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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2010 03 09.minutes.Board of EthicsAPPROVED MINUTES LANSING CITY BOARD OF ETHICS REGULAR MEETING MARCH 9, 2010 - 5:30 P.M. NINTH FLOOR CITY CLERK’S CONFERENCE ROOM, LANSING CITY HALL The meeting was called to order at 5:30 P.M. in the Ninth Floor City Clerk’s Conference Room, City Hall, Lansing, Michigan. BOARD MEMBERS PRESENT: Susan Grettenberger, PhD, Chairperson Rev. John Folkers Wes Thorp Penny Gardner, PhD Connie Doyle Kirk Hewitt ABSENT: Rev. Charles Bicy, Vice-Chairperson A QUORUM WAS PRESENT OTHERS PRESENT: John M. Roberts Jr., Chief Deputy City Attorney Kevin Reeves, Chief Deputy City Clerk Don Kulhanek, Deputy City Attorney Suzanne Elms-Barclay, Robert Gray, Kathi Raffone, Loretta Stanaway, Michael Mercer, Catherine Mercer, Jason Wilkes APPROVAL OF AGENDA: Ms. Grettenberger asked that an update on the work of the subcommittee working on changes to the Ethics Ordinance be added to Unfinished Business. Moved by Mr. Folkers to accept the addition to Unfinished Business. MOTION CARRIED Moved by Ms. Gardner to approve the agenda with update. MOTION CARRIED SECRETARY’S REPORT: Approval of Minutes: Moved by Ms. Gardner to approve the minutes of January 12, 2010 as submitted. MOTION CARRIED The Board agreed to allow Public Comments to occur at this point of the meeting because the citizens who wished to speak went to the Police Department’s North Precinct, which is where the Board will meet starting with its next meeting. PUBLIC COMMENT: Suzanne Elms-Barclay of 1628 Lindbergh Dr. read the following letter: On Election Day, in November 2009, I went up to Mt. Hope School to cast my ballot in the 2nd Ward seat election. When I arrived in the parking lot, I was stunned to find two individuals standing brazenly within 100 feet of the polling place wearing "Tina Houghton" mustard colored teeshirts. I told them that they were within 100 feet of the polling place (a man of about my age, leaning on a cane and a woman). I knew that they were definitely violating the Election Law regarding advertising near a polling booth (see X mark on photo #1) ;years before Mt. Hope School's traditional Election Day Bake Sale was closed down by Clerk James Blair because it was within 100 feet; Blair ruled the sale's mere existence might unduly influence voters. At that time, I (as PTA president) measured a 100 feet radius from the polling booth was. I told the individuals that they were within 100 feet of the polling place and they said that they believed that they were beyond that mark. I then called City Clerk's office and asked to speak directly to Chris Swope. I told him that these individuals were violating the Election Law. I asked him to come out to make a note of the situation and to talk to them and he refused to do so. He suggested that I go speak to the woman in charge of the Mt. Hope voting place. She came out and asked them to leave. Which they did. But who knows who was influenced by them (see my letter to the LSJ). Furthermore, I heard from other voters in the 2nd Ward, that Tina Houghton's supporters, outfitted in their walking billboards, were at .a number of the other polling places, within the 100 foot area that they were not supposed to be in. My contention is that because 1) the city clerk ignored this violation and 2) Houghton's supporter's being in those area, that the whole election process in the 2nd ward was tainted. And that between this flagrant violation, the City Clerk's refusal to take action and Tina Houghton's withholding of information about her taxes, I'm confident that the 2nd Ward will handily reelect Sandy Allen to her rightful place with an honest re-election process. Robert Gray of 422 Dadson Dr. spoke about what he considered was the job of City Clerk Swope to check the credentials for candidates for office. Kathi Raffone of 1221 Muskegon Ave. spoke about her interpretation of ethics and her opinion of the ethics. Of Council Member Houghton. Loretta Stanaway of 546 Armstrong Rd. reiterated the points of her complaint. She stated that the circuit court did not rule on the merits of the court case. She also stated that her complaint asked the Board to investigate the possibility of collusion between the Mayor, the City Clerk and the City Attorney to seat Ms. Houghton on the City Council even though she was allegedly ineligible to hold that office. Communications and Petitions sent and received since the last meeting: 1. Formal Opinion re: Ethics Board Complaint No. 2009-001 Concerning Tina Houghton – Preliminary Written Analysis/Letter from Loretta Stanaway of 546 Armstrong Rd. requesting an investigation/hearing regarding Tina Houghton’s Park Board Appointment and election to the Lansing City Council Mr. Roberts and the Board went over the formal opinion to make sure that it was what the Board intended. Moved by Mr. Thorp to adopt the formal opinion and send copies of the opinion to Ms. Houghton and Ms. Stanaway. MOTION CARRIED 2. Letter from the City Clerk to Suzanne Elms-Barclay re: Her written communication to the Board of Ethics regarding possible violations of Michigan Election Law by Tina Houghton (with attached documentation) After a review of the letter, Ms. Grettenberger stated that there is not a specific complaint mentioned in the letter for the Board to consider. No action was taken on this item. 3. Affidavit of Disclosure submitted by Shannon Thielen of the Lansing Police Department The Board reviewed the Affidavit of Disclosure and found no issues to debate or discuss. Moved by Ms. Gardner to receive and place on file the Affidavit of Disclosure and send a letter stating no further action needed. MOTION CARRIED 4. Affidavit of Disclosure submitted by Noel Garcia, Jr. of the Lansing Police Department The Board reviewed the Affidavit of Disclosure and found no issues to debate or discuss. Moved by Mr. Folkers to receive and place on file the Affidavit of Disclosure and send a letter stating no further action needed. MOTION CARRIED 5. Affidavit of Disclosure submitted by Angela Sukovich of the Lansing Police Department The Board reviewed the Affidavit of Disclosure and found no issues to debate or discuss. Moved by Ms. Gardner to receive and place on file the Affidavit of Disclosure and send a letter stating no further action needed. MOTION CARRIED 6. Affidavit of Disclosure submitted by Chief Deputy City Attorney John M. Roberts, Jr. Mr. Roberts gave detailed information regarding his advisory role on employee retirement incentives that could appear as a conflict of interest. After a lengthy discussion, the Board reviewed the Affidavit of Disclosure and found no further issues to debate or discuss. Moved by Ms. Gardner to receive and place on file the Affidavit of Disclosure and send a letter stating no further action needed. MOTION CARRIED 7. Letter of Resignation from the Board of Ethics submitted by Edwar Zeineh Moved by Mr. Folkers to accept the Letter of Resignation with regrets. MOTION CARRIED CITY ATTORNEY’S REPORT: Mr. Roberts stated that he received a Freedom of Information Act request for the applications submitted by Board of Ethics members to serve on the board. He also stated that the Police Department has been provided with the supplemental information page from the Statement of Financial Interests to be included with Affidavits of Disclosure. CHAIR’S REPORT: Ms. Grettenberger gave her time to Board members. Mr. Hewitt asked that City Clerk Swope appear at the next Board of Ethics meeting and explain the process for vetting board appointments and candidates applying for elected offices. TABLED ITEMS: UNFINISHED BUSINESS: 1. Statement of Financial Interests submitted by 4th Ward Council Member Jessica Yorko (with additional information received) The Board discussed the Statement of Financial Interests and addressed concerns regarding situations in which Ms. Yorko should recuse herself. Moved by Mr. Thorp to receive and place on file the Statement of Financial Interests and send Ms. Yorko a letter similar to the one previously sent to Council Member Dunbar regarding situations in which she should recuse herself. Ms. Grettenberger asked that the Board approve the letter before sending it out. MOTION CARRIED 2. Revision of the Affidavit of Disclosure No action has taken place on this item. 3. New location for the Board of Ethics: Lansing Police Department North Precinct The board discussed moving its meetings from City Hall due to the future lack of security staffing and approved moving its meetings to the Lansing Police Department North Precinct. 4. Update from the subcommittee working on changes to the Ethics Ordinance Ms. Grettenberger spoke about proposed changes to the Ethics Ordinance. ADJOURNED 7:20 P.M.