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FLC ethics complaint will be heard

College president Thomas accused of wrongfully accepting gifts
Thomas

The Colorado Independent Ethics Commission has deemed an ethics complaint against Fort Lewis College President Dene Kay Thomas “not frivolous” and will hear the case sometime this fall.

The complaint, filed by a limited liability corporation formed by an anonymous Durango resident, alleges that Thomas violated a state constitutional amendment that bans government employees from accepting gifts when she attended an alumni dinner in Dubai hosted and paid for by a wealthy alumnus.

The dinner and cocktails event was held at the Burj Al Arab, a sail-shaped hotel perched on the Persian Gulf coast. It has been called the world’s most luxurious hotel.

Further, the complaint alleges that Thomas violated the college’s reporting requirements by claiming “excessive per diem,” as well as reimbursement for her husband’s plane ticket when the two traveled to the United Arab Emirates on an alumni relations trip in February.

The college reimbursed the $1,037 for Gordon Thomas’ ticket because several sources had told Dene Thomas that, because of Muslim customs, the FLC alumnus, Sheik Adel Aujan, might not meet with her if she was not accompanied by her spouse.

The complaint was filed by Lark’s Wing LLC in April.

During its July 1 meeting, the commission voted 4-0, with one commissioner absent, to hear the case.

The five-person commission was formed in 2008, two years after voters approved Article 29, which prohibits elected officials and government employees from accepting gifts valued at more than $53. The commissioners give advice on ethics issues related to the amendment and hear potential violations.

The commission also has the power to investigate potential violations of other standards of conduct and reporting requirements not related to Article 29. Jane Feldman, the commission’s executive director, said she hasn’t determined whether that authority extends to Fort Lewis College’s travel reimbursement policies.

Feldmen will investigate the Lark’s Wing complaint by going through college records and interviewing employees, then present her findings to commissioners. A hearing date will be set when she has finished the investigation, she said. It most likely will be at the commission’s October meeting, she said.

Thomas sent a letter to the commission in May defending her spending and reimbursement claims. The commission received the letter before its July meeting, but Feldman said she could not say whether commissioners viewed it before they voted to hear the ethics complaint.

In the letter, Thomas said her expenses were pre-approved by the college and aligned with the college’s travel policy. Fort Lewis College revised its travel policy to allow for reimbursement for the travel costs of the president’s spouse on Jan. 17.

Thomas also emphasized that the trip aligned with her duties as college president. She spent her six-day trip to the United Arab Emirates sightseeing, visiting with education officials and meeting alumni. The alumni reception at the center of the ethics complaint was hosted by FLC alumnus Sheik Adel Aujan, who is chairman of the Middle East’s largest independent beverage company. Thomas said she attended the reception on behalf of FLC and used the event to speak about fundraising opportunities at the college.

She requested that the commission dismiss both portions of the complaint.

Thomas did not respond to a request for comments, but in an email response, FLC spokesman Mitch Davis said the college looks forward to “responding and correcting the factual inaccuracies in the claim.”

The fact that the commission voted to hear the complaint doesn’t indicate that commissioners think Thomas is in the wrong, said Louis Toro, director of the nonprofit Colorado Ethics Watch, a liberal-leaning organization that filed an ethics complaint against Secretary of State Scott Gessler last year.

“I don’t think you can assume from the fact that (the commission) accepted (the case) that they think there has been a violation,” Toro said. “It means there are factual disputes that they need to investigate.”

Toro also commented that it was unfortunate a Durango resident felt that it was necessary to mask his or her identity by creating a limited liability corporation in order to feel comfortable filing the complaint. Colorado Ethics Watch got “smeared” when it filed complaints in the past, he said.

Feldman said she thought this would be the first time the ethics commission