This post was contributed by a community member. The views expressed here are the author's own.

Politics & Government

Councilman Receives Warning Letter After Conflict-of-Interest Investigation

Earlier this month, the Fair Political Practices Commission sent a letter to Councilman Robert Lieber alerting him that he had erred in participating in a 2010 vote connected with the city's Climate Action Plan.

An investigation by a state commission dating back to a 2010 vote about the city's Climate Action Plan found that a member of the violated a provision of the Political Reform Act by participating in the decision. 

The Fair Political Practices Commission, in a March 7 letter to Councilman Robert Lieber that was posted online, ruled that Lieber should not have voted in March 2010 to pass two resolutions related to the Climate Action Plan

Senior Commission Counsel Galena West wrote that Lieber should not have voted because he lives too close to an area that could be affected by the Climate Action Plan's building height requirements.

Find out what's happening in Albanywith free, real-time updates from Patch.

West wrote that, because Lieber's property values would be directly affected by this element of the plan, he should not have voted. 

She continued to note, however, that "it is unlikely that a financial impact on your real property would be anything more than minimal and, as such, the Commission is closing this matter with this warning letter."

Find out what's happening in Albanywith free, real-time updates from Patch.

(The letter is attached to the story as a PDF.)

IN RESPONSE

Lieber said Thursday afternoon that he was happy the commission had upheld the 2010 vote despite his participation, "and that I was able to vote in the citywide carbon reduction plan." 

"It's unfortunate we have to be so careful now with these kinds of decisions that involve the whole city, but I do have my answer on that one," he continued.

Lieber said someone from the commission told him the body may reevaluate the way it handles decisions about actions related to citywide policies, and that he has been invited to participate in hearings about that this summer. 

In closing, he said that the letter "speaks for itself. I don't believe I did this with any intention of furthering my own personal wealth." 

He noted that the complaint initially was filed by two-time City Council hopeful .

The original complaint was not available on the commission's website, but O'Keefe clarified that her concern had not been about the approval of the Climate Action Plan overall, but that Lieber had objected to a proposal in the plan to raise height limits in commercial areas, even though he lives within 500 feet of one. As a result, she said, that proposal was removed from consideration.

If there's something in this article you think , or if something else is amiss, call editor Emilie Raguso at 510-459-8325 or email her at albany@patch.com.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here

The views expressed in this post are the author's own. Want to post on Patch?