WASHINGTON STATE
EXECUTIVE ETHICS BOARD
2425 Bristol Court SW–
Conference Room 148 – Olympia, WA
September 14, 2012
Regular Meeting Minutes
A. Preliminary Business
1. Roll Call
The regular meeting of the Washington State Executive Ethics Board
(Board) was called to order by Chair Matthew Williams at 9:00 a.m. In attendance were Vice Chair Lisa Marsh and Members
Linnaea Jablonski, Anna Dudek Ross and Michael Bahn. Board staff in attendance
included: Executive Director Melanie de
Leon, Assistant Attorney General Bruce Turcott, Investigator David Killeen and
Administrative Officer Ruthann Bryant.
2. Approval of Agenda
Melanie de Leon noted that the agenda had been revised to add two
additional Stipulations.
Motion 12-041 Moved by Member Jablonski,
seconded by Vice Chair Marsh:
The Board approves the September
14, 2012 agenda as amended.
The motion passed unanimously.
3. Approval of the July 13, 2012 Meeting Minutes
Motion 12-042 Moved by Vice Chair Marsh,
seconded by Member Jablonski:
The Board approves the July 13, 2012 minutes as presented.
The motion passed
unanimously.
B. Enforcement Matters
Stipulations
EEB Case No. 2011-005
(Wheat)
Melanie de Leon briefed the Board on a proposed stipulation and
order in the matter of Jean Wheat. Ms.
Wheat agreed that she may have violated RCW 42.52.070 when she used her
position to secure special privileges for family members. Evidence indicated
that she solicited her subordinates to donate sick leave to her daughter. In addition, Ms. Wheat informed subordinates
that she knew of a family in need for an adopt a
family program during the holidays. It was not until after the gifts were
purchased and delivered that staff were told the family was actually Ms.
Wheat’s son, daughter-in-law and grandchildren. The stipulation proposes a
penalty of $2,500.
EEB Case No. 2011-033
(Smith)
Ms. de Leon also briefed the Board on the proposed stipulation and
order in the matter of Edwina Smith. Ms.
Smith agreed that she may have violated RCW 42.52.160 for using state resources
for personal gain and to conduct a personal business. Ms. Smith used her state
computer to visit sites directly related to her outside business, visited
wedding related sites 348 times in a one month period and a direct sales
website, online university and her personal email account nearly 1500 times in
a 19 month period. The stipulation proposes a penalty of $1,500.
EEB Case No. 2012-003
(Hawe)
Ms. de Leon also briefed the Board on the proposed stipulation and
order in the matter of Joe Hawe. Mr. Hawe
agreed that he may have violated RCW 42.52 by securing a special privilege for
others, using state resources for personal gain and for conducting activities
incompatible with public duties. The stipulation proposes a penalty of $12,500.
EEB Case No. 2012-007 (Aparicio)
Ms. de Leon briefed the Board on the proposed stipulation and
order in the matter of Rudy Aparicio. Mr. Aparicio agreed
that he may have violated RCW 42.52.160 for using state resources for personal
gain when he stored 117 mp3 files on his computer that were not work related
and used the internet for personal business. The stipulation proposes a penalty
of $2,500 with $1,500 suspended.
Vice Chair Marsh recused herself from any action relating to EEB
Case No. 2012-007 Rudy Aparicio.
EEB Case No. 2012-011
(Rodriquez)
Ms. de Leon also briefed the Board on the proposed stipulation and
order in the matter of Lorenzo Rodriguez.
Mr. Rodriguez agreed that he may have violated RCW 42.52.160 by using
state resources for personal gain. Mr. Rodriguez used his state issued cell
phone for over 200 personal calls over a four month period. The stipulation
proposes a penalty of $1,250, suspending $250.
Vice Chair Marsh recused herself from any action relating to EEB
Case No. 2012-011 Lorenzo Rodriguez.
EEB Case No. 2012-012
(Ruiz)
Ms. de Leon also briefed the Board on the proposed stipulation and
order in the matter of Monica Ruiz. Ms.
Ruiz agreed that she may have violated RCW 42.52.160 by using state resources
for personal gain. Ms. Ruiz used her SCAN card to make over 100 personal phone
calls. The stipulation proposes a penalty of $250.
Vice Chair Marsh recused herself from any action relating to EEB
Case No. 2012-012 Monica Ruiz.
EEB Case No. 2012-013
(Zhu)
Ms. de Leon also briefed the Board on the proposed stipulation and
order in the matter of Ming Zhu. Mr. Zhu
agreed that he may have violated RCW 42.52.160 by using state resources for
personal gain. Mr. Zhu used the agency’s computer to visit sites that were not
related to his position and to send correspondence relating to his outside
employment with the Oregon Department of Corrections. The stipulation proposes
a penalty of $2,500, suspending $1,000.
Member Jablonski recused herself from any action relating to EEB
Case No. 2012-013 Ming Zhu.
EEB Case No. 2012-025
(Salinas)
Ms. de Leon briefed the Board on the proposed stipulation and
order in the matter of Raquel Salinas.
