Checks in the Mail.
By Jim Conley • Jun 28th, 2007 • Email This Post to a Friend •
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There’s an interesting side note on the threatening letters being sent to plaintiffs in the St. Aidan’s suit. The attorney for the Archdiocese (and pen pal to the plaintiffs) is Michael Vhay of the firm DLA Piper.
Selectman Jesse Mermell cashed two campaign checks from attorneys at DLA Piper - one for $500 and one for $250 [see campaign finance reports]. And that’s just from the report filed before the election. (The finance report required after the election has not been posted on the Town’s Web site.)
Of course, as a town meeting member Mermell was a vigorous opponent of a plan to limit local campaign donations. And for good reason. Otherwise, the $500 checks from junior associates at DLA Piper would have to be returned.
And I imagine that Mermell will return the donations, so as not to appear to be in conflict when she votes on the question of giving the firm’s client (the Boston Archdiocese) $1.5 million in public funds. Funds that could be used to pay Vhay for his proliferate and poisonous penmanship.
Update: To be clear, the Massachusetts law on ethics among public officials does not appear to view accepting campaign donations and voting on matters of policy as constituting a conflict. For instance, Selectman’s Chair Gil Hoy gets lots of donations from real estate agents. Yet, he might decide a question of policy that will affect them as a class. And that’s the reason they support him. Knowing that, voters may want to make a change.
The more troubling area has to do with the transfer of public assets to third parties (or non-governmental organizations). That’s what faces Mermell. Is it acceptable to collect large campaign donations from members of a law firm whose client is asking for a gift of $1.5 million from the Town of Brookline? Better yet, should she have taken the donations knowing that the same firm has previously been involved in loan negotiations with the Town?
I don’t think so. But it wasn’t “Jesse’s turn” because she was going to draw bold lines in matters involving real estate developers.
Jim Conley is publisher of On Brookline.
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