City's ethics panel clears letter-writing campaign
By Treena Shapiro
Advertiser Staff Writer
City officials did not violate the city ethics code when they authorized an unprecedented mass mailing to inform community interest groups about potential budget cuts, according to the City Ethics Commission.
Advertiser library photo
City managing director Ben Lee yesterday said an opinion from the commission vindicates the administration, which was criticized by some City Council and community members for sending out some 10,000 targeted letters in May urging attendance at a council Budget Committee meeting to oppose cuts.
Mayor Jeremy Harris and his administration were criticized for a May mass mailing, but were vindicated yesterday.
City employees drafted the letters on city time, using city equipment. The postage cost about $3,400.
"The criticism of the letter-writing campaign focused on concerns that the letters were efforts to lobby the council, furthered a political agenda of Mayor Harris, were excessive in cost and time or misled the public by overstating the risk of cuts contemplated by the council," the commission said.
However, in addressing these issues, the commission determined that:
There is no law preventing the administration from advocating its view of any bill; although Harris was then a candidate for governor, the candidacy was not necessarily the mayor's primary motivation for the letter-writing campaign; and the administration had reason to believe the council might cut the operating and capital budgets in a way that would seriously concern some members of the public, so there were no misstatements or omissions.
Since the letter-writing campaign was legitimate, the commission did not consider the cost issue.
"We're not going to allow either the City Council or the media to stop us from keeping the public informed on city issues," Lee said in a statement yesterday. "Good government comes when the public is informed and empowered."
