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A preliminary review of Director of Public Works, Karen LaBonte, is being conducted by the Oregon Government Ethics Commission to investigate possible conflict of interest violations.
According to the commission, a citizen of Cannon Beach, Rusty Morris, filed a complaint, alleging that LaBonte could have attempted to use her position to obtain financial gain for a company of which she is a co-owner. The commission says LaBonte may have failed to declare a conflict of interest when the city contracted with the company for services. The commission opened an investigation on April 30.
LaBonte and her husband own a graphic design business in Cannon Beach. In March 2020, the city purchased two panels from the design company during COVID-19, including closed panels and mask panels, placed around the city. City manager Bruce St. Denis had obtained the signs for the city.
The investigator said there had been no conflict of interest declaration, written notification or supervisor request to advise LaBonte on how to approach and resolve the conflict.
Mayor Sam Steidel addressed the allegations at a special meeting on June 8. He said he was personally involved in the meeting regarding the acquisition of the panels.
We have talked about launching the panels as soon as possible, said Steidel. I also understood that when we were in a state of emergency.
Steidel said it was up to the city manager to act as he saw fit. He asks citizens to get all the information before bringing charges against city employees.
City manager Bruce St. Denis said the ethics complaint concerned the signs following their meeting in March 2020 regarding the city’s closure due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Cannon Beach Design is a business run by her husband, said St. Denis. La Bonte had long taken the position that there was a potential conflict there.
Procedures were changed and La Bonte did not normally deal with signs, added St. Denis. Normal procedures were lifted due to the emergency.
Bruce St. Denis said he authorized Karen La Bonte to manufacture the panels, Morris said in a statement. He also stated that Cannon Beach Design was the only graphic design / sign company in Cannon Beach. What he didn’t say is that there are two sign companies that have operated in Cannon Beach. These two companies are Action Sign Works in Astoria and Sign One in Seaside.
A second ethics complaint against La Bonte was dismissed. Morris filed the complaint, which concerned the removal of surplus municipal fencing in 2018. The commission’s preliminary examination found that further investigation was needed to determine whether La Bonte had abused his position as director of public works for derive financial benefit from it.
I have provided substantial evidence to the ethics commission regarding my fencing complaint, Morris said. Why the commission chose not to act, I don’t know. However, the Clatsop County Sheriff’s Office has opened a criminal case and will fully investigate the matter. My initial complaint is still under investigation.
La Bonte wrote in a statement that she is being targeted and harassed by Morris and that he seeks to publicly embarrass her by filing these complaints.
The commission appears to believe that I should have provided my boss with a written notice regarding my Cannon Beach Design Company property, La Bonte said in a statement. The commission seems to have relied on this, despite the fact that in the past I have repeatedly verbally told my boss and the entire department my connection to the company and despite the fact that the city, in order to avoid a conflict, had already created a purchasing system that did not allow me to authorize purchases from the company.
La Bonte said the commission found no basis for Morris’s claims other than the fact that they felt she should also have declared the potential conflict in writing, rather than just verbally. The final document of this hearing will be signed at the next committee hearing on July 23.
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