Minutes October 17, 2017 MINUTES OF THE OPEN SESSION OF THE RHODE ISLAND ETHICS COMMISSION October 17, 2017 The Rhode Island Ethics Commission held its 12th meeting of 2017 at 9:00 a.m. at the Rhode Island Ethics Commission conference room, located at 40 Fountain Street, 8th Floor, Providence, Rhode Island, on Tuesday, October 17, 2017, pursuant to the notice published at the Commission offices, the State House Library, and electronically with the Rhode Island Secretary of State. The following Commissioners were present: Ross Cheit, Chair John D. Lynch, Jr.* Marisa A. Quinn, Vice Chair Timothy Murphy J. Douglas Bennett James V. Murray Arianne Corrente The following Commissioners were not present: M. Therese Antone and Robert A. Salk. Also present were Herbert F. DeSimone, Jr., Commission Legal Counsel; Kent A. Willever, Commission Executive Director; Katherine D’Arezzo, Senior Staff Attorney; Jason Gramitt, Education Coordinator/Staff Attorney; Staff Attorneys Teresa Giusti and Teodora Popova Papa; and Commission Investigators Steven T. Cross; Peter J. Mancini; and Gary V. Petrarca. At 9:02 a.m., the Chair opened the meeting. The first order of business was: Approval of minutes of the Open Session held on September 26, 2017. Upon motion made by Commissioner Quinn and duly seconded by Commissioner Corrente, it was VOTED: To approve minutes of the Open Session held on September 26, 2017. AYES: Arianne Corrente; John D. Lynch; Marisa A. Quinn; and Ross Cheit. ABSTENTIONS: J. Douglas Bennett; Timothy Murphy; and James V. Murray. The next order of business was: Advisory Opinions. The advisory opinions were based on draft advisory opinions prepared by Commission Staff for review by the Commission and were scheduled as items on the Open Session Agenda for this date. The first advisory opinion was that of: Joshua J. Giraldo, the Chief of Staff to the Mayor of the City of Central Falls, seeks an advisory opinion as to whether the Code of Ethics prohibits him from working as an independent contractor to a public relations and communications firm. Staff Attorney Popova Papa presented the Commission Staff recommendation. The Petitioner was present. Commissioner Corrente informed that she worked with the Petitioner in her prior roles as aide to former Mayor Taveras and district director for Congressman Cicilline. In response to Commissioner Corrente, the Petitioner stated that his reference to employees in his advisory opinion request letter was to PepsiCo employees. Commissioner Corrente advised the Petitioner to be conscious that there are people outside the City of Central Falls who may be trying to influence things going on in the City and that, in his public role, there are no normal business hours. In response to Chair Cheit, the Petitioner stated that, in his private capacity, he will be working 15-20 hours per month for the firm, mostly in the evenings and on weekends. In further response to Chair Cheit, the Petitioner replied that he does, at times, work for the Mayor outside normal business hours. Commissioner Quinn stated that he has a personal choice as to when to work for his new firm but should not utilize public resources such as email and telephone when doing so. Chair Cheit noted that the Petitioner may need to come back before the Commission as other issues arise. In response to Commissioner Murphy, the Petitioner stated that his employment relationship with O’Neill and Associates is new. In response to Commissioner Murphy, Staff Attorney Popova Papa informed that, if the Petitioner’s employer appears before the City, he will need to recuse or seek further advice from the Commission. *Commissioner Lynch arrived at 9:15 a.m. Chair Cheit asked that the advisory opinion be amended to include the Petitioner’s representation that he will work for his firm 15-20 hours per month. Commissioner Bennett cautioned the Petitioner to be aware of potential conflicts. Upon motion made by Commissioner Corrente and duly seconded by Commissioner Murray, it was unanimously VOTED: To issue an advisory opinion, as amended and attached hereto, to Joshua J. Giraldo, the Chief of Staff to the Mayor of the City of Central Falls. The next advisory opinion was that of: Sarah Manning, a Dean of Culture and Academics of third and fourth grades at Blackstone Valley Prep Elementary School, a municipal employee position, requests an advisory opinion as to whether management procedures put in place with regard to her fiancé are sufficient under the Code of Ethics. Staff Attorney Popova Papa presented the Commission Staff recommendation. The Petitioner was present. The Petitioner informed the Commission that when her fiancé was hired the school followed all necessary procedures in hiring him. In response to Commissioner Bennett, Staff Attorney Popova Papa stated that, even if the Petitioner and her fiancé had been married at the time of the hiring, the Staff’s opinion would remain the same because the procedures were already in place. Upon motion made by Commissioner Murphy and duly seconded by Commissioner Quinn, it was unanimously VOTED: To issue an advisory opinion, attached hereto, to Sarah Manning, a Dean of Culture and Academics of third and fourth grades at Blackstone Valley Prep Elementary School. Chair Cheit commented that it was commendable to see charter school employees seeking advisory opinions. The next advisory opinion was that of: Denise D. Sierra, a member of the Woonsocket City Council, requests an advisory opinion regarding the application of the Code of Ethics to her participation in matters before the City Council that involve or financially impact her former employer. Staff Attorney Gramitt presented the Commission Staff recommendation. He explained that this advisory opinion was approved at the last meeting as safe harbor to the Petitioner subject to additional language. Staff Attorney Gramitt noted the additional language on page three (3) of the