I wrote the following email to the Mayor and Town Council:

I am writing to strongly urge you not to dissolve the local Ethics Board but instead to take meaningful steps to strengthen it.

The argument that relying on the state Ethics Board would make the process more objective lacks substantial evidence. The state board is composed of political appointees selected by the governor—officials who are inherently influenced by political considerations. Time and time again, we see how money influences politics, with vendors in one town securing contracts after making substantial campaign donations in another, often at the county or state level.

Shifting this responsibility to the state means placing ethical oversight in the hands of individuals further removed from our community—individuals more susceptible to state-level political pressures. This weakens accountability, making the process less meaningful and more vulnerable to external influences that have little to do with the merits of each case.

We need only look at the School Ethics Commission as a cautionary tale. Take, for example, the nepotism case involving Dr. Varley. Despite clear-cut evidence—including videos, pay stubs, and emails—the case dragged on for years before a conclusion was reached. Worse, our community was kept in the dark about the outcome, only learning the details through the individual who filed the complaint. Meanwhile, the process became bogged down in costly legal fees, further eroding public trust.

A similar pattern has played out in the ethics charges against BOE Member Stanley and others. Their actions—captured both on video and in writing—were an automatic violation of the ethics code. Despite a finding of probable cause by the SEC and an OAL judge affirming the violation, the case remains stalled in procedural delays. As time drags on, the consequences (if any) become meaningless, as many of those implicated are no longer in office by the time a decision is reached.

The argument that the local Ethics Board has been inactive or unfilled is not a justification for dissolving it—it is an indictment of the Councils and Mayors that failed to appoint members. How many residents were even aware this board existed? Rather than eliminating it, the real question is: why hasn’t it been properly staffed and utilized?

Transferring this crucial oversight responsibility away from those directly impacted by your decisions benefits no one—except those who engage in unethical conduct.

Instead of dissolving the board, I strongly urge you to strengthen it. A meaningful way to do this would be to make Ethics Board positions elected rather than appointed. While some may argue that this introduces costs, the reality is that the long-term savings—through increased accountability, improved governance, and reduced legal fees—far outweigh any upfront expenses.

This is an opportunity for you to demonstrate a commitment to transparency and ethical leadership. Strengthening local oversight, rather than abandoning it, is the only path that serves the best interests of our community.

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