California AG Scrutinizing San Diego Opera

The Los Angeles Times reports that California Attorney General Kamala Harris is examining the San Diego Opera, a tax-exempt section 501(c)(3) organization that has recently announced its intention to continue operating notwithstanding a prior decision to shut down.  Thus far, the AG has directed the opera company to produce certain records and retain all existing documents.  A spokesman for the opera is reported as saying that he could not elaborate on the nature of the AG’s request.

The story continues with an explanation of how the AG’s inquiry may have sprung to life:

Lorena Gonzalez, a state assemblywoman for District 80 in San Diego, said she’d reached out to the attorney general in mid-April with concerns about the way opera leaders handled the announcement that the opera would close.

She said there were questions about Ian Campbell, the opera’s longtime general and artistic director, and whether he and other leaders had given an accurate portrait of the company’s financial health when communicating with potential donors and government funding sources.

“There are questions about whether the company received taxpayer dollars based on false information,” said Gonzalez.

However, a lawyer for Campbell disputed Gonzalez’s concerns. “Ian was fairly consistent in representing accurate information to donors and especially internally within the company,” said Gil Cabrera, a San Diego attorney.

According to the Times, Keith Fisher, the opera’s COO, issued a statement that the opera welcomed “the opportunity to open our records to Kamala Harris’ office, as doing so will assure the public of our promise of transparency and good governance.”

JRB