draft that balances a public official’s willingness to avoid any appearance of impropriety with the duty to participate in all decisions where no conflict of interest exists. Upon motion made by Commissioner Murray and duly seconded by Commissioner Lynch, it was unanimously VOTED: To issue an advisory opinion, attached hereto, to Denise D. Sierra, a member of the Woonsocket City Council. The final advisory opinion was that of: Gerald J. Diebold, a member of the Barrington Planning Board, requests an advisory opinion regarding whether he may participate in the Planning Board’s consideration of an application for a comprehensive permit/plan revision for Sweetbriar Apartments, given that prior to his appointment he testified before the Planning Board in opposition to a different project proposed by the owner of Sweetbriar Apartments. Staff Attorney Gramitt presented the Commission Staff recommendation. The Petitioner was not present. In response to Chair Cheit, Staff Attorney Gramitt stated that he spoke with the Petitioner on October 3, 2017, the day of the Planning Board’s meeting, and the Petitioner had received the draft advisory opinion. In response to Commissioner Murphy, Staff Attorney Gramitt explained that the Petitioner’s representation that he will be fair and objective evidences his willingness to comply with the requirements of the Code. Upon motion made by Commissioner Lynch and duly seconded by Commissioner Murphy, it was unanimously VOTED: To issue an advisory opinion, attached hereto, to Gerald J. Diebold, a member of the Barrington Planning Board. The next order of business was: Director’s Report. Executive Director Willever reported that there were five (5) complaints, four (4) advisory opinions, and two (2) litigation matters pending. He stated that fourteen (14) APRA requests were received since the last meeting, all of which were granted within one business day. In response to Chair Cheit, Executive Director Willever stated that the five (5) pending complaints were conflict issues and did not include non-filing complaints. The next order of business was: Executive Session. At 9:35 a.m., upon motion made by Commissioner Murray and duly seconded by Commissioner Lynch, it was unanimously VOTED: To go into Executive Session, to wit: 1. Motion to approve the minutes of the Executive Session held on September 26, 2017, pursuant to R.I. Gen. Laws § 42-46-5(2) and (4). 2. In re: John G. Edwards, V, Complaint No. 2017-8, pursuant to R.I. Gen. Laws § 42-46-5(a)(2) and (4). 3. Antonio S. Fonseca v. Rhode Island Ethics Commission et al., Superior Court C.A. No. PC2017-3591, pursuant to R.I. Gen. Laws § 42-46-5(a)(2). 4. Luis Aponte v. Rhode Island Ethics Commission, Superior Court C.A. No. PC2017-1557, pursuant to R.I. gen. Laws § 42-46-5(a)(2). 5. Motion to return to Open Session. The Commission reconvened in Open Session at 10:27 a.m. The next order of business was: Motion to seal minutes of Executive Session held on October 17, 2017. Upon motion made by Commissioner Murphy and duly seconded by Commissioner Lynch, it was unanimously VOTED: To seal minutes of the Executive Session held on October 17, 2017. The next order of business was: Report on actions taken in Executive Session. Chair Cheit reported that the Commission took the following actions in Executive Session: 1. Voted (4-0) to approve the minutes of the Executive Session held on September 26, 2017. [Reporter’s Note: The vote was as follows: AYES: Arianne Corrente; John D. Lynch, Jr., Marisa A. Quinn; and Ross Cheit. ABSTENTIONS: J. Douglas Bennett; Timothy Murphy; and James V. Murray.] 2. Unanimously voted (7-0) to initially determine that the facts alleged in In re: John G. Edwards, V, Complaint No. 2017-8, if true, are sufficient to constitute a knowing and willful violation of the Code of Ethics and authorized an investigation. 3. Received a litigation update in and discussed the matter of Antonio S. Fonseca v. Rhode Island Ethics Commission et al., Superior Court C.A. No. PC2017-3591. 4. Received a litigation update in Luis Aponte v. Rhode Island Ethics Commission, Superior Court C.A. No. PC2017-1557. The next order of business was: Election of Officers. Chair Cheit informed that he spoke with Commissioner Salk, who is willing to continue serving as Secretary. Chair Cheit expressed his willingness to serve another term. Upon motion made by Commissioner Bennett and duly seconded by Commissioner Murphy, it was VOTED: To elect Ross Cheit as Chair. AYES: J. Douglas Bennett; Arianne Corrente; Marisa A. Quinn; John D. Lynch, Jr.; Timothy Murphy; and James V. Murray. ABSTENTIONS: Ross Cheit. Upon motion made by Commissioner Bennett and duly seconded by Chair Cheit, it was VOTED: To elect Marisa A. Quinn as Vice Chair. AYES: J. Douglas Bennett; Arianne Corrente; Ross Cheit; John D. Lynch, Jr.; Timothy Murphy; and James V. Murray. ABSTENTIONS: Marisa A. Quinn. Upon motion made by Commissioner Quinn and duly seconded by Commissioner Bennett, it was unanimously VOTED: To elect Robert A. Salk as Secretary. The final order of business was: New Business. Chair Cheit spoke of the passing of former Commissioner James Lynch on October 1, 2017. Former Commissioner Lynch had been appointed in 1997 and served as the Chair from 2005-2008. Chair Cheit praised his public service and integrity. Chair Cheit stated that, if the Legislature does not acknowledge Mr. Lynch’s dedication to public service, the Commission will independently convey its appreciation to his family. Commissioner Murray requested a security review with respect to Commission meetings, the building, and day-to-day procedures for the staff. Chair Cheit asked Executive Director Willever to look into this matter. At 10:35 a.m., upon motion made by Commissioner Murphy and duly seconded by Commissioner Bennett, it was unanimously VOTED: To adjourn. Respectfully submitted, ______________________________Robert A. Salk Secretary