Summary — what happened
Between 2022 and 2026, the City Attorney's office in San Diego — led on land use and real estate first by Chief Deputy Heather Ferbert under Mara Elliott, then by Ferbert as elected City Attorney — was the legal reviewer for Midway Rising, a 132-acre public-land redevelopment fronted by developer Brad Termini. The City Council selected the consortium 7-1 on September 13, 2022 and executed the Exclusive Negotiating Agreement on December 5, 2022 E-24045. Brad Termini, Stefanie Termini, Zephyr Partners, and Zephyr Investors LLC gave Ferbert's 2024 City Attorney campaign zero dollars E-24449. What the campaign did receive, between October 2023 and April 2025, was $15,350 in cash from nine individual donors — six of them principals of San Diego lobbyist or developer firms, and three of them spouses of those principals — plus $268 in Form 700 in-kind gifts E-24461 E-24462 E-24463 E-24464 E-24465. Inferred: that those firms' clients had matters before the City Attorney's land-use portfolio is a synthesis of the donor roster against the office's Midway Rising review role (connections DB); it is a characterization of the public record, not a documented client-by-client finding. Every contribution was at or near the FPPC individual maximum, fully disclosed, and lawful.
The project ran into the Coastal Zone's 30-foot height limit, which voters set in 1972 and reaffirmed via Measure E in 2020 E-24047. On October 17, 2025 the Fourth District Court of Appeal voided the city's Supplemental Environmental Impact Report for the height-limit override; the California Supreme Court denied review on December 30, 2025 E-24047. The city pivoted to state density-bonus law as a workaround E-24052, and on May 2, 2026 the California Department of Housing and Community Development validated that statutory mechanism in a letter from HCD's Melinda Coy to the city's Elyse Lowe E-24458. The City Attorney's office had committed to publish a public legal memorandum on the density-bonus theory before the project's next council vote E-24052. As of May 9, 2026, no such memorandum appeared in the City Attorney's published Legal Opinions Index — which ends at LO-2020-1 (September 8, 2020) — or its Memoranda of Law Index, and no recusal letter or conflict screen on Midway Rising matters appeared in any public record E-24443 E-24468 E-24445. No legal violation has been found. The records show no quid pro quo. The records also show no published conflict screen, recusal, or memo from the office that cleared the project.
Timeline
Bar admission. Heather Ferbert is admitted to the California Bar (license #246759); she holds a J.D. from the University of San Diego School of Law.
Into city government. Ferbert leaves Christensen & Spath LLP — a small San Diego firm whose public-agency clients included the San Diego Housing Commission — and joins the City of San Diego as counsel to the Housing Commission (Form 700 filed 2014-02-11). She is later promoted to Chief Deputy City Attorney for land use and real estate under City Attorney Mara Elliott.
Pre-vote report. La Prensa San Diego reports that city staff who tried to vet Termini and the consortium were blocked from doing so, and that the Mayor's office pushed the deal forward over internal concerns. (Published 12 days before the council vote.)
Consortium selected. The City Council votes 7-1 to select Midway Rising — a consortium fronted by developer Brad Termini — to redevelop 132 acres of public land at the old Sports Arena and Midway-Pacific Highway site. The promised program: 4,250 housing units (2,000 affordable at or below 80% of area median income), a 16,000-seat arena, 130,000 square feet of commercial space, and a public park. The City Attorney's office is the legal reviewer for the selection.
ENA executed. The Exclusive Negotiating Agreement between the City and Midway Rising LLC is executed, granting the consortium the exclusive right to negotiate the redevelopment of the public land.
Investor added. A JLL memorandum to the City records the Kroenke Group being added as a Midway Rising equity investor.
First Ferbert donation. Christopher Cate — former San Diego City Councilmember (District 6) and founder of 3MC Strategies — gives Ferbert's City Attorney campaign $500 (first of three checks totaling $1,850).
Silverwood. Jim Silverwood, president of Affirmed Housing, gives $1,350.
Rath. Phil Rath, president of Rath Public Affairs, gives $1,350.
Arabo lunch. Mark Arabo, president and CEO of Refined Management, gives a $102 lunch, disclosed on Form 700 as an in-kind gift.
Arabo. Arabo gives $1,350 in cash.
Cate. Cate gives a second $500.
Silverwood. Jim Silverwood gives a second $1,350.
Mary Rath. Mary Rath — listed on the Form 460 as "Not Employed," spouse of Phil Rath — gives $1,350.
