What Gilbert did about 'exhausting' summer of ethics complaints
"Fractured” and "dysfunctional" were just two words used to describe the current status of the Town Council when, on Tuesday, it considered a flurry of ethics complaint reports.
The council spent an hour discussing the findings from four of six complaints filed this summer during Tuesday’s meeting. Complaints alleging council members violated the ethics code of conduct were filed by Gilbert residents, Mayor Bridgette Peterson and Councilmember Chuck Bongiovanni.
Contract lawyers finished reviewing five of six complaints and submitted their findings and recommendations to the town. The final reports found that none of the council members nor Mayor Peterson had violated the code of ethics.
The council voted to accept the findings and to re-open one investigation filed by two Gilbert men from an event that took place nearly one year ago. It took no further action on the three other complaints it considered Tuesday.
The votes followed a heated discussion that came with calls for accountability and promises the seven-member elected group would move on.
More: Who serves on Gilbert Town Council? Here's what to know
Peterson said from the dais that she requested for the action items and discussion for “transparency’s sake.”
A complaint against Councilmember Yung Koprowski was not added to the agenda for discussion because Koprowski was not able to attend Tuesday’s meeting, Peterson said.
The council had three options when deciding how to move forward with the complaints:
Take no action.
Accept the ethics reports findings.
Reject the ethics report and by supermajority vote censure the council member in question.
It was recommended that the council member who is the subject of the complaint not participate in any vote.
The continued council infighting over the past several years was expected to subside once the three freshman council members were sworn in.
That has not happened.
Brandon Ryff and Ryan Handelsman complaint v. Peterson
Gilbert resident Ryan Handelsman, who filed a complaint along with Brandon Ryff against Mayor Brigette Peterson, told the council to reevaluate the investigation process to ensure fairness. He urged the council to reopen the investigation.
The complaint was in reference to an event that took place in September 2022, when Peterson directed town security to kick the two men out of a council meeting. Chris Payne, the town attorney, recommended Tuesday the complaint be dismissed or take no action because the allegations had already been investigated.
However, Councilmembers Bongiovanni, Bobbi Buchli and Jim Torgeson did not believe the case was fairly investigated. The three said Handelsman and Ryff were not given the opportunity to tell their side of the story.
“I don’t believe the investigation was sufficient because (the investigators) didn’t talk to the people who were grieved,” Bongiovanni said.
In response to the complaint, Peterson said in a prepared statement, “I honor the process and welcome the process and findings as I have any other time.”
Bongiovanni made a motion to move the investigation forward and the council approved the action with a 4-1 vote.
More: What to know about Gilbert Mayor Brigette Peterson
Maureen Hoppe complaint
A complaint filed by resident Maureen Hoppe against council members Jim Torgeson and Bobbi Buchli led to the domino effect of ethics complaints this summer. Hoppe’s complaint alleged that that Buchli and Torgeson spread misinformation about a council pay raise, harassed her and hurt her ability to perform her duties as a Republican precinct committee member.
That complaint led to Peterson to file her own complaint against Torgeson in which she alleged he violated five areas of town code. Bongiovanni then later filed his own complaint against Peterson saying she broke protocol for the timing of her complaint and for “leaking” it to a reporter.
Outside legal counsel found no violations of ethics complaints from any of the council members and the council voted unanimously to accept the reports' findings.
But that was not without extensive questioning of the behavior of the mayor and council members.
Vice Mayor Kathy Tilque said the slew of complaints has been an “opportunity for lessons learned.” She urged the council to stop the negative behavior and stay focused on the town's work.
Councilmember Scott Anderson said it was time to “knock it off.” The complaints are “hurting our community terribly,” he said.
Torgeson called the complaints a waste of money and time because there are no results out of it. “This council is fractured. It’s been disrupted. It’s dysfunctional,” he said. “I don’t wish to continue with the mudslinging,” he said.
Buchli, also part of Hoppe’s complaint, said the investigations have been “exhausting.” She echoed Torgeson’s comments that the council has been distracted by focusing on the ethics complaints. “Let us move forward. Give us an opportunity to do that,” she said in a plea to residents.
Meanwhile, Bongiovanni continued to call for accountability from Peterson on for her actions. “Being cleared of an ethics violation doesn’t make someone innocent. It doesn’t excuse her behavior,” he said.
Bongiovanni asked for an apology from the Peterson for “costing them tens of thousands of dollars for these investigations.” He said he’d settled for a “some accountability” during their next mediation session.
Peterson again responded in a prepared statement “I hear and agree with our communities request that this council move forward with respect, civility and leadership traits that we were each elected for.” She asked the council to put their energies on actions that would move the council forward rather than looking backward.
New ethics policy a game changer?
Any future ethics complaints to the town will have to follow a new process. The council voted in June to adopt a new code of conduct and ethics handbook. Torgeson was on the council subcommittee along with Councilmembers Kathy Tilque and Scott Anderson that updated those policies.
The six ethics complaints filed to the town this summer followed the old policy.
The new complaint process will start with an in-person mediation with an independent mediator, the complainant, a public official and town attorney. If complainants are not satisfied with the results of the mediation, they can request an ethics investigation.
The new policies also outline nine possible penalties to a code of conduct violation including mandatory ethical training, imposition of a $500 fine and loss of funding privileges, among other consequences.
During Tuesday’s discussion, many of the council members spoke about how the new policy would be more effective at opening the dialog between a complainant and the council member in question.
Buchli said residents have every right to file a complaint but in the future “make it the truth” and “have good back up to prove what you’re saying.”
Reporter Maritza Dominguez covers Mesa and Gilbert and can be reached at maritza.dominguez@arizonarepublic.com or 480-271-0646. Follow her on X, formerly Twitter: @maritzacdom.
This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Gilbert Town Council decides on ethics complaints
