaign and election rules.
It is supposed to have seven people on the board but until Tuesday had just four, meaning it could not legally mete out penalties.
The commission remains two appointees shy of a full board.
Several people have been recommended for the position, including retired judge Laura W. Halgren, former television journalist J.W. August and former council staffer James Hauser.
It was not clear Tuesday when or whether Gloria would formally nominate any of them to the commission.
