Montgomery County Council Vice President Valerie Ervin is considering filing an ethics complaint against a member of Executive Isiah Leggett's office. At issue is whether an employee in Leggett's office used his position to bully county nonprofit organizations into sending out politically charged e-mails. Ervin (D-Dist. 5) of Silver Spring also is questioning the purpose of Leggett's Office of Community Partnerships, which requested the e-mails, saying it appears to be doing political work on the county executive's behalf.
Leggett (D) distributes grant money to county nonprofits, and Ervin said leaders of the nonprofit groups felt pressured to send the e-mails or risk losing their funding.
Ervin says the head of the county's Office of Community Partnerships, former Councilman Bruce Adams, asked the nonprofits to lobby council members to keep the office intact. Adams and county spokesman Patrick K. Lacefield denied Ervin's claims that the request was improper.
"I've got a 40-year record in this county for a high level of ethical behavior," Adams said. "I don't think anyone is going to seriously question the manner in which I have operated."
"Somebody is entitled to their own opinion, but they aren't really entitled to their own set of facts," Lacefield said.
He said Ervin is the first person to raise questions over the purpose of the Office of Community Partnerships. The office's mission is to reach out to African-American, Hispanic, Asian, Middle Eastern, Caribbean and African residents through nonprofit and faith groups. The office also has worked to ensure that minority residents fill out the U.S. census forms. However, Ervin said the office is a way for Leggett to endear himself to immigrant, minority and faith-based communities.
"It's all for Ike," she said. "Taxpayers are paying for Ike to have these political activities in his office."
While Leggett has not filed for re-election, he has said he plans to seek a second term. Leggett created the Office of Community Partnerships in 2007, but similar services have been provided during past administrations. Ervin said she spoke to the county Ethics Commission about her concerns, and might file an official complaint against Adams. According to Ervin, Adams violated the portion of the county ethics law that states, "A public employee must not intentionally use the prestige of office for private gain or the gain of another."
During an April 30 council committee meeting, council members discussed merging the office into the county's Regional Service Centers, but instead voted to order a report by Dec. 1 on possible other models for the Office of Community Partnerships.
"In the meantime, the political machinery went into full throttle," Ervin said.
The committee discussion prompted Adams, who earns $189,483 in salary and benefits, to ask the nonprofit community to tell the council that his office should be spared.
"The council members did hear from people that we're valuable," Adams said of the e-mails and related phone calls.
The e-mails, obtained by The Gazette, include praise for the Office of Community Partnerships, Leggett and Adams and ask that the office's budget be spared. One e-mail states, "Specifically the [Office of Community Partnerships] has helped the [Metropolitan Community Development Corporation] in our capacity building efforts by providing us with many resources including information on funding opportunities. Recently, I worked closely with Bruce Adams in preparing for the 2010 Census."
Ervin said she received a complaint from one nonprofit head who said she refused to send a letter but was concerned that her organization would lose out on county funds as a result.
"Nonprofit groups, whether they receive a grant or not, are able to have their First Amendment rights," Adams said. "We want them to speak up. We don't want to mute them." SOURCE: Gazette
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