BIA ticket. A Building Industry Association of San Diego fundraiser ticket valued at $166 is disclosed on Form 700 as an in-kind gift.
ENA extension. The City and Midway Rising agree to a one-year ENA extension; the deadline is pushed to December 5, 2025.
Cate. Cate gives $850 (third check; cumulative $1,850).
Cristie Silverwood. Cristie Silverwood — a nurse practitioner at UCSD, spouse of Jim Silverwood — gives $1,350 (Silverwood household cumulative $4,050).
Sessa. Marco Sessa, president of Sudberry Properties, gives $1,350 — one day before the swearing-in.
Rath, debt retirement. Phil Rath gives a second $1,350, characterized on the form as retirement of campaign debt (Rath household cumulative $4,050).
The Wahls. Chris Wahl, CEO of Southwest Strategies, gives $1,350; his wife Jennifer Wahl, a La Jolla attorney, gives $1,350 the same day (Wahl household $2,700).
First court loss. The Fourth District Court of Appeal voids the city's Supplemental Environmental Impact Report for the Midway-Pacific Highway height-limit override, in Save Our Access v. City of San Diego. (Save Our Access had also challenged the city's Measure E implementation.)
The pivot reported. Times of San Diego reports the city pivoting to state density-bonus law as a legal workaround for the 30-foot height limit, and that the City Attorney committed to publish a public legal memo when the project returned to council for a vote.
Review denied. The California Supreme Court denies review; the void stands.
Joint statement. In a joint statement with Mayor Gloria reported by 10News San Diego, Ferbert calls the ruling "disappointing" and commits her office to pursuing the density-bonus path. (Stored filing date is 2026-03-01; see Caveats.)
State validation. Voice of San Diego publishes a letter from the California Department of Housing and Community Development — Melinda Coy, HCD Chief of Housing Accountability, to Elyse Lowe, the City's Director of Development Services — validating the statutory density-bonus mechanism the city is relying on.
"Conspicuously unwilling.". Voice of San Diego's Morning Report observes that the City Attorney is "conspicuously unwilling" to publicly endorse the theory the state had now validated.
Indices reviewed. The City Attorney's published Legal Opinions Index ends at LO-2020-1 (September 8, 2020); the companion Memoranda of Law Index's recent topics include training, budget, lifeguards, and marijuana enforcement. Neither index contains an opinion or memorandum on the Civic Center site, Midway Rising, or density-bonus interpretation for 2024–2026. No recusal letter or conflict screen on Midway Rising matters appears in the Legal Opinions Index, the City Clerk's published filings, or the City Attorney's press archive. The promised density-bonus memo has not been released.
Committee vote (scheduled). The San Diego Land Use & Housing Committee is scheduled to vote on Midway Rising. As of the source's writing (2026-05-09), the City Attorney's office had not published a legal opinion on the density-bonus theory.
The donor pattern (cross-household)
Nine individual donors gave Ferbert's 2024 campaign $15,350 in cash. Six are principals of San Diego lobbyist or developer firms; three are spouses of those principals. Each contribution is at or near the FPPC individual maximum. (The premise that those firms' clients had matters before the City Attorney's land-use portfolio is a synthesis, not a documented client-by-client finding — see the flag below.)
- Rath household — $4,050: Phil Rath (Rath Public Affairs) $1,350 [2024-02-16] + $1,350 debt-retirement [2025-01-08]; Mary Rath ("Not Employed") $1,350 [2024-06-29]. E-24464 E-24461
- Silverwood household — $4,050: Jim Silverwood (Affirmed Housing) $1,350 [2024-02-08] + $1,350 [2024-06-28]; Cristie Silverwood (nurse practitioner, UCSD) $1,350 [2024-10-26]. E-24464 E-24463
- Wahl household — $2,700: Chris Wahl (Southwest Strategies) $1,350 + Jennifer Wahl (attorney) $1,350, same day [2025-04-03]. E-24461
- Cate — $1,850: Christopher Cate (3MC Strategies; former Councilmember, District 6) across three checks ($500 + $500 + $850). E-24463 E-24464
- Sessa — $1,350: Marco Sessa (Sudberry Properties) [2024-12-09]. E-24462
- Arabo — $1,350 cash + $102 in-kind: Mark Arabo (Refined Management) $1,350 [2024-04-25]; $102 lunch [2024-04-16]. E-24464 E-24465
- In-kind gifts — $268 total: Arabo lunch $102 [2024-04-16] + BIA-San Diego fundraiser ticket $166 [2024-08-28]. E-24465
Inferred: both the premise — that these donor firms' clients had matters before the City Attorney's land-use portfolio — and the conclusion drawn from it are synthesis, not documented fact. The premise is inferred from the donor roster set against the office's role as legal reviewer of Midway Rising (connections DB), not from a client-by-client matter log. The recurrence of lobbyist-firm principals (and their spouses) among the maximum-level donors to that office is a pattern of structural alignment, not direct exchange — a characterization of the public record, not a legal finding. No ethics body has ruled on it, and no quid pro quo is documented.
