The 101 Ash St. Scandal Isn’t Going Away

Jason Hughes is now firmly at the center of the legal dispute emanating from the city’s disastrous acquisition of a high rise in downtown San Diego – a deal he masterminded and, it turns out, profited from handsomely despite representing himself publicly as a volunteer. And that now puts him at the center of the political fallout from the scandal as well. His political donating history is a good place to start. Hughes, whose three-mayoral-administration-long role as the city’s volunteer real estate adviser is now fit for increased scrutiny, has been a reliable max donor to both Republicans and Democrats going back to 2012. He gave Mayor Todd Gloria $2,200 for his successful campaign last year, for instance, and also gave his 2016 Assembly bid $4,200. He also gave Mara Elliott, the city attorney who now says the $10 million Hughes earned by orchestrating two city lease-to-own deals for do…