Lawmaker broke no ethics rules

Published 9:00 pm Monday, July 25, 2005

OLYMPIA – Democratic Rep. John McCoy broke no rules this year pushing for a law that would have steered millions of tax dollars to the Quil Ceda Village commercial center that he manages, a member of the state Legislative Ethics Board said Monday.

The panel found “no merit” to a complaint filed against McCoy, D-Tulalip, who sought passage of legislation allowing the tribal confederation to retain sales tax generated by businesses in the I-5 retail center.

“Everything that John has done has been ethical and above board,” said fellow Rep. John Lovick, D-Mill Creek, one of nine members on the ethics board.

Other board members reached Monday declined comment until a formal ruling is issued. That could come next week at the earliest.

“I didn’t think it had any merit,” McCoy said Monday when told of Lovick’s comments. “That’s all I can say until I see what the (order) has to say.”

Philip Brendale of Yakima, who filed the complaint in April, could not be reached Monday.

The complaint accused the lawmaker of improperly lobbying and using public funds to influence the passage of House Bill 1721.

Brendale alleged McCoy violated a rule barring a “state officer or state employee” from providing direct or indirect assistance to a business entity in which that officer or employee works.

Brendale said McCoy should not have voted on the bill because as a member of the Tulalip Tribes he stood to benefit financially if the law passed. McCoy did vote when the bill passed the House 93-3. It died in the Senate where it did not come up for a vote.

“We discussed it at length,” Lovick said. “Every single member agreed that there was no direct benefit to John McCoy. There was no appearance that he did anything wrong.”

The nine-member ethics board includes four current legislators, two Republicans and two Democrats.

McCoy, who represents the 38th Legislative District, said in April that he consulted lawyers for the House of Representatives to ensure he did not run afoul of state laws governing legislators’ behavior.

“I do have a salary from Quil Ceda Village, but I do not have a financial interest in Quil Ceda Village,” McCoy said at the time the complaint was filed.

He declined to divulge his salary, but said it is not tied to the center’s profits, nor would it have increased with passage of the legislation.

Brendale contends that McCoy improperly used state resources to lobby for the measure by sending e-mails to other lawmakers. McCoy said in April it was not lobbying, it was “educating. There was a lot of disinformation flying around.”

When the ethics board issues its formal decision it will include its “findings of fact, conclusions of law” and dismissal of the complaint in accordance with board rules.

Mike O’Connell, counsel for the ethics board, investigated the allegations and presented his findings Thursday.

Following the hearing, O’Connell began writing a draft ruling. He hoped to send it out to members Monday. He declined to discuss the panel’s deliberations.

If no changes are requested in the draft, it will be signed by the chairman, former Supreme Court Justice James Anderson of Bellevue, and then made public. O’Connell said that any member can suggest changes or request further discussion at the panel’s next meeting Aug. 18.

Reporter Jerry Cornfield: 360- 352-8623 or jcornfield@heraldnet.com.