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Ethics board throws out complaint against Largo official
By THOMAS MICHALSKI
Article published on Wednesday, March 12, 2008 |
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![[Image]](/content_images/031208_lle-02.jpg) |
| Rodney Woods |
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LARGO – The Florida Commission on Ethics has exonerated a city commissioner who was accused by a political rival of using his public office to raise money for a proposed Martin Luther King Jr. memorial in Central Park.
A complaint against Commissioner Rodney J. Woods by Curtis Holmes was dismissed “for failure to constitute a legally sufficient complaint.”
Woods sounded relieved that the ordeal is over.
“I knew that I did nothing wrong,” Woods said. “It was a baseless complaint, and I hope we can put to rest the problems of how we can honor Dr. King.”
Woods said he also hopes that the community “begins to live together in the spirit of Dr. King’s own beloved community.”
The controversy was sparked when Woods allegedly sent an e-mail to Gov. Charlie Crist requesting that he attend a fundraising event to help raise funds for the memorial. The city promised $15,000 of the $60,000 cost for the memorial.
Dissension was further fueled by others who said they wanted the shrine to be located outside the Largo Public Library instead of in the park.
Holmes, who ran unsuccessfully last November for a commission seat, has been at odds with Woods’ efforts to make the memorial a reality. He eventually filed a complaint with the Ethics Commission in which he charged that Woods violated the Code of Ethics for Public Officers and Employees.
Albert P. Massey III, commission chairman, in a March 5 written decision said there was no evidence that Woods used his office for personal gain.
“Nothing in the complaint suggests that the respondent (Woods) or anyone else will obtain any personal benefit as a result of the respondent’s efforts to establish a Martin Luther King Jr. memorial,” Massey wrote.
The commission also found there to be no other violations on Woods’ part. Massey, said in his report that based on City Commission minutes and other materials, Woods was not in violation of using his office to collect money for the project.
“It is clear that the city has an interest in the project and has, in fact, retained a degree of control over it,” Massey wrote. “That being the case, it cannot be said that use by the respondent of his public position in the fundraising effort was inconsistent with the proper performance of his public duty.”
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Article published on Wednesday, March 12, 2008
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