SAN DIEGO -- San Diego City Attorney Michael Aguirre's actions during two disasters in San Diego last year were "reckless," Mayor Jerry Sanders and police Chief William Lansdowne said Friday in a call for voters to replace the incumbent.

At a news conference outside City Hall, Sanders formally endorsed Aguirre's opponent in the Nov. 4 election, Superior Court Judge Jan Goldsmith. Lansdowne declined to specifically endorse Goldsmith, saying only that Aguirre is not in the "best interest of San Diego."

Sanders said he has "concern regarding Mr. Aguirre's judgment and maturity" stemming from his actions during October's landslide in La Jolla and the wildfires that devastated the region soon after.

The mayor chided the city attorney for calling for the evacuation of the entire city during last year's wildfires.

"Mike Aguirre sought to exploit the crisis for political purposes," Sanders said. "He called for the evacuation of our entire city, despite the fact that such an evacuation was neither necessary nor prudent."

He also said Aguirre exposed the city to lawsuits when he suggested municipal water lines were to blame for a landslide that damaged or destroyed nine homes and left a gaping hole on Mount Soledad.

Aguirre dismissed the mayor and police chief's news conference as "all about party politics."

"Mayor Sanders is marching in lockstep with the Republican Party," Aguirre said. "This was politics, the mayor said this was politics, and I really don't have anything else to say."

While the race is technically nonpartisan, Aguirre is a Democrat and Goldsmith is a Republican.

Uncharacteristically, he declined to directly respond to their allegations.

Later, he suggested Goldsmith's campaign is concerned with the "enormous momentum" of his campaign.

At the news conference, Lansdowne outlined his dealings with Aguirre during the wildfires, saying that amid the disaster his staff received multiple phone calls from an "agitated" city attorney seeking a mass evacuation of the city.

The police chief said that in his 40 years as a law enforcement officer around California, he has "never experienced an elected official, let alone a city attorney, who tried to insert himself into what was a serious ongoing emergency in such a reckless fashion."

"Without any actual information about what was occurring on the ground, Mike Aguirre unilaterally and against the best judgment of myself and fire Chief Tracy Jarman called for a citywide evacuation," he said.

Sanders said that based on Aguirre's past actions he can't be trusted in a future disaster.

"The question we are raising here today is, based on the performance during last October's landslide and last October's wildfires, can Mr. Aguirre be trusted to responsibly discharge the very important functions of his office the next time an emergency strikes our city," Sanders said. "Based on the conduct he displayed a year ago, I think the answer is obviously no."

Goldsmith was also at the news conference and said the city attorney's role during a disaster should be to "advise on the law and work to cut red tape."

If elected, he said he would appoint a team of three deputy city attorneys who are familiar with disaster response laws.

"We will be available to help as needed," Goldsmith said.

When the police chief was asked whether he would be able to work with Aguirre if the incumbent is reelected, Lansdowne said he hasn't been "able to work with Mike Aguirre for the last four years, so it would make no difference for the next four years."

Sanders said it is his "fervent" hope he won't have to work with Aguirre for another four years.

He said if Aguirre is reelected, he will consider hiring outside counsel to represent the mayor and City Council, "because currently I don't receive counsel from the City Attorney's Office."