The Chula Vista Board of Ethics on March 19 dismissed two complaints filed against an appointed councilman and city officials.
But the board will convene April 15 to decide if they will take further action — such as taking the matter up with the Attorney General’s Office.
Chula Vista residents Russ Hall and Helen Prosser filed two separate complaints last month, contesting that appointed Councilman Steve Miesen presents a conflict of interest as a city official and division manager of Republic Services, the city’s largest contractor.
The Board of Ethics voted 4-0, with Norma Toothman abstaining, to dismiss the case.
Toothman said she could possibly see a conflict of interest with Miesen in the future.
“I can see a problem in the future if there ever was an issue where they have to talk about a contract between his employer and the city. That’s the only contract that I could foresee,” she said.
With the Chula Vista City Attorney’s Office recusing itself from advising the board because they’re named in the complaints, special legal counsel James P. Lough recommended in a report that the ethics board dismiss both complaints because they don’t have the authority to pursue the issue.
“(Government Code) 1090 is a serious charge and is prosecuted by the district attorney and can be regulated by the Fair and Political Practices Commission or prosecuted by the Attorney General’s Office,” Lough said.
Lough also said the complaints did not meet the 13 prohibitions listed under Chula Vista’s municipal codes.
However, Toothman and board members Rosa Robles and Victor Esquer said they would like to see more information pertaining to Miesen’s appointment because they needed more information to make a judgment.
“My personal take is that I foresee this continuing and subsequently there’s going to be more complaints in regards to this,” Toothman said. “And they’re probably going to be more thorough complaints with more facts. The facts that are on the complaints now limit what we can do.”
Hall said he hopes that the Board of Ethics will send the case to the Attorney General’s Office at its next meeting.
“It was apparent that the commission was struggling with jurisdictional issues, and I think they will do their best to resolve those,” Hall said.
“What I was hoping for tonight was to get them to render an opinion on whether or not the public interest was served by the council in the decision. They are fully capable and fully authoritative in rendering that kind of opinion.”
On Lough’s advice, board chairman Chris Shilling recused himself from the cases. Shilling currently has pending litigation against the city of Chula Vista for alleged Brown Act violations in the appointing of Miesen.