Donations to Ferbert vs. the procurement record
| Date | Donation to Ferbert | Amount | Procurement / litigation event |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022-09-01 | — | — | La Prensa: city staff blocked from vetting Termini E-24049 |
| 2022-09-13 | — | — | Council 7-1 selects Midway Rising E-24045 |
| 2022-12-05 | — | — | ENA executed E-24045 |
| 2023-06-01 | — | — | JLL memo: Kroenke added as investor E-24051 |
| 2023-10-27 | Christopher Cate | $500 | — |
| 2024-02-08 | Jim Silverwood | $1,350 | — |
| 2024-02-16 | Phil Rath | $1,350 | — |
| 2024-04-16 | Mark Arabo (lunch, in-kind) | $102 | — |
| 2024-04-25 | Mark Arabo | $1,350 | — |
| 2024-06-27 | Christopher Cate | $500 | — |
| 2024-06-28 | Jim Silverwood | $1,350 | — |
| 2024-06-29 | Mary Rath | $1,350 | — |
| 2024-08-28 | BIA-SD ticket (in-kind) | $166 | — |
| 2024-09-15 | — | — | ENA extension; deadline → 2025-12-05 E-24048 |
| 2024-10-19 | Christopher Cate | $850 | — |
| 2024-10-26 | Cristie Silverwood | $1,350 | — |
| 2024-12-09 | Marco Sessa | $1,350 | — |
| 2024-12-10 | — | — | Ferbert sworn in as City Attorney E-24454 |
| 2025-01-08 | Phil Rath (debt retirement) | $1,350 | — |
| 2025-04-03 | Chris Wahl | $1,350 | — |
| 2025-04-03 | Jennifer Wahl (same day) | $1,350 | — |
| 2025-10-17 | — | — | 4th DCA voids the SEIR E-24047 |
| 2025-12-30 | — | — | CA Supreme Court denies review E-24047 |
Source: donations from Form 460 filings E-24461 E-24462 E-24463 E-24464; in-kind gifts from Form 700 E-24465; procurement and litigation events as tagged. The juxtaposition is chronological; it is not a finding of causation (see Caveats).
The unpublished document
What the public record does not contain, as of 2026-05-09:
- No published legal opinion on the Civic Center site, Midway Rising, or density-bonus interpretation under the coastal-zone overlay (the Legal Opinions Index ends at LO-2020-1, dated 2020-09-08). E-24443
- No memorandum in the published Memoranda of Law Index on those subjects (recent published topics: training, budget, lifeguards, marijuana enforcement). E-24468
- No recusal letter, conflict screen, or Section 1090 disclosure on Midway Rising matters in the Legal Opinions Index, the City Clerk's published filings, or the City Attorney's press archive. A CPRA request on whether any such document exists internally is open. E-24445 DB
- The density-bonus memo the City Attorney committed to publish before the council vote has not been released; the State HCD letter substituted as the city's external validation. E-24052 DB
Key players
- Heather Ferbert — San Diego City Attorney (sworn in 2024-12-10); previously Chief Deputy City Attorney for land use and real estate under Mara Elliott. Her office is the legal reviewer for Midway Rising. Received $15,350 in cash and $268 in in-kind gifts to her 2024 campaign.
- Brad Termini — Developer who fronted the Midway Rising consortium (CEO, Zephyr Partners). Gave Ferbert's campaign zero dollars E-24449.
- Phil Rath — President, Rath Public Affairs; Rath household gave $4,050.
- Jim Silverwood — President, Affirmed Housing; Silverwood household gave $4,050.
- Chris Wahl — CEO, Southwest Strategies (inferred to have lobbied for Brookfield and Midway Rising — see Timeline 2025-04-03); Wahl household gave $2,700.
- Marco Sessa — President, Sudberry Properties; gave $1,350 (one day before the swearing-in).
