Creating and Denying Conflicts of Interest in Harlingen, Texas
In researching a recent ethics complaint in <a href="http://www.myharlingen.us/default.aspx?name=homepage" target="”_blank”">Harlingen,
Texas</a> (pop. 67,000), I came across some disturbing ethics matters. The most disturbing can be seen from <a href="http://www.myharlingen.us/docs/1-DevCorp_092909_regmtg.pdf" target="”_blank”">the
minutes of the city development corporation's September 29, 2009 meeting</a>
(pp. 3-4).<br>
<br>
Brendan Hall, the former city attorney, wanted to remain counsel to the
development
corporation, so he was seeking renewal of an amended contract. One of the board members
of
the development corporation was representing Hall
in
a defamation suit against a
city commissioner who, according to <a href="http://www.valleymorningstar.com/news/lawsuit-64041-attorney-leftwich.h…; target="”_blank”">an
article
in the Valley <i>Morning Star</i></a>, had sought to have the
commission consider Hall's job performance and had
questioned the legal department's billing practices.<br>
<br>
When the devco board member moved to amend the contract with Hall, another city commissioner in attendance
stated that the board member had a conflict of interest due to his
representation of
Hall in a lawsuit against the city.<br>
<br>
Very cleverly, the devco board member insisted that the suit was not
brought
against the city, even though it was brought against a city
commissioner, and the city's insurance company was paying for counsel.
The devco board member insisted that it was a personal lawsuit, even
though the city
commissioner was speaking and acting as city commissioner, and never
even mentioned Hall.<br>
<br>
<b>Advising About One's Own Conflict</b><br>
What is so horrible is not that this weak argument won the day, but
that another board member asked Hall if the board
member/attorney had a conflict of interest due to his representation of Hall. And instead of recusing himself because of his clear involvement in the matter, Hall actually said there was no conflict. And his contract was
amended and renewed, unanimously.<br>
<br>
It appears that the city does not provide ethics training to its board
members, but this is ridiculous. In any event, Hall and his counsel certainly understood what a conflict of interest is.<br>
<br>
<b>Creating a Conflict for Self-Protection</b><br>
The following, from <a href="http://www.valleymorningstar.com/news/leftwich-56589-defamation-respond…; target="”_blank”">another
Valley
<i>Morning Star</i> article</a>, shows how well the two of them understood
conflicts of interest, so well that they filed a suit in order to
accuse a city commissioner of a conflict:
<ul>
A letter from [the board member representing Hall] was hand-delivered to [the mayor, the city manager, and the
commissioner Hall was suing]: “We hereby give you notice
of the existence of a ‘conflict of
interest,’ as defined by the City Charter and Texas state law,
regarding [the commissioner]
taking part in any discussion or vote as a commissioner, that pertains
to any personnel issue regarding Brendan Hall’s position as city
attorney.”</ul>
In other words, Hall and his counsel were using the
suit to set up a conflict of
interest in order to keep the commissioner out of play in the
commission's consideration of the then city attorney's job performance.<br>
<br>
The misuse of government ethics doesn't get any more nefarious than
this.<br>
<br>
Needless to say, after Hall had agreed with the
commission on a retirement agreement, he dropped the suit against the
commissioner, according to two other Valley <i>Morning Star</i> articles (<a href="http://www.valleymorningstar.com/news/retires-55869-attorney-brendan.ht…; target="”_blank”">1</a>
<a href="http://www.valleymorningstar.com/news/lawsuit-64041-attorney-leftwich.h…; target="”_blank”">2</a>)<br>
<br>
<b>Harlingen's Ethics Program Is Greatly in Need of Reform</b><br>
Oh, by the way, according to Harlingen's ethics code, the city attorney
is the city's ethics administrator (the ethics code is attached (see
below), because it <a href="http://www.myharlingen.us/default.aspx?name=ord.EthicsOrdinance_06.39">…
on
the city website only page by page</a> in several non-searchable PDFs,
without the <a href="http://www.myharlingen.us/docs/1-pi.Ord_No_07.18.pdf" target="”_blank”">2007
amendment</a>, and it can't be found in a search of the city website).<br>
<br>
Last year, according to <a href="http://www.valleymorningstar.com/news/harlingen-61229-ethics-guidelines…; target="”_blank”">yet
another
Valley <i>Morning Star</i> article</a>, the city commissioner against whom
the defamation suit was filed, along with a second commissioner, sought
to have an ethics committee of the city commission formed to deal with
ethics complaints as part of a larger reform in the ethics program. No
reform appears to have been made. A lot more needs to be done, but the commissioners' attempt was at least on the right track.<br>
<br>
The reason is that the city's ethics program is in the hands of the city commissioners'
and board members' counsel, who is asked to investigate
the very people he regularly represents. This is a
big conflict of interest that the current city attorney should be the
first to point out to the commission.<br>
<br>
How did I manage to come across the goings-on in Harlingen? What caught
my eye was an ethics complaint brought in April of this year against
the devco member who had asked Hall to give his opinion about his own counsel's conflict of
interest. According to <a href="http://www.valleymorningstar.com/articles/apartment-72545-complaints-co…; target="”_blank”">an
article
in the Valley <i>Morning Star</i></a>, the complaint involves the
alleged misuse of office in a purchase of city land at an allegedly low
price. The matter is being investigated by the current city attorney.<br>
<br>
Robert Wechsler<br>
Director of Research-Retired, City Ethics<br>
<br>
---