Ethics Board Director comes under fire.
Friday, June 5th, 2009
A Philadelphia City Councilwoman is calling for the removal of the head of the City's Ethics Board. The board enforces the city's campaign finance and financial disclosure laws. Its executive director recently paid a fine for talking to a reporter about a probe into the Seth Williams campaign during the recent District Attorney primary race.
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Ethics Board Executive Director Shane Creamer had an off-the-record conversation with a newspaper reporter regarding the investigation. Creamer reported his conversation immediately to the Williams campaign, and to the ethics board, which decided the conversation violated the city's ethics code. Creamer was fined $500 dollars.
Councilwoman Marion Tasco says Creamer can no longer be trusted.
Tasco: How can we enforce ethics laws when there is a two-teired standard of ethics, one for the board and one for everyone else.
Tasco also criticized the city's political watch-dog group The Committee of Seventy, for remaining silent on the issue.
But Committee director Zack Stalberg says the ethics board acted correctly. He says Councilmembers fear the independent board they created now has too much authority.