DOWNTOWN SAN DIEGO – Was former Centre City Development Corp. President Nancy Graham's early 2007 bonus tied to her easing the Navy Broadway Complex past regulatory hurdles?

If so, activist Ian Trowbridge said, she had a conflict of interest on Navy Broadway and that should invalidate the project, which got the initial green light from CCDC's board in late 2006 and again in July 2007.

CCDC Chairman Fred Maas said there was no “quid pro quo” on the bonus.

“From my recollection, none of the bonus was based on performance as it related to any one project,” he said, adding that a “wide range of criteria” was used. At the time, some of the big issues before CCDC were the Broadway project and an update to downtown's community plan.

But the public doesn't know what Graham's bonus was keyed to, because CCDC won't release documents that discuss it and the decision was made in a closed session. Maas said yesterday that personnel matters aren't subject to disclosure.

Trowbridge, part of a coalition fighting the Broadway plan, disagrees on this point. He cited a portion of California's public meeting code that says: “Closed sessions held pursuant to this section shall not include discussion or action on proposed compensation except for a reduction of compensation that results from the imposition of discipline.”

Trowbridge is suing the Southeastern Economic Development Corp. on this same point. In a closed session last month, SEDC agreed to give ousted President Carolyn Smith more than $100,000 in severance.

In Graham's case, Maas said CCDC may have documents such as notes and checklists used to determine her bonus, which was $65,000 on top of her base salary of $235,000. But he said the agency needs to protect its ability keep personnel matters private if it wants to attract a good future president.

Graham resigned last month, citing her mother's ill health. Since then the city attorney has uncovered court documents that show Graham had business ties to a developer chosen for an agency project.