OLYMPIA – A Yakima man on Friday accused state Rep. John McCoy, D-Tulalip, of violating state ethics rules because he “engaged in lobbying activities” for and voted on a bill to bring sales tax dollars to the Quil Ceda Village commercial center that McCoy manages.
In a complaint filed with the state Legislative Ethics Board, Philip Brendale said McCoy should not have voted on House Bill 1721 because it meant money for the Tulalip Tribes, and in turn “a direct financial benefit” to him as a tribal member.
“It didn’t look right to me,” Brendale said Friday. “I am asking the commission to establish whether or not this guy is playing on the same field as everyone else.”
McCoy, who represents the 38th Legislative District, said ethics counsel for the House of Representatives reviewed the complaint and agreed that the accusations are false.
“Since before the bill was dropped, I’ve kept open communications with the ethics attorney, and he assured me that I’m on solid ground,” McCoy said Friday.
The bill passed the House but died in the Senate. It would have let the Tulalip Tribes retain some sales taxes generated by businesses in the retail center next to I-5.
“I do have a salary from Quil Ceda Village, but I do not have a financial interest in Quil Ceda Village,” he said. “We have an ordinance against it.”
He declined to divulge his salary, but said it is not tied to the center’s profits, nor would it have risen with passage of the legislation.
Ethics board staff will determine whether an investigation and hearing on the complaint are warranted. The board is comprised of nine members, including four lawmakers, and will next meet April 21.
Brendale, an American Indian and retired logger, is no newcomer to controversy with tribes. In 1989, he prevailed in the U.S. Supreme Court in a legal dispute with the Yakama Nation over land use.
On House Bill 1721, Brendale spoke at a forum hosted by the Marysville-Tulalip Community Association, which opposed the measure. McCoy attended but did not talk to Brendale.
Brendale contends that McCoy improperly used state resources to lobby for the measure by sending e-mails to other lawmakers.
“The timing, tone and tenor of said e-mail were not for legitimate legislative purposes but was for direct personal benefit,” he wrote.
McCoy said he was not lobbying, “I was educating. There was a lot of disinformation flying around.” Opponents were calling legislators, who in turn sought him out for information, he said.
Brendale said McCoy could have avoided any perception of conflict of interest by recusing himself from the vote March 9. The House passed the bill on a 93-3 vote.
McCoy said lawmakers cannot recuse themselves or abstain.
“There are only ‘yes’ or ‘no’ buttons,” McCoy said. “To be excused, you have to be out of the building, and the leaders frown on that.”
Reporter Jerry Cornfield: 360-352-8623 or jcornfield@heraldnet.com.
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