- Christopher Cate — Founder, 3MC Strategies; former Councilmember (District 6); gave $1,850.
- Mark Arabo — President & CEO, Refined Management; gave $1,350 cash + $102 in-kind.
- Save Our Access — Coastal-protection plaintiff that won the 4th DCA ruling voiding the SEIR (its second city win, after the Measure E challenge).
- Melinda Coy / Elyse Lowe — HCD Chief of Housing Accountability and the City's Director of Development Services; the Coy → Lowe letter validated the density-bonus mechanism.
Caveats
- All donations described are lawful and fully disclosed. None has been found to violate any law; no ethics body has ruled on the pattern.
- "Structural alignment" describes the recurrence of lobbyist-firm principals among Ferbert's maximum donors; it is a characterization of the public record, not a legal determination, and is not a claim of quid pro quo or direct exchange.
- Two underlying premises are inferences, not documented filings: (a) that the donor firms' clients had matters before the City Attorney's land-use portfolio — synthesized from the donor roster against the office's Midway Rising review role, not a client-by-client matter log; and (b) that Southwest Strategies lobbied for Brookfield and Midway Rising — drawn from consortium membership E-24045, not a lobbyist-registration filing in the record.
- The FPPC accounts for spouses as separate filers, each with an independent contribution limit. The "household" totals are an accounting view for scale, not a finding of coordinated agency; whether spousal donations reflect independent judgment, household coordination, or both is not answerable from the public record.
- The procurement/donation juxtaposition table is chronological. The records produce no evidence the donations caused the procurement clearance, and no evidence the City Attorney has publicly tested for a conflict.
- "Her office cleared" the consortium refers to the office's role as legal reviewer; whether Ferbert personally signed any specific clearance is the subject of an open CPRA request and is not asserted here.
- The 10News joint Gloria/Ferbert statement E-24059 carries a stored filing date of 2026-03-01; the source narrative places it nearer the December 2025 ruling. The timeline uses the stored date.
- The $15,350 figure is the cash total across nine individual donors and four Form 460 filings; $15,618 includes the $268 in Form 700 in-kind gifts.
- The non-existence of the memo, recusal, and conflict screen is established by review of the public indices and archives as of 2026-05-09; it does not establish whether any such document exists internally (open CPRA).
Reference key
- E-24045 City of San Diego (Real Estate Dept), "San Diego City Council selects Midway Rising; ENA executed," 2022-12-05. https://www.sandiego.gov/sites/default/files/final-midway-rising-ena-signed221205.pdf
- E-24047 CEQA Developments (Miller Starr Regalia), "Fourth District holds San Diego's Supplemental EIR for Midway-Pacific update violated CEQA" (Save Our Access v. City of San Diego), 2025-10-17; CA Supreme Court denial of review 2025-12-30. https://www.ceqadevelopments.com/2025/10/27/high-rise-anxiety-fourth-district-holds-san-diegos-supplemental-eir-for-second-city-initiative-to-update-midway-pacific-community-plan-violated-ceqa-by-failing-to-adequately-analyze-numerous/
- E-24048 OB Rag, "City and Midway Rising Agree to 1-Year Delay on Finalizing Redevelopment Deal," 2024-09-15. https://obrag.org/2024/09/city-and-midway-rising-agree-to-1-year-delay-on-finalizing-redevelopment-deal/
- E-24049 La Prensa San Diego, "Mayor Gloria pushed Midway Rising deal for his largest 2020 contributor without proper city review," 2022-09-01. https://laprensa.org/midwayproject
- E-24051 JLL (consultant to City of San Diego), memo: Kroenke Group added as Midway Rising equity investor, 2023-06-01. https://www.sandiego.gov/sites/default/files/jll_memo_-_midway_rising_new_investor_june_2023.pdf
- E-24052 Times of San Diego, "How San Diego Cleared the Way for Midway Rising to Crack the Coastal Height Limit Using State Density-Bonus Law," 2025-12-10. https://timesofsandiego.com/housing/2025/12/10/midway-rising-san-diego-height-limit-density-bonus/
