During a sometimes chippy exchange Tuesday night, the Chula Vista City Council voted to have staff draft a proposal to strip Mayor John McCann of operational control over signature events like the State of the City speech, placing them instead under the city manager’s office.
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The vote came following a staff report that found the most recent address was funded largely by behested payments from companies that regularly do business with the city, some of which also donated directly to McCann’s re-election campaign, disclosures show.
The discussion marked the latest flashpoint in a series of ethics-related questions that have surfaced in the city in recent months, ending when the council voted 4-1 after hearing the staff report detailing costs and oversight of city-run events — including McCann’s extravagant April 28 State of the City address.
Councilmember Michael Inzunza argued such events should be “managed and presented consistently as events of the entire city,” while McCann said that ignored the “tremendous amount of logistics” involved and said he did not support the proposal.
McCann cast the lone dissenting vote.
The decision followed a lengthy staff presentation prompted by a request made by Inzunza and Councilmember Jose Preciado back in May. They asked for a full accounting of city civic events dating to 2022 — including the 2026 State of the City held at the city-owned Elite Athlete Training Center, featuring McCann taking part in a filmed skit and a skydiving exhibition.
On Tuesday, Finance Director Adrian Del Rio told council members the State of the City has been “supported entirely through donations” every year since 2022, though the city has not tracked who solicited them all.
McCann’s chief of staff in May said the roughly $28,000 event was funded entirely through sponsorships
But documents shared Tuesday showed 2026 State of the City donations totaling $35,000, most of it categorized as behested payments — contributions made at an elected official’s request — from repeat sponsors including Seven Mile Casino, HomeFed and the Baldwin Company.
Although the documents didn’t state at whose behest the payments were made, separate disclosures show McCann submitted the behested-payment requests.
Records show some of those same sponsors have also contributed directly to McCann’s reelection campaign.
RIDA Chula Vista LLC, a real estate development and investment company, gave $15,000 in behested payments to city events, including the State of the City, in 2024. RIDA executives and the company itself separately donated $13,100 to McCann’s campaign in December 2025, according to campaign filings.
Smaller overlaps also appear in the records. A Neighborhood National Bank executive and a Wyyerd director, both repeat event donors, each gave to McCann’s re-election campaign in early 2026. Imagine Media Group, a vendor the city has paid for State of the City photography and video work, contributed $1,562.81 to McCann’scampaign in April.
Seven Mile Casino, which has repeatedly made behested payments to the State of the City and other city events, also appeared elsewhere on Tuesday’s meeting agenda.
The council was asked to amend the city’s gambling regulations to formally incorporate the Chula Vista Gaming Plan, which governs the casino’s table limits and licensing, into municipal code at the request of the state Bureau of Gambling Control. The casino currently operates under a one-year agreement with the city, approved in 2025, with up to four possible one-year extensions.
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Unlike several of the city’s other signature events, no money from the city’s general fund goes directly to the State of the City, according to the accounting presented.
The discussion escalated when Inzunza asked City Attorney Marco Verdugo to clarify the mayor’s charter-defined ceremonial role in city events. McCann said the city attorney’s plan to draft a memo on the subject was evidence of bias, telling Verdugo directly, “I know you are not my ally.”
“There have been multiple times when you have, instead of giving me correct, accurate advice as the city attorney, you have given me specifically biased political advice,” McCann said. He added he wanted to have outside counsel review his charter-defined ceremonial role.
Verdugo said he was simply following a council member’s request to research the charter as part of his duties as city attorney.
“I reject that characterization, Mr. Mayor, and I’m disappointed that you would say that,” Verdugo said.
Also on Tuesday night, the council heard a separate presentation from the Board of Ethics recommending the city adopt a formal policy on ex-parte communications, aimed at quasi-judicial proceedings such as land use appeals.
Ex-parte communications are private discussions between a decision-maker and someone with a stake in a case — a practice ethics experts say can undermine fairness in proceedings, since other parties don’t get to respond to what is said.
Board Chair Bobby Ray Salas told council the policy was the product of a two-year review process and would formalize disclosure practices already followed informally.
The council voted unanimously to refer the proposal to the city attorney for further review.
The State of the City inquiry has unfolded alongside other recent ethics-related controversies.
On July 22, the council voted to withdraw a sweeping, union-drafted proposed charter amendment package from November ballot consideration, following allegations from McCann that a labor representative suggested his campaign would go unchallenged if he supported the measure — an accusation the union’s policy director, Kelvin Barrios, denied.
Separately, McCann’s campaign acknowledged in May that it had violated a city ordinance by accepting general election contributions before the June primary, a violation the campaign’s treasurer called unintentional and said had been fixed by refunding donors.
City Manager Tiffany Allen said staff would return to council with proposed event policy language Aug. 11. No timeline was given for the Board of Ethics’ ex parte proposal to return to council.
