The Madaffer Axis

How a councilman and his lobbyist wife turned one City Hall into a two-firm family business (2000-2025)

Jim Madaffer served two terms as the District 7 San Diego City Councilmember (elected 2000, reelected 2004), then built Madaffer Enterprises, a government-relations firm through which he lobbied 20 city officials of BOTH parties for tech-disruptor, short-term-rental, waste and development clients (Uber, Sonder, HomeAway/Expedia, Surf Cup, San Diego County Disposal, Cedar Realty, Cintra/SANDAG Airport Transit). His wife, land-use lobbyist/attorney Robin Madaffer, worked the same City Hall from her own firms (San Diego Land Lawyers; Schwartz Heidel Sullivan) for Westfield, Scripps Health, Kilroy Realty, Cogentrix Energy and Airbnb. Together the married pair lobbied an overlapping roster of officials while donating in textbook bipartisan hedges — the "permanent government" as a household.