Former Councilman Waters Wants Records Of Any Anaheim Kings Talks

SACRAMENTO (CBS13) – CBS13 has learned the mayor and the Maloofs talked again Monday following a meeting in Las Vegas on Friday.

The two sides had cut off conversation at the NBA Board of Governors meeting two weeks ago in New York after the Maloofs balked at the terms of the new arena deal.

But while they be on speaking terms again, a former city councilmember is fuming at the statements of an economist the Maloofs hired who said the arena deal would cripple the city financially.

"To come out and make the misstatements he's made is very troubling," Robbie Waters said about Chris Thornberg with Beacon Economics.

Thornberg spoke to CBS13 on the phone on Monday and defended his work. "Since I pointed these problems out, it's been nothing but slander and slur," he said. "Somehow or other, I'm being attacked as some sort of hatchet man who comes in to ruin an otherwise good deal."

Among the problems he presented are that the proposed arena revenue projections are too aggressive, that there are no contingencies in place for construction cost overruns and that term limits will force the mayor out of office before the impact of the arena is felt.

Those points and others were dismissed by City Manager John Shirey in a Sacramento Bee op-ed piece Sunday.

Now its former councilmember Waters taking a stand, filing a massive Public Records Act request to see if Thornberg and the Maloofs have been speaking to the city of Anaheim in an effort to move the team there. The record search will go back one year.

"Of course. I wouldn't have requested it if I wasn't going to," he said when asked if he plans to go through all the documents he receives. "That's all right. That's how strongly I feel about the situation."

Thornberg's reaction?

"When I heard that I that I nearly shot my milk out my nose, so to speak, I was laughing so hard," he said. "I'm here to tell you know I've never been involved in any financial relationship in the city of Anaheim."

Thornberg is standing by his study and says neither emotions nor Maloof money played a role in his research.

"I can't speak for the Maloofs but I can speak for Beacon Economics," he said. "This is not personal. We found some problems in the analysis."

But for Robbie Waters, it is personal. He's now vowing to never attend another Kings game as long as the Maloofs are owners.