This article has been updated with comment from Tompkins County Legislator Rich John.
Alana Byrd, spokesperson for People For The American Way, addressed the Tompkins County Ethics Advisory board during the public comment portion of Tuesday’s meeting.
Byrd is employed by former City of Ithaca mayor Svante Myrick, who currently serves as President and CEO of People For the American Way (PFAW.) Both Byrd & Myrick are subjects of the Ethics Advisory board’s probe.
Byrd read a prepared statement suggesting that Tompkins County Legislator and Ethics Advisory board chair Rich John failed to disclose conflicts of interest relating to the board’s work. Byrd alleges John “colluded” with Ithaca Common Councilperson Cynthia Brock in authoring her original ethics complaint. Byrd’s allegations of bias included the suggestion that John recuse himself from his role on the Ethics Advisory board.
Byrd’s comments acknowledged People For The American Way’s funding of the “grassroots coalition” that is ‘Ithacan’s For Reimagining Public Safety’ (IRPS.)
Brock’s complaint to the Ethics Advisory board served as the impetus for the board’s probe into Reimagining Public Safety (RPS), People For The American Way, Center For Policing Equity & the conduct of former mayor Myrick therein.
The City of Ithaca recently released a report it had commissioned into potential ethical breaches surrounding RPS. Brock has stated that the report showed that former mayor Myrick “was able to violate city policies and protocols to avoid transparency and accountability, to fund outside lobbyists,” with Byrd being a primary example.
Ithaca Crime has previously documented Byrd & other PFAW employees failure to disclose ties between PFAW & IRPS, during comment at public meetings and in editorials in local publications.
Byrd’s activities relating to PFAW & IRPS formed one of the underpinnings of Brock’s ethics complaint, comprising pages 44 & 45 of the document outlying her concerns.
John addressed issues surrounding his potential conflict of interest at the onset of the board’s proceedings in June of 2022. “If this were a legal matter, I would be conflicted out, meaning I shouldn’t participate,” John said.
“I’ve certainly weighed in on the Reimagining Public Safety process and taken votes on this issue. So it seems strange that it’s set that I’m on this Ethics Advisory board. But the county ethics code essentially tracks New York state law creating ethics advisory boards. And New York state law requires that a member of the legislature serve. And if I stepped away, one of my colleagues would have to take my place. And all of my colleagues on the legislature, to a greater or lesser extent all have the same problem of being involved in this issue,” John further explained.
“So a potential conflict of interest is not really potential. It exists and in some sense is unavoidable.”
“But New York State law uses the word ‘shall’ in the charge to the Ethics Advisory Board in directing us to receive and consider this complaint or any other. We do not have discretion to look the other way. There is no city Ethics Advisory Board, so it falls to us solely and alone to reach whatever decisions we end up making.”
When reached for comment, John denied the allegations. John cited two letters to City of Ithaca Attorney Ari Levine, dated December 14th and December 19th, further clarifying the relevance of the concerns raised by Byrd.
John’s full comments on apparent conflict of interest from the beginning of the investigation can be viewed below.