The following is a summary of the document forming the basis of the County Ethics Advisory Board probe into Reimagining Public Safety.
Acquired via FOIL request, the various portions of the document are accompanied by a brief summary and some relevant accompanying materials.
The next meeting of the Ethics Advisory Board is at the Tompkins County Legislature this Friday, July 29th, at 11 AM. The proceedings will also be available to be livestreamed on YouTube.
Originally submitted by Ithaca Common Councilperson Cynthia Brock to Tompkins County Attorney Bill Troy, on May 4th, 2022, this is the primary document summarizing Brock’s concerns regarding the Reimagining Public Safety process.
Supplemental materials referenced in Brock’s letter are as follows.
I. 3 April 2022 4:43pm email from Laura Lewis to Cynthia Brock that the City contracted to pay the working group leads Eric Rosario and Karen Yearwood.
II. 3 April 2022 11:32pm email from Cynthia Brock to Laura Lewis expressing that Council did not discuss or agree to payments to working group members, or 3rd party payments to working group members.
III. 5 April 2022 9:44am email from Cynthia Brock to Laura Lewis requesting information and clarification on the basis for approvals for City and 3rd party payments to working group members.
IV. 18 April 2022 9:23pm an email from Ari Lavine to Monalita Smiley responding to questions of gifting, solicitation, and payments to working group members
V. Chapter 55 of the City Code, Code of Ethics – appointed working group members are considered City Officials under the code.
VI. The City of Ithaca’s Gifting and Solicitation Policy – requests for donations for City services are not permitted.
VII is a machine generated transcript of WBEZ Chicago’s ‘Art of Power’ podcast featuring Center For Policing Equity’s Dr. Atiba Goff. The machine transcription was an issue at the first meeting of the Ethics Committee. It was determined by the committee to have a professional transcribe the podcast and to provide the audio for the committee to examine. Portions of the podcast audio relevant to that exchange can be heard below.
X. 2 March 2022 11:17 am email from Cynthia Brock to Council and staff asking how CPE and Matrix were selected.
XI. 15 March 2022 2:34pm email from Cynthia Brock to Laura Lewis and Steve Thayer requesting information on procurement policies.
XII. 4 May 2022 Agenda RPS Collective Weekly Project Management Meeting. Brock received the meeting announcement by mistake.
XIII. 29-30 April 2022 correspondence between Cynthia Brock and Laura Lewis regarding the RPS Collective. Brock sought an explanation as to the existence of the RPS Collective Weekly Project Management meeting to which she had been mistakenly invited. Brock states that questions regarding the purpose and scope of this work, who CPE worked for, and if it was approved had not been answered. Lewis responded by saying she had ceased the City’s involvement with CPE.
XIV. 10-12 January 2022 email from Alana Byrd to Jeffery Barken introducing herself as running the People for the American Way’s campaign to get the Reimagining Public Safety referendum passed in November, working closely with Svante Myrick to garner support and popular opinion, and that she is running Ithacans for Reimagining Public Safety. Ithaca Crime has written about Byrd’s ties to People For The American Way on more than one occasion.
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XV. 2 March 2022 People For The American Way Field Organizer job posting on Indeed.com.
XVI. 2 March 2022 People For The American Way Public Engagement Advisor job posting on Indeed.com
XVII. 4 April 2022 Cynthia Brock Editorial in the Ithaca Voice; ‘We Should Do Better‘
XVIII. 4 April 2022 Screenshots of Stacey Dimas’ Social Media Posts
XIX. 12 April 2022 Cynthia Brock to Bill Troy Request for Investigation
XX. 28 April 2022 Cynthia Brock to Bill Troy email
Brock’s submission of documents supporting her complaint were accompanied by a request for investigation if the activities described fall under the purview of the Hatch Act. The Hatch Act is “a federal law passed in 1939 that limits certain political activities of federal employees, as well as some state, D.C., and local government employees who work in connection with federally funded programs. The law’s purposes are to ensure that federal programs are administered in a nonpartisan fashion, to protect federal employees from political coercion in the workplace, and to ensure that federal employees are advanced based on merit and not based on political affiliation.”
Brock originally called for an Ethics investigation at the 4/27/22 City Administration meeting.
The full document can be viewed below.