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Encinitas Mayor Addresses Appliance Controversy
Mayor Dan Dalager Got Discount On Appliances From Aztec Appliance
POSTED: 6:39 pm PDT August 25, 2010
UPDATED: 11:24 pm PDT August 25, 2010
ENCINITAS, Calif. -- Encinitas Mayor Dan Dalager said he will comply with what residents are asking for: details about the deeply discounted items he purchased at Aztec Appliance whose owners were in a dispute with the city.At the Encinitas City Council meeting on Wednesday, Dalager took one minute to address the issue."We're going to put everything out there: any documents, anything they want to see," said Dalager, who was commenting on the controversy surrounding the kitchen appliances he purchased last year while the city was in dispute with the owners of the company who sold them to him and sold them at a deep discount.According to numbers crunched by 10News' media partner the San Diego Union-Tribune, at full retail price, an oven would have cost $740 but Mayor Dalager paid $62.93. A duct cover that retailed at $361 went to Dalager for $25 and for a cooktop that normally cost $295 full-price, the mayor paid $50.However, Aztec Appliance prides itself on prices way below what's paid at retail stores."I do not believe at any time I did anything wrong," said Dalager. "In fact, I was very open regarding my purchase."But some Encinitas residents disagree, saying it was wrong and that the mayor should resign.Cardiff resident Jerry Peters told 10News, "This is something that is a real conflict of interest. Appliances for junk rentals cost more than he paid."Encinitas Resident Andrew Audet said the mayor took the gifts from an individual who had business before the council."When the business came before the council, the mayor voted in favor of the person who had given them gifts," said Audet.It was after that purchase that the mayor sided with the owners of Aztec Appliance in a dispute with the city. Also at issue is that the mayor did not list the appliances on the city tax records.The owners of Aztec Appliance, Matthew Gordon and his wife, Robin, live in a beachfront home in Leucadia. The city says they are in violation because of a front wall encroaching on the public right of way."We didn't encroach. This is our property," said Robin Gordon.The Gordons' dispute the claim of encroachment by city staff and appealed to the city council. It was before a council vote on that appeal that Mayor Dalager purchased the appliances. He then voted in favor of the Gordons, who did not prevail in the appeal."I guess I would say the facts speak for themselves," Deputy Mayor Maggie Houlihan told 10News.Houlihan said she was also offered a refrigerator from Aztec at no charge but she declined."The rules regarding gifts are no elected officials can accept any gift over $420 in value," said Houlihan.Robin Gordon denied trying to buy influence and said an offer of a free refrigerator to Houlihan never happened."She has said that I bribed her and I would never do such a thing," said Robin Gordon. "We think it's laughable."Regarding the discounted appliances sold to Mayor Dalager, Robin Gordon said they were "scrap" and not worth the retail price."It's a tempest in a tea pot. We're just doing business," said Robin Gordon. "I'm glad the mayor got a good deal; I hope everyone gets a deal from Aztec."Dalager told 10News, "There was no quid pro quo. I thought I got a good deal. They thought I got a good deal. But that said, I will direct the city attorney to refer the matter to the Fair Political Practices Commission. If they determine that I did something wrong, then I will fix it."He said the issue would have probably not have come up except that it is an election year.
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