- E-24059 10News San Diego, "Midway Rising project meets another legal hurdle from California Supreme Court ruling" (Gloria & Ferbert joint statement), stored 2026-03-01. https://www.10news.com/news/local-news/midway-rising-project-meets-another-legal-hurdle-from-the-california-supreme-court-ruling
- E-24432 State Bar of California, license profile, Heather Marie Ferbert #246759, admitted 2006-12-01. https://apps.calbar.ca.gov/attorney/Licensee/Detail/246759
- E-24443 City of San Diego — City Clerk, San Diego City Attorney Legal Opinions Index (last published LO-2020-1, 2020-09-08), reviewed 2026-05-09. https://www.sandiego.gov/city-clerk/officialdocs/legal-opinions
- E-24445 OSINT pod (round 2), no public record of Ferbert recusal on Midway Rising; CPRA pending, 2026-05-09. https://www.sandiego.gov/city-attorney/about
- E-24449 MathPolitics DB-analytics pod, round 162: Brad/Stefanie Termini and Zephyr entities have no direct donations to Heather Ferbert (Form 460 verified), 2026-05-09. [See DB.] → view in evidence search
- E-24450 San Diego City Clerk eFile (FPPC Form 700), Ferbert SEI leaving Christensen & Spath LLP, 2014-02-11. https://efs-efile-sd-public.s3.amazonaws.com/sei/fppc700/Ext_89af62ed-9b0c-9ec7-137f-1e52f03669ea.pdf
- E-24454 San Diego City Clerk eFile (FPPC Form 700), Ferbert SEI leaving Chief Deputy City Attorney, filed 2025-01-05. https://efs-efile-sd-public.s3.amazonaws.com/sei/fppc700/Ext_f24bae9c-5598-469c-a461-4188b2083ea9.pdf
- E-24455 San Diego City Clerk eFile (FPPC Form 700), Ferbert SEI assuming office San Diego City Attorney, filed 2025-01-05. https://efs-efile-sd-public.s3.amazonaws.com/sei/fppc700/Ext_f083d004-8451-4731-872d-5cdc54d0032a.pdf
- E-24458 Voice of San Diego Politics Report, "State Validates Midway Rising Theory" (HCD Coy → Lowe letter), 2026-05-02. https://voiceofsandiego.org/2026/05/02/politics-report-state-validates-midway-rising-theory/
- E-24459 Voice of San Diego Morning Report, "State Validates Midway Rising Theory on Height Limit" (Ferbert "conspicuously unwilling"), 2026-05-04. https://voiceofsandiego.org/2026/05/04/morning-report-the-downfall-of-police-union-leader/
- E-24461 San Diego eFile / FPPC, Heather Ferbert for City Attorney 2024 — Form 460 termination (2025-01-01..2025-05-07), filed 2025-06-05. https://efile.sandiego.gov/pdfview?doc_public=Ext_b5abac71-dc64-4087-89cf-917b852edaeb
- E-24462 San Diego eFile / FPPC, Ferbert City Attorney 2024 — Form 460 semi-annual (2024-10-20..2024-12-31), filed 2025-01-31. https://efile.sandiego.gov/pdfview?doc_public=Ext_ee96f409-d704-4db9-b0b3-7070aa19302a
- E-24463 San Diego eFile / FPPC, Ferbert City Attorney 2024 — Form 460 pre-election (2024-09-22..2024-10-19), filed 2024-10-24. https://efile.sandiego.gov/pdfview?doc_public=Ext_bd4440a7-2636-41a5-8a8d-9697ec00294f
- E-24464 San Diego eFile / FPPC, Ferbert City Attorney 2024 — Form 460 semi-annual (2024-02-18..2024-06-30), filed 2024-07-31. https://efile.sandiego.gov/pdfview?doc_public=Ext_d34d8e89-356a-4a08-b97d-57d32d2a4811
- E-24465 San Diego eFile / FPPC, Heather Ferbert — Form 700 leaving Chief Deputy City Attorney (in-kind gifts: Arabo lunch $102, BIA-SD ticket $166), filed 2025-01-05. https://efile.sandiego.gov/pdfview?doc_public=Ext_f24bae9c-5598-469c-a461-4188b2083ea9
- E-24468 San Diego City Attorney Memoranda of Law Index (density-bonus memo not released), reviewed 2026-05-09. https://www.sandiego.gov/city-clerk/officialdocs/memorandum-of-law
- DB MathPolitics database connection/evidence IDs as cited in the full report
the-cleared-bidder-and-the-silent-office, including DB-analytics leads E-24449 (Termini/Zephyr zero-donation finding) and E-24460 (density-bonus memo not released; HCD letter substituted). → view in evidence search
Report #122 · The Ferbert Files, Part 1 · condensed AI fact sheet. Chronological; every claim cited; inferences flagged. Source: full report the-cleared-bidder-and-the-silent-office.
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