This
morning the Town Board held a special meeting to make appointments to the Board
of Ethics, authorize the settlement of an employment discrimination suit
against the Supervisor, accept two resignations and resolve several other
matters. Since the next board meeting is
only three business days away, the timing of the special meeting raised
eyebrows. The two primary differences
between an 8:45 a.m. special meeting and a 7:00 p.m. regular meeting are that
fewer residents can attend and there is no public comment period. Normally, special meetings are called to
address time sensitive matters but a number of today’s resolutions could have
waited until Wednesday. Under these
circumstances it’s hard not to draw the conclusion that the board called this
meeting to conduct important business under the radar with as little public
attention as possible. One action taken
by the board deserves special mention.
The comments below would have been presented as a public comment at the
meeting but since that opportunity was not made available, I offer them here.
The
appointment of Ed Gilbert to the Board of Ethics is a serious error in judgment
on the part of Supervisor Langley. This
is not a commentary on Ed’s competence as a person; I like and respect him and
he has made a substantive contribution to the political debate in this
town. But he has done so as an
aggressively partisan participant; his appointment represents the
politicization of a board that can only be effective if its members are not
perceived as advocates for either political party. More importantly, this appointment will
discourage town employees from filing legitimate complaints because they know
the Supervisor’s personal political bodyguard is waiting for them if they
decide to contest actions taken by a member of the political majority.
The two
most important attributes of a member of the Board of Ethics are the abilities
to be impartial and maintain the confidentiality of people who file complaints. If you took a survey of town employees and
asked them if Ed Gilbert would be impartial and maintain confidentiality if a
complaint is filed against the Supervisor or member of the majority, how many
do you think would answer ‘Yes?’ Ten
percent? Twenty percent? Nobody?
I’m not saying Ed Gilbert won’t be fair and maintain confidentiality but
in the world of ethics, perception is as important as reality and the
perception guaranteed by this appointment is that the Board of Ethics is
stacked to protect the majority. The
message? Whistleblowers will not be
tolerated.
Since
this appointment is now fait accompli, three things should happen
immediately. First, a written job
description for the position of Deputy Supervisor should be posted on the town
website. This job includes financial
compensation for the first time in years and since it is illegal for a member
of the Board of Ethics to be compensated for any work related to that board, it
is imperative that the public be informed of the line between Ed’s
responsibilities as Deputy Supervisor and his work on this board. Second, he should immediately cease and
desist from posting partisan commentary on blogs, in the Advertiser or any
other public organ. This includes the
negative, underhanded ‘Anonymous’ work that is often attributed to him.
Third,
and most importantly, he must immediately terminate his role as political and
policy advisor to the Supervisor and new majority. Every piece of advice he gives sets up a
potential conflict of interest. Whether
it concerns the employment status of an individual, a decision on a specific
project or broader policy advice his input can influence issues that may come
before him as a member of the Board of Ethics.
It is unseemly and intimidating to town employees for a member of the
Board of Ethics to be seen walking in and out of the Supervisor’s office on a
regular basis. He must immediately adopt
a non-partisan approach to local politics.
The letter of the Code of Ethics states that members of that board
cannot sit on political committees; the spirit of that clause suggests they
should not engage in any politics of a partisan nature.
The
fundamental concern of the Board of Ethics is to monitor and eliminate
conflicts of interest. The appointment of
an aggressively partisan political operative, one who has twice run for office
and recently played a key role in getting the new majority into a position of
power, is an inherent conflict of interest since the hallmark of a Board of
Ethics is the fairness that comes from people who adopt an independent stance
in relation to town employees and elected officials. It also risks the perception that every
statement, promise and action taken by the majority on the subject of ethics
has been a political ploy made safe by the knowledge that a mechanism could be
implemented that guarantees their protection by discouraging town employees
from filing complaints.
Ed
Gilbert is in position to make numerous positive contributions to the
governance of this town and I wish him well in those endeavors. But he has chosen a partisan path and on this
basis his appointment to the Board of Ethics should be reconsidered and
withdrawn.
