Nov. 26, 2006 
 

 

MIAMI-DADE
Some say county's ethics commission could be stronger
Some experts say the county's ethics commission would have more teeth if it were as concerned with the perception of impropriety as it is with findings based on law.

 

BY CHARLES RABIN

It was early March when a legislative aide to Miami-Dade County Mayor Carlos Alvarez guided her father, the owner of a paving company, through the most powerful corridor of County Hall, the 29th floor.

Next to the offices of the mayor and county manager, they reached a desk in front of the office of Assistant County Manager Carlos Bonzon, according to the county's inspector general and an investigator with the ethics commission.

Bonzon wasn't there. So Amy GonzalezHernandez left, with her dad, Raul Gonzalez, in tow. Raul Gonzalez owns H&R Paving, a company that has done more than $70 million in work for the county since 1994.

Bonzon's secretary left her boss this message: ``Raul Gonzalez from Sermar came to see you, wants to meet with you, please call. Amy from the mayor's office brought him. Need [sic] to meet before the 3/14 CEERC comm., meeting re agenda item 4C.''

Five days later, a committee made up of six county commissioners recommended the County Commission approve a 25-year no-bid contract between the Port of Miami and Sermar USA, a cement-storage company owned by Raul Gonzalez.

Gonzalez-Hernandez's trek with her father led to investigations by the county's inspector general and the Ethics Commission. Both determined she used her county position to receive privileges.

But the five-member civilian board of the Miami-Dade County Commission on Ethics and Public Trust decided there was not enough probable cause to punish her. The case was dismissed -- its existence practically hidden from public view.

Some familiar with the ethics commission say its rulings would be more effective if its creators hadn't decided a decade ago that findings must be based on the law, not appearances of impropriety.

''There are a lot of things that are not illegal, but they don't pass the smell test,'' said Sam Terilli, professor of media ethics and journalism at the University of Miami and former counsel to The Miami Herald.

''Like opening doors and using influence to help a friend obtain a contract,'' Terilli said. ``I think we'd be well-served by having an ethics commission with a broader charter that would weigh in on the appearance of impropriety.''

Secrecy is also an issue.

KEPT FROM PUBLIC

A complaint filed with the ethics commission is kept from the public. After a hearing, it's released. But it's not easily accessible: The findings are not posted. To get the records, you must contact the ethics commission.

Some cities have public meetings and post their findings. State law allows for closed-door meetings to protect innocents.

Critics wonder whether the agency and its $2 million annual budget -- authorized by the County Commission -- is little more than a way for elected officials to cover themselves.

''It's a weak instrument,'' said ethics board member, retired judge and former Miami Beach Mayor Seymour Gelber. ``It's been set up as a political gesture by the [county] commission.''

The Gonzalez-Hernandez case seemed rock solid to the county's inspector general and the advocate in the ethics commission.

Bonzon, representing the county manager's office, gave the lease agreement the thumb's up. Sermar was created to import and store cement at the port. The contract could be worth tens of millions of dollars.

The County Commission postponed a vote on the Sermar contract at the urging of Inspector General Christopher Mazzella, who is concerned with the no-bid aspect of the lease agreement.

Mazzella's report noted that, in addition to seeking a meeting with Bonzon, Gonzalez-Hernandez tried to set up a meeting between her father and County Commissioner Javier Souto, a member of the same committee that voted to recommend the contract to the County Commission. Gonzalez did meet with Souto's aide, Bernardo Escobar.

''Her father was on the way, and she asked if I'd be able to meet. He didn't have an appointment,'' Escobar recalled.

The board dismissed the complaint a few minutes after Chairman Kerry Rosenthal said: ''It might not look right, but is that the same as a misuse of her position?'' Then Rosenthal added: ``This doesn't look good especially because of the relationship with her father. . . . Perhaps she should not have done that.''

The decision didn't sit well with Mazzella, who initiated the complaint.

''I think perceptions in many cases are as dangerous as legal conflicts. It provides the public a poor image of government operations,'' he said. ``If [a finding of an appearance of impropriety] requires some amendment of an ordinance, then I think it's necessary.''

Gonzalez-Hernandez and her boss, County Mayor Carlos Alvarez, refused comment despite repeated requests for interviews.

The mayor's head of communications said he was aware an ethics complaint had been filed.

Gelber, 87, stresses a need for findings of appearances of impropriety when it comes to government officials. He cites a case earlier this year involving County Commission Chairman Joe Martinez, who wanted to resolve an issue over free work he received while building a 5,300-square-foot home in West Kendall.

NO VIOLATION

Martinez spoke with Ethics Commission Executive Director Robert Meyers. Meyers then bypassed the ethics board and formed a committee composed of himself, a staff attorney and ethics board chairman Rosenthal. The group determined Martinez had not violated any ethics code.

''When I got word of that I called Meyers and sent letters,'' Gelber said. ``You can't do that. . . . I made it clear, I did not want independent decisions made.''

Martinez had asked Meyers how to deal with drywall company owner Jorge Guerra Sr., who the county inspector general said had done free work at Martinez's home. The commissioner also wanted to know whether Guerra's son, Latin Builder Association board member Jorge Guerra Jr. -- who works for his dad's company according to its website -- could continue to lobby the county.

The three-member committee determined that accepting gifts was fine as long as they were reported and said Guerra could continue lobbying the commission -- but not Martinez personally.

To date, no gift-giving has been reported.

''In that particular case it's pretty clear what the law states,'' Meyers said. County ordinance says gifts of more than $100, with a few exceptions, must be disclosed. ``Our opinions are based on what the written law says. A perception is not enough to find probable cause. It's frustrating that people don't understand our mission.''

Perception wasn't enough in an Opa-locka case in which the city manager authorized the city clerk to use city gasoline for a home generator after Hurricane Wilma. The board said the public employees had done no wrong.