Ms. Salinas agreed that she may have violated RCW 42.52.160 by using
state resources to promote an outside business that her husband owned. The
stipulation proposes a penalty of $500, suspending $250.
The Board deferred action until after closed session.
Executive Director
Dismissals
EEB Case 2012-028
(Morrison) EEB Case 2012-029 (Jeppesen)
Melanie
de Leon briefly summarized two Executive Director dismissals.
C. Policy Reviews
Melanie
de Leon reported on an Ethical Conduct policy submitted by the Horse Racing
Commission. Deputy Secretary Doug Moore was present and noted that the policy clarifies
off-season employment for their staff.
Motion 12-043 Moved by Member Jablonski,
seconded by Member Bahn:
The Board approves the Horse
Racing Commission’s Ethical Conduct Policy as presented.
The motion passed unanimously.
C. Strategic Plan Update
Melanie de Leon provided a draft of the 2012-2015 Strategic Plan.
She discussed goals to strengthen the ethical culture and promoting an ethical
workforce with the executive branch, promoting good governance and improving
the complaint process to make filing easier and investigation time shorter.
Board members and staff will finalize the plan at their November
meeting.
D. Staff Reports
1. Executive Director’s Report
Melanie de Leon reported that the 2012 survey will be sent out to
all state employees by the end of the month and work will begin on updating
agency scorecards. She also noted that
there is currently a backlog of cases waiting to be scheduled for enforcement
hearings, so beginning July 2013 the Board will hold hearings every month, with
business meeting continuing to be held every other month.
2. AAG Report
No AAG report was given.
3. Other Staff Reports
No other staff reports were given.
E. Public Comment/Board Member Comment
No
public or Board Member comments were given.
F. Executive/Closed Session
At
9:31 a.m. the Board moved into Executive Session, immediately followed by Closed
Session to deliberate on quasi-judicial matters.
At 11:07 a.m. the Board returned to regular session and reported
the following:
Motion 12-044 Moved by Vice Chair Marsh,
seconded by Member Jablonski:
The Board approves the
Stipulated Facts, Conclusions and Orders in EEB Case #2011-005, Jean Wheat as
presented.
The motion passed unanimously.
Motion 12-045 Moved by Vice Chair Marsh,
seconded by Member Jablonski:
The Board approves the
Stipulated Facts, Conclusions and Orders in EEB Case #2011-033 Edwina Smith and
assesses a penalty of $3,000 with $1,500 suspended.
The motion passed unanimously.
Motion 12-046 Moved by Vice Chair
Marsh, seconded by Member Jablonski:
The Board approves the
Stipulated Facts, Conclusions and Orders in EEB Case #2012-003, Joe Hawe as
presented.
The motion passed unanimously.
Motion 12-047 Moved by Member Jablonski,
seconded by Member Dudek-Ross:
The Board approves the
Stipulated Facts, Conclusions and Orders in EEB Case #2012-007, Rudy Aparicio with the removal of the last sentence in Section 4
referring to unintentional violations.
The Board approves the
Stipulated Facts, Conclusions and Orders in EEB Case #2012-011, Lorenzo
Rodriguez and EEB Case #2012-012 Monica Ruiz as presented.
Voting For: Chair Williams and Members Jablonski, Bahn
and Dudek-Ross.
Not Voting: Vice Chair
Marsh.
The motion passed.
Motion 12-048 Moved by Vice Chair
Marsh, seconded by Member Dudek-Ross:
The Board approves the
Stipulated Facts, Conclusions and Orders in EEB Case #2012-013, Ming Zhu, with
a modification to add findings related to sleeping past his break periods.
Voting For: Chair Williams, Vice Chair Marsh and Members
Bahn and Dudek-Ross.
Not Voting: Member
Jablonski.
The motion passed.
Motion 12-049 Moved by Vice Chair
Marsh, seconded by Member Jablonski:
The Board approves the
Stipulated Facts, Conclusions and Orders in EEB Case #2012-025, Raquel Salinas
as presented.
The motion passed unanimously.
Motion 12-050 Moved by Vice Chair Marsh,
seconded by Member Jablonski:
The Board finds Reasonable
Cause in EEB Case #2012-024, Michael Nelson.
The motion passed unanimously.
Motion 12-051 Moved by Vice Chair Marsh,
seconded by Member Jablonski:
The Board finds Reasonable
Cause in EEB Case #2012-031, Ray Meinzer.
The motion passed unanimously.
Motion 12-052 Moved by Vice Chair Marsh,
seconded by Member Jablonski:
The Board finds Reasonable
Cause in EEB Case #2012-032, Phillip Venditti.
The motion passed unanimously.
Motion 12-053 Moved by Vice Chair
Marsh, seconded by Member Jablonski:
The Board finds Reasonable
Cause in EEB Case #2012-033 Chon Clayton.
The motion passed unanimously.
G. Miscellaneous Matters/Adjournment
There
being no miscellaneous matters, the meeting was adjourned at 11:15 a.m.
Approved by the Board 11/9/12