Ex-Councilman Henderson to Vie for City Attorney Seat

Former San Diego City Councilman Bruce Henderson, ousted from his seat by a political newcomer, is scheduled today to announce his candidacy for city attorney.

On Friday, Henderson, 48, attacked the city attorney’s office, saying it had allowed 700,000 unprocessed arrest warrants to accumulate while its operations costs rose disproportionately to the city budget and to San Diego’s population growth.

Henderson claimed to have records showing that during City Atty. John Witt’s six-term tenure, his office’s budget increased 24-fold, from about $700,000 in 1969 to $16.5 million in 1992.

Witt is seeking reelection this June for another four-year term.

“There’s a remarkable correlation between the increase in San Diego’s problems with criminal prosecution and the increase in John Witt’s budget,” Henderson said in a telephone interview. “He doesn’t have anything positive to show for all the money he’s getting.”

Witt’s campaign director, Alan Ziegus, said Henderson’s charges have been heard and addressed before.

“Bruce Henderson has already made these points--several times,” Ziegus said. “He’s trying to turn the city attorney’s race into the kind of three-ring circus he ran when he was on the City Council. We’re not going to get into the mudslinging show that he likes to get involved with. The voters already showed him that they didn’t like it. They already said no to him once, and now he’s coming back for more.”

Ziegus said the budget increase is a symptom of the city’s growth, and termed it a “non-issue.” He added that Henderson’s office budget increased about 100% during his four-year term.

In November, Henderson, now a private attorney, lost a bid for a second term in the 6th District council seat to Valerie Stallings.