SAN DIEGO – The Chargers took issue yesterday with San Diego Mayor Jerry Sanders for daring to suggest that the football team supports his chief re-election challenger, Steve Francis.

The Chargers say they are not backing any local candidates, and sent Sanders' office a letter yesterday saying so.

The source of the tiff is a phone-bank message that team officials say implies they support Francis. Voters are told that Francis courted special interests as finance chairman of the state Republican Party – including Chargers owner Alex Spanos.

Sanders strategist Tom Shepard said the script is no longer being used. He said it was intended to spotlight the “hypocrisy” of Francis, whose $4 million self-funded campaign has railed against special interests in politics.

The script says Francis, in his work for the state GOP, “raised millions from special interests, including $100,000 from Chargers owner Alex Spanos, $250,000 from oil giant Chevron and $30,000 from megadeveloper The Irvine Company.”

Shepard said those are the facts.

“Look at the message. It's 100 percent accurate,” he said. “It's not a reflection on the Spanoses. It's a reflection on the hypocrisy of the Francis campaign, and I completely stand by that.”

City issues: The Chargers Candidates for city office in the June 3 election were asked about 17 issues by The San Diego Union-Tribune. Below are answers to one question by two mayoral candidates. Explore all the answers at uniontrib.com/more/issues. Question: Should San Diego try to get the Chargers to rebuild at the Qualcomm Stadium site or let the team continue efforts to move to Chula Vista? Francis: No responsible big-city mayor would allow a professional sports team to leave without at least engaging in a vigorous dialogue, but under Jerry Sanders, that's exactly what happened. As mayor, I will take a hands-on approach to keeping the Chargers in our city. The Chargers are valued members of our community, uniting residents of all backgrounds, and bringing in millions of dollars in sales-tax revenue and tourism business each year. Sports fans deserve a mayor who will be proactive and identify new county, state and federal incentives to retain the Chargers; as mayor, I will do so. Sanders: The Chargers are a regional asset; the exact location in which they play in San Diego is irrelevant. I support Chula Vista's efforts to build a stadium for the Chargers, and want to do everything possible to allow them to succeed. If for some reason that effort fails, I would be happy to re-open discussions with the team about the Qualcomm Stadium site. I have stated repeatedly that I will not support the dedication of any tax dollars or city property for this project without a positive revenue stream in return. Online: Read the Chargers' letter to Mayor Sanders at uniontrib.com/more/documents.

Shepard said Francis raised $4.5 million for the party – money that the GOP may now be using against him since it is backing Sanders in the mayoral race.

Francis' staff downplayed his finance role for the state party, which they said lasted four months last year and was largely ceremonial.

Charles Gallagher, Francis' campaign strategist, said Francis was not involved in any major fundraising or any solicitation of the Chargers.

“It's false and malicious phone calls spreading misinformation and false information in the guise of a poll,” Gallagher said. “It's a lowbrow form of campaigning that shows they're desperate because their polling numbers are so low.”

In their letter, the Chargers note that the Sanders campaign has solicited Alex Spanos for money.

Bob White, who was Pete Wilson's chief of staff when he was an assemblyman, San Diego mayor, U.S. senator and governor, invited Spanos to a fundraiser he held for Sanders. The invitation was on Sanders' campaign stationery.

“In short, the actions of you and your campaign are at once both dishonest and hypocritical,” Chargers general counsel Mark Fabiani wrote to Sanders. “What's more, these actions are incredibly discouraging to the Spanos family and the entire Charger organization – which together have devoted more than six years and many millions of dollars to the effort to keep the Chargers in San Diego.”

The May 7 fundraiser was hosted by White at the offices of his California Strategies lobbying firm. White sent an e-mail to Spanos' Stockton office, saying, “I know Jerry would appreciate it very much if you could participate and also sell a couple of tickets.”

White was told in a return e-mail that the Chargers were not contributing to any local races.

Shepard said the Sanders campaign did not have anything to do with the fundraiser, although the invitation included Sanders' signature under the notation: “Thank you for your support!”

Shepard added that the Chargers are on a list of donors from whom the campaign will not accept money because of their business relationship with the city.

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Ronald W. Powell: (619) 293-1258; ron.powell@uniontrib.com