Letter: Recent stories on airport contract misrepresent facts

Friday, March 26, 1999 | 12:08 p.m.

The statement that phone calls from a former commissioner to two sitting commissioners "may have violated the (ethics) code" is clearly false.

It was never the intent of the county's recently adopted ethics policy to prevent any contact with commissioners concerning matters before them.

The work of the Ethics Task Force eliminates "insider influence" before staff recommendations are made, and before the public is informed. Once the agenda is posted, it is every citizen's right in a democratic society to weigh in on any issue.

The lieutenant governor's calls were made after the item was publicly posted, and therefore violated neither the spirit nor the letter of the public policy. Further, this policy applies to "paid" lobbyists only, which in this case is clearly inapplicable.

The ethics policy was created through months of work by an independent Task Force, with input from both the attorney general's and the district attorney's offices.

The district attorney confirms that the calls were well within conformance of the ethical standards.

An incendiary headline in the Sun stated that one of the phone calls was "under scrutiny," and that this issue "casts (a) cloud" over the airport issue.

This misrepresents the facts, as does the headline of a follow-up story which says that "Ethics question puts brakes on airport contract."

Simply put, staff requested the issue be held for 30 days while details are resolved by a screening panel.

The open process of government is better served by public scrutiny and ethics policy re-examination ... but not by news stories based on misrepresented and incomplete facts.

DALE W. ASKEW County Manager