New London's ethics board discusses next move after chairman resigned
Nov. 10—NEW LONDON — The city's Board of Ethics held a meeting Wednesday night to discuss how to handle an investigation that ultimately led its chairman of 10 years to resign about three weeks ago.
Former Chairman and Republican K. Robert Lewis resigned Oct. 24 because he said the board was being obstructed from looking into a complaint. Current and former City Council members were listed as respondents to the complaint filed in February but most did not respond or come before the board for an interview.
The seven-member Ethics Board, guided by the city's Code of Ethics, reviews complaints and can choose to investigate them by conducting interviews and determining whether there is "probable cause" for a violation. The board can hold a hearing or mediate among parties.
The board is appointed by the City Council and must have minority representation.
In the February complaint, former Parks and Recreation Commissioner Michael Hudson alleged that members of the City Council violated the Code of Ethics when he was not reappointed to the commission last year. Hudson died in October.
His complaint listed councilors Efraín Dominguez, Alma D. Nartatez, Kevin Booker Jr., James Burke, Reona Dyess, Curtis Goodwin and John Satti as respondents.
Dyess and Satti participated in interviews, according to a timeline of the complaint to the ethics board and signed by Lewis.
Based on the information it gathered, the ethics board said it found probable cause to move forward with Hudson's complaint and planned to hold a public hearing but it never got to that point.
About a week following Lewis' resignation, board member Dennis Downing also resigned.
On Wednesday, the four remaining members of the board were Republican Karen Paul and Democrats Robert DeRobbio, Judith Kierys and Sara Chaney. There are now three vacancies on the board with positions open for one Democrat and two Republicans or Unaffiliated voters.
The board made a motion to dismiss the complaint by Hudson without prejudice. DeRobbio said the reasoning is due to Hudson's untimely death and his inability to defend himself at a hearing.
The board also elected new officers. DeRobbio, who joined three months ago and abstained from a decision on the complaint, was nominated as chair. Kierys nominated Paul as vice-chair because she is the only Republican and personally wanted to see both parties represented.
The board agreed to invite Mayor Michael Passero to a meeting in the coming weeks to show it has "reformed and again is ready to serve the public" as well as to talk about any issues the mayor may have with the board or it with him, said DeRobbio.
DeRobbio said the other board members donated more than a year of their time to Hudson's complaint and were told by city Law Director Jeffrey Londregan that any action taken by the board was considered void.
On Aug. 16, Londregan sent an opinion to the council and Lewis on the legal validity of the proceedings to date and going forward. In the letter, Londregan said that the "determination by the Board of Ethics in finding probable cause for violations of the Code of Ethics is legally void and a legal nullity."
He states the former councilors― Goodwin, Booker Jr. and Nartartez― were never properly served nor notified of any ethics complaint filed against them. He added the complainant (Hudson) had "no property right or legal entitlement to being reappointed to the Parks and Recreation Commission when his term expired."
DeRobbio said the board wanted the three councilors to state what they knew or didn't know about the Hudson reappointment. He said it was possible that after interviewing the councilors, the board may not have found any probable cause.
"But to not even talk to the ethics board, it's like a slap in the face," DeRobbio said.
Kierys said all the members at some point discussed leaving the board. She said it "felt wrong what happened and the way we were treated, dismissed by the (councilors)."
