Palm Beach Post - Tuesday, September 16, 2008

Lake Worth commission rejects campaign donations ethics rule

By TONY DORIS Staff Writer

LAKE WORTH - The city commission shot down an ethics proposal Tuesday night that would have banned bidders on city contracts from making campaign contributions to commissioners voting on the contracts.

Despite a plea from sponsor Cara Jennings that the ordinance would be a first step toward limiting influence of political money on contract votes, only one of the other four commissioners sided with her, Jo-Ann Golden.

The three opponents - Mayor Jeff Clemens and Commissioners Retha Lowe and David Vespo - said the proposal needed work. But rather than pass it on first reading Tuesday, which would have let them address concerns though a workshop or blue ribbon panel before giving it final consideration, they rejected the measure outright.

Under the proposed ordinance, similar to ethics laws enacted in New Jersey, Georgia and in a handful of Florida communities, any business under contract with the city, or intending to be under contract, would be prohibited from making donations to commission candidates or political action committees related to city issues.

“I’m all for campaign reform and strong ethics, but this reeks of politics,” Vespo said. He suggested that Jennings might have little support from businesses, so she was trying to keep her opponent from gathering corporate contributions, too.

He also warned that the contribution ban could set the city up for a lawsuit. “I don’t want to spend taxpayers’ money on something that doesn’t on the face of it pass the smell test.”

Lowe said the proposal would have benefited from more public input.

Clemens said potential effects of the proposal needed to be addressed. For instance, if someone who wants to unseat a contractor can contribute, Clemens asked, isn’t it right to let the contractor contribute, as well?

He added that he felt “trepidation” at the thought of the board members deciding how they may collect contributions, rather than a panel of experts weighing the matter.

The board reached an informal consensus afterward (to) discuss the issue in a workshop, but Jennings dismissed that as cover for voting down an ethics ordinance.

Having a workshop on ethics has been proposed for more than a year to no effect, she said.

As for complaints that the proposal needed work, she said: “They’ve had a copy of this ordinance since June. If anyone legitimately had issues and wanted them to be resolved, they’ve had three months.”