The political in-fighting among Riverdale’s top officials has ramped up with the mayor accusing a city council member of abusing her power and divulging sensitive information discussed during an executive session.
Mayor Evelyn Wynn-Dixon filed a 12-page ethics complaint against councilwoman Cynthia Stamps-Jones earlier this month accusing her of numerous ethical infractions dating back to November.
The charges were given to Stamps-Jones and an independent investigator. The investigator will review the charges. If he thinks they have merit, he will present his findings along with recommendations in a report to the city council. The council would then decide whether to go with the recommendations or do something else. It is unclear when the report will be issued.
Although she has not looked at the allegations, Stamps-Jones called them “petty and juvenile” and “retaliatory.”
“I’m not interested in seeing the charges,” she said. “It’s schoolyard crap. I’m not thinking about them.”
The allegation are the latest round of accusations exchanged among the fractured five-member city council and comes as the city heads into election season. Wynn-Dixon is up for re-election as are councilmen An'cel Davis and Kenny Ruffin.
Earlier this year, Stamps-Jones lobbed her own set of accusations against the mayor and Ruffin and council member Wanda Wallace. Those charges were found to be unsubstantiated, costing city taxpayers $8,200.
In August, the city council adopted a new process for dealing with ethics complaints because "the current ordinance needs revising to avoid unfair and unjust filing and hearings."
Under the revised process, an elected or city official or employee can file a written complaint with the city clerk. The allegations must include approximate dates of the allegations and must be filed within a year of the alleged violation. An official found to be in violation of the city’s ethics codes could face penalties ranging from public censure, fines of up to $1,000 or possibly request for resignation.
Wynn-Dixon, who has been mayor about eight years, insists the ethics charges she filed are not “a vendetta, retaliation or anything like that.
“I just want things to be smooth,” the mayor said during an interview at her office this week. “I have to maintain the integrity, image and branding of this city. If we’re fighting all the time, nobody’s going to want to come here for economic growth. The purpose of filing the ethics charges is to hold all of us accountable at the city. There will be zero tolerance for violating ordinances, disrespecting board meetings and being abusive to staff.”
The complaint accuses Stamps-Jones of a wide range of ethical violations. Among the allegations:
- In November, Stamps-Jones used government airline travel vouchers to pay airfare for family members and failed to disclose the use of the vouchers.
- A month later, she had Riverdale police escort her to Columbus for her deceased sister’s funeral without telling the city manager or getting his approval.
-In February, she demanded the city manager finish work assignments she had given him.
- On several occasions between May and June, Stamps-Jones divulged confidential personnel matters about the finance director and city manager which were discussed in executive session.
- In July, she responded to a staff member by using profanity after the staff member said she would have to submit an open records request in order to obtain information about a fellow council member’s vacation.
In April, Stamps-Jones accused the mayor, Wallace and Ruffin of staff abuse, coercion and misuse of money.
The city finance director later found the allegations of kickbacks against Wynn-Dixon were unfounded. In that incident, Stamps-Jones accused Wynn-Dixon of taking a $2,500 check from a local business but the check was a donation made to the city, not the mayor.
Stamps-Jones accused Ruffin of interfering in the daily affairs of the city’s park and recreation department. She also accused Wynn-Dixon of attending functions for her personal benefit and that Wallace tried to discipline city employees.
Of the 22 charges filed by Stamps-Jones in April, 17 were beyond the one-year time frame allowed for reporting the violations. The rest were found to be unsubstantiated.
Stamps-Jones defended her decision to file the complaints against her fellow council members.
“In my mind, everything I put against them is true,” said Stamps-Jones who has been on the council five years. “My charges did not go further than the investigation even though I voted for it to go to a hearing.”
“I’m the punching bag to make them look good,” she said. “I’m going to stand for what’s right and what I believe in. I’m not doing tit for tat.”
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