WASHINGTON STATE

 EXECUTIVE ETHICS BOARD

2425 Bristol Court SW– Conference Room 148 – Olympia, WA

 

May 11, 2012

Regular Meeting Minutes

 

A.   Preliminary Business

1.    Roll Call

The regular meeting of the Washington State Executive Ethics Board (EEB) was called to order by Chair Matthew Williams at 9:00 a.m.  In attendance were Vice Chair Lisa Marsh, Member Linnaea Jablonski and new Members Anna Dudek Ross and Michael Bahn. Board staff in attendance included:  Executive Director Melanie de Leon and Investigator David Killeen.

 

Chair Williams introduced new Members Michael Bahn and Anna Dudek Ross and welcomed them to the Board.

 

2.    Approval of Agenda

Melanie de Leon noted that the agenda had been revised to add a Stipulation.

 

Motion 12-020 Moved by Member Jablonski, seconded by Vice Chair Marsh:

 

The Board approves the May 11, 2012 agenda as amended.

 

The motion passed unanimously.

 

3.    Approval of the March 16, 2012 Meeting Minutes

        

Motion 12-021 Moved by Vice Chair Marsh, seconded by Chair Williams:

 

The Board approves the March 16, 2012 minutes as presented.

 

The motion passed unanimously.

 

B.   Enforcement Matters

Stipulations

EEB Case No. 2011-018 (Young)

David Killeen briefed the Board on the proposed stipulation and order in the matter of Artee Young.  Ms. Young agreed that she may have violated RCW 42.52 when she used her state computer for personal reasons and her state cell phone to place and receive over 2,000 personal calls over a six month period of time. The stipulation proposes a penalty of $4,000 with $1,500 suspended.

EEB Case No. 2011-020 (Russ)

David Killeen briefed the Board on the proposed stipulation and order in the matter of Daniel Russ.  Mr. Russ agreed that he may have violated RCW 42.52 when he used state resources for outside employment. The stipulation proposes a penalty of $3,000.

EEB Case No. 2011-030 (Ledbetter)

David Killeen briefed the Board on the proposed stipulation and order in the matter of Sandra Ledbetter.  Dr. Ledbetter agreed that she may have violated RCW 42.52 for providing a family member with a special privilege and engaged in activities incompatible with her public duties as it related to her role in hiring and supervising her daughter. The stipulation proposes a penalty of $2,000 with $1,000 suspended.

EEB Case No. 2011-031 (Trotter)

David Killen also briefed the Board on the proposed stipulation and order in the matter of Mari Trotter.  Ms. Trotter agreed that she may have violated RCW 42.52 by using her state computer to access internet sites and send/receive emails related to her outside employment as an art instructor. The stipulation proposes a penalty of $2,000 with $1,000 suspended.

The Board deferred action until after closed session.

Executive Director Dismissals

EEB Case 2012-001 (White-Zollars), EEB Case 2012-002 (May), EEB Case 2012-005 (Costello) and EEB Case 2012-017 (Ryan)

Melanie de Leon briefly summarized four Executive Director dismissals.

 

C.   Staff Reports

1.  Executive Director’s Report

Melanie de Leon welcomed the new Board members and commented that we are excited to have them.  She also reported that she trained over 500 employees statewide during the month of April.  She added that David will also be conducting training and many sessions will be taking place over the summer months.

 

Ms. de Leon updated the Board on enforcement hearings that are currently being scheduled.  She asked members to expect hearings every Thursday prior to our regular Board meetings through July 2013.

 

2.  AAG Report

No AAG report was given.

 

 

3.  Other Staff Reports

 

No other staff reports were given.

 

D.   Public Comment/Board Member Comment

Rob Kavanaugh commented that he will be submitting proposals to the Legislature in the next session to strengthen the Ethics laws. 

E.   Executive/Closed Session

At 9:12 a.m. the Board moved into Executive Session to discuss potential litigation, immediately followed by Closed Session to deliberate on quasi-judicial matters. 

At 10:42 a.m. the Board returned to regular session and reported the following:

 

Motion 12-022 Moved by Vice Chair Marsh, seconded by Member Jablonski:

 

The Board approves the Stipulated Facts, Conclusions and Orders in EEB Case #2011-018, Artee Young, EEB Case #2011-020, Daniel Russ, EEB Case 2011-030, Sandra Ledbetter and EEB Case #2011-031 Mari Trotter, as presented.

 

The motion passed unanimously.

 

Motion 12-023 Moved by Vice Chair Marsh, seconded by Member Jablonski:

 

The Board finds no Reasonable Cause in EEB Case #2011-039, Christine Gregoire.

 

The motion passed unanimously.

 

Motion 12-024 Moved by Vice Chair Marsh, seconded by Member Jablonski:

 

The Board finds Reasonable Cause in EEB Case #2012-004 Sally Barber.

 

The motion passed unanimously.

 

Motion 12-025 Moved by Member Jablonski, seconded by Member Dudek Ross:

 

The Board finds Reasonable Cause in EEB Case #2012-007, Rudy Aparicio, EEB Case #2012-008, Ruben Ruelas, EEB Case #2012-009 Leonard Little, EEB Case #2012-010 Benjamin Corral, EEB Case #2012-011 Lorenzo Rodriguez and EEB Case #2012-012 Monica Ruiz.

 

Voting For: Chair Williams, Members Dudek Ross and Bahn

 

Not Voting:  Vice Chair Marsh

 

The motion passed.

 

Motion 12-026 Moved by Vice Chair Marsh, seconded by Member Jablonski:

 

The Board finds Reasonable Cause in EEB Case #2012-013, Ming Zhu.

 

The motion passed unanimously.

 

Motion 12-027 Moved by Vice Chair Marsh, seconded by Member Jablonski:

 

The Board finds no Reasonable Cause in EEB Case #2012-022 Lisa Veneroso.

 

The motion passed unanimously.

 

Motion 12-028 Moved by Vice Chair Marsh, seconded by Member Jablonski:

 

The Board dismisses EEB Case #2012-019, Ana Mari Chauce, EEB Case 2012-020, Michael Young and EEB Case #2012-021, Anne Ackenhusen.

 

The motion passed unanimously.

 

Motion 12-029 Moved by Vice Chair Marsh, seconded by Member Jablonski:

 

The Board requests further investigation in EEB Case 2011-037 Steven Birch.

 

The motion passed unanimously.

 

Motion 12-030 Moved by Vice Chair Marsh, seconded by Member Jablonski:

 

The Board approves Motions for Default in EEB Case #2010-069 Randy Sweet and EEB Case #2010-034 James Alex Mutnick.

 

The motion passed unanimously.

 

The Board noted that they will not consider loss of pay as a monetary factor when imposing stipulated penalties but will continue to consider loss of pay as a mitigating factor.

 

F.    Miscellaneous Matters/Adjournment

There being no miscellaneous matters, the meeting was adjourned at 10:49 a.m.

 

Approved by the Board 7/13/12