Facebook and ethics (DOCUMENTS)

It appears the Ethics Commission is moving forward with an inquiry into the actions of two Troy councilmen – Council President Rodney Wiltshire and Councilman Bob Doherty, D-District 4.

 It’s been a long time since the Ethics Commission in Troy did or said anything – the last time I remember was back in the 90s when questions arose about then Deputy Mayor Jim Conroy’ and his father’s estate – so I guess in that regard it’s a pleasant turn of events.

It’s been known they were taking a peak at Doherty for his ill-advised visit to the New York State Liquor Authority on behalf of Kokopellis. I’m not sure if he violated any formal ethical obligations he has as an elected representative, but it sure caused quite the stir since … well … the Jan. 25 incident caused quite a stir on a number of different levels.

The commission is looking at Wiltshire because of comments made on social media that said he has a financial interest in the Fourth Street bar. Now, this is just a guess, but if the commission took a look at everything that is said on social media they would be the busiest panel in City Hall history.

As to Doherty, the section of CityCode that deals with ethics is pretty comprehensive and applies to officials across the board – elected and appointed. It specifically states all those covered cannot advocate for another entity that has an interest in front of the city. For example, a Councilman could not appear in front of the Planning Commission on behalf of business looking to open its doors in the city. But, it doesn’t specifically say anything about appearing in front of a state agency.

Doherty told the Times Union he went with the bars’ owners, Barry and Joe Glick, because the business was in his district and to urge the SLA to not take any drastic action, such as close the bar down, until the number of investigations into what transpired on Jan. 25 are complete.

Plausible, I guess, but still ill-advised since there is so much controversy regarding the bar and because Doherty, as chair of the Public Safety Committee, was, at the time, holding hearings on the matter with the goal of reaching an objective conclusion. The SLA, I don’t think, cares too much about anything else – allegations of police brutality, racial tensions or political undertones – except if Kokopellis followed state law or not.

As far as Wiltshire goes, since he is covered under the Code of Ethics he has to disclose all outside business interests within the city and any interest within a mile of the city line. Below is his latest disclosure statement and I’m told the other two are similar and don’t include a mention of any financial interest he has in Kokopellis.

No, I guess it’s not a perfect system in that Wiltshire or anyone else could just not disclose an interest but why would anyone running for public office not want to tell voters he has a financial stake in a city business. I would think having a vested interest in the city’s future would play well to voters.

If I were more cynical, I would say Wiltshire got brought into the mix because of his decision to break from the Democratic Party proper and the administration too.

Anyway, I tip my hat to the Ethics Commission for meeting and actually doing something. Now maybe they will look into others stuff that has happened like the King Street demolition, the North Central sidewalk debacle, or the Scolite bid process. OK, they may not fall under the commission’s auspices … until someone throws it up on Facebook anyway.  

Wiltshire's 2013 Financial statement