Ethics panel gives City Council green light to appoint city employees

Friday, Nov. 5, 1999 | 10:45 a.m.

Last month, at the request of Mayor Oscar Goodman, the City Council voted to delay the two appointments until consulting the board.

In a 4-1 vote, the ethics panel decided a city ethics code which bars city employees from lobbying the council for two years after being employed by the city did not pertain to this situation.

The decision boosts Councilman Michael McDonald's effort to secure his choices for the new seats. McDonald is backing city workers Lawrence Weekly and Orlando Sanchez for the openings.

In addition to deciding whether the city code covered the city employees, the panel also was asked to determine if such appointments would create an appearance of impropriety.

Four of the five panel members were sympathetic to the mayor's argument that appointing city employees would create a bad public perception. But only one said that doing so would be illegal.

The council is expected to make the appointments at its Nov. 17 meeting.

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