FPPC clears Grand Terrace candidates of conflict-of-interest accusation
GRAND TERRACE - Sally McGuire and Darcy McNaboe did not break conflict-of-interest laws by serving with the Chamber of Commerce while running for city office, the state Fair Political Practices Commission has determined.
Sylvia Robles, who is running against McNaboe for a City Council seat, alleged in part that by appearing in the chamber newsletter, they violated a section of the Political Reform Act that generally forbids taxpayer-funded mass mailings from referencing officials affiliated with the publication.
In a letter sent Oct. 19, the FPPC dismissed this and Robles' other charges in part because McGuire and McNaboe are not elected officials.
McGuire, a mayoral candidate, is president of the chamber. McNaboe sits on its board of directors.
The newsletter, supported through ads and occasional profits from community events, recently received a mail permit separate from the city's, according to Wayne Whipple, the secretary and treasurer. The chamber's contract shows that the city pays $10,320 a year to support other chamber activities.
McNaboe said the letter was good news for the city and its volunteers.
"We should be rewarding our community volunteers," she wrote in an e-mail. "We should be discussing issues with each other, not creating an environment where people are reluctant to contribute their time and energy by filing complaints without having all of the relevant facts."
Robles said the letter missed the core of her complaint and that she will clarify that in follow- up complaints she plans to file.
McGuire said Friday she had not read the FPPC's letter but that Robles was entitled to her opinion.
Sylvia Robles states;
Gramps Wrote:
The FPPC Investigation into the relationship of the Chamber of Commerce and its Blue Mt. Outlook News Paper and the City of Grand Terrace has been determined to be not sufficient for a Case or any further Investigation by the FPPC.
This may be due to the changes put into place in response to the complaint. Including: The Chamber of Commerce not using the City's Bulk Mail Permit, the Removal of the "The Official News Paper for the City of Grand Terrace", and the change of the relationship with the BMO as a service contract.
Also noted were that McNaboe and McGuire were not elected officials and so their participation is not a conflict. However, Bea Cortes was featured on the front page of a recent issue.
Apparently being a candidate is not sufficient, but if they were or are elected then their may be a problem sufficient for the FPPC to further its investigation.
The changed relationship between the City of Grand Terrace and the Blue Mt. Outlook may be subject to an open bid for services now that the contract is a service contract and not a Partnership with the Chamber of Commerce. Hypothetically the Sun Telegram, or Press Enterprise, the San Bernardino Sentinel, or the Colton Courier or the Grand Terrace City News would all have the right to bid to provide the service if they chose to do so.
So there has been progress made in the defining an ethical relationships between the City of Grand Terrace and the Chamber of Commerce.
