Wednesday, October 11, 2023–5:45 p.m.
-John Bailey, Rome News-Tribune-
This story is possible because of a news-sharing agreement with the Rome News-Tribune. More information can be found at northwestgeorgianews.com
A review by the city attorney has dismissed the three remaining ethics cases filed against Rome City Commissioners.
The now-dismissed complaints were all filed in the past two weeks against incumbents currently running for re-election by political opponents.
Those filings that alleged some form of misconduct against Mayor Sundai Stevenson and Commissioners Bill Collins and Craig McDaniel have been summarily dismissed after a review.
The three reviews were conducted by City Attorney Andy Davis and published on Wednesday.
Addressing the complaint filed by Floyd GOP Chair Jamie Palmer against Stevenson, Davis wrote that “merely being a notary public does not rise to the level of appointment or compensation that could be reasonably expected to impair judgment or performance of city duties.”
The complaint centered around the fact that Stevenson held a notary license in Gordon County during her tenure as a Rome commissioner. In 2018, when she was contacted by the Gordon County Superior Court concerning the requirement to be a Gordon County resident to keep her notary license there, she resigned it.
The complaint against Collins, filed by Ken Wright, stated that among other things since Collins’ wife, Faith Collins, is the chair of the Rome Board of Education he should not participate in any vote concerning the passage of Rome Middle School bonds.
“Commissioner Collins does not have a personal interest in the vote on the bonds for Rome Middle School. He is neither a creditor, debtor or guarantor of the bonds. Neither is his wife, Faith Collins,” Davis wrote.
Lastly, the complaint filed against McDaniel stated that he used his position as a commissioner and a commercial realtor for personal gain. Pointing specifically to the sale of parcels of land near the former Relax Inn on Martha Berry Boulevard, Wendy Davis stated that McDaniel likely took in over $20,000 in that deal.
“According to Commissioner McDaniel, he did not receive any commission on the sale of the Relax Inn. And when a zoning request for the area…came before the City Commission he left the commission chambers while any discussion and subsequent vote was taken,” the attorney wrote. “There has been no showing that Commissioner McDaniel used the public office for any personal gain.”
Ethics failures
This week marked the fourth time that Rome’s ethics ordinance has been used in its 20-plus-year history. All of those ethics accusations have been filed this year and all were dismissed this week.
A complaint filed against Commissioner Mark Cochran was dropped, but not before the drawn-out and expensive process exposed the flaws in Rome’s ethics ordinance.
That process led commissioners to essentially enact a review process by the city attorney prior to any complaint moving forward.
A new ordinance is currently under review. This week Rome city commissioners voted 7-0 during the Monday meeting to approve a rule under the city code that allows the city attorney to vet or evaluate any ethics complaint to determine its validity prior to the selection of a three-member panel for a hearing.
Commissioners also considered a revised code of ethics, a grievance procedure and a code of conduct for elected officials. The proposed ordinance also stipulates that in the future no ethics complaints can be filed during election season.
