What appears to be the single largest behested payment recorded in San Diego County history was solicited by a relatively obscure elected official and awarded to an even lesser-known local nonprofit in order to help flood victims.
But Jordan Marks, the assessor-recorder-county clerk, said he had almost nothing to do with the more than $1 million donation by a national real estate agents’ relief fund and only disclosed it in an “abundance of caution.”
“In no way am I taking credit for this amazing effort, nor would I expect any, but (I) was happy to quietly support their good work,” he said. “I do try to be as transparent as possible.”
Marks publicly disclosed the $1.16 million contribution from the Realtors Relief Foundation to the Pacific Southwest Association of Realtors on Nov. 20, days after being asked about another behested payment he reported last month.
The state filing dated March 29 said the donation was estimated to have been made three days earlier. It also notes that the money was designated to be paid directly to victims of the flooding that ravaged parts of San Diego in January — not to the San Diego real estate agents group.
“This is an allocation of relief grants that need to be qualified and will be directly dispersed to the flood victims,” the state Form 803 signed by Marks says.
Local government responses to the flood have been haphazard. Just last month, county supervisors called for an audit of the funding directed at the relief effort.
In California, behested payments — contributions sought by elected officials for legislative, governmental or charitable purposes — must be publicly disclosed within 30 days whenever they exceed $5,000 in any 12-month period.
Marks said he completed the state disclosure in late March but did not publicly file the document until this month due to a bookkeeping oversight.
“My career has been distinguished by always asking ‘How can I help?’ and being an accessible resource for helping uplift our community,” Marks told The San Diego Union-Tribune, which has been examining the charitable donations solicited by local elected officials in recent days.
“Every behested payment I’ve made since entering office reflects my philosophy of our responsibility to help others through charity, collaboration and inclusivity,” he added.
In all, Marks has reported seven behested payments, totaling just under $1.2 million, since he was first elected to office in 2022.
None of the others were anywhere close to the $1.16 million contributed by the Realtors Relief Fund.
Instead, the half-dozen donations ranged from just over $800 to $18,000 — money that paid for everything from weddings and chocolate to the replacement of a menorah near San Diego State University that was damaged by vandals in a suspected hate crime.
Two of the payments Marks disclosed were from the Larry Himmel Neighborhood Foundation, a charity aimed at honoring the legacy of the late and longtime San Diego television newsman.
State reports filed by Marks show the foundation gave $5,500 to pay for the weddings and $8,300 to help replace a menorah outside the Chabad House near San Diego State that was vandalized last year.
“On Valentine’s Day 2024, thanks to the Larry Himmel Neighborhood Foundation, 20 couples had their marriage license and ceremony ($236 value) paid for by the nonprofit, along with flowers and a box of heart chocolates,” Marks said.
“Being able to be a part of our couples’ love journey on their special day is one of my greatest honors I have (had) as the San Diego County commissioner of civil marriages,” he added.
Miles Himmel, the late journalist’s son who set up the foundation, said the unofficial holiday was special to his father, and he was grateful to help young couples at the beginning of their married lives.
“Valentine’s Day has always held deep significance for my dad, who cherished helping others in our community,” said Himmel, who works as the communications director for San Diego County Supervisor Jim Desmond.
“This event is a way to honor that legacy,” he said.
California politicians for years have relied on behested payments to raise hundreds of millions of dollars for their pet causes.
Gov. Gavin Newsom is the state’s runaway leader in taking advantage of the benefit, records show. Newsom has collected more than $300 million for individuals and companies over the past five years, state disclosures show.
More locally, former San Diego Mayor Kevin Faulconer raised more than $3 million during two terms in office. His successor, Mayor Todd Gloria, has raised hundreds of thousands of dollars, and La Mesa Councilmember Colin Parent raised almost $1 million, records show.
San Diego County officials have been less likely to raise such charitable contributions from individual donors and companies, however.
According to the county clerk of the board — a separate office from the one Marks oversees — no other behested payments have been reported since 2022, and only a handful of others over the three years before then.
Former Supervisor Nathan Fletcher reported a series of solicitations in 2021 and 2022, and former Supervisor Greg Cox disclosed a handful of others in 2019, county records show.
Cox raised a total of $485,000 for the San Diego-Imperial Council of the Boy Scouts of America in 2019 from five different donors. The money helped pay for a Boy Scouts campground at Otay Lakes.
Fletcher disclosed a $111,659 donation from Molina Healthcare of Long Beach to Forbes Tate Partners, a lobbying and public affairs firm based in Washington, D.C. The money helped pay for a campaign advertisement in 2020.
The former Board of Supervisors chair resigned in May 2023 after being accused in a civil lawsuit of sexual assault and harassment. He acknowledged an inappropriate relationship but has insisted it was consensual, and countersued his accuser earlier this year. A jury trial is scheduled for early next year.
In the months before he stepped away, Fletcher solicited five separate donations of $5,000 each for the San Diego Food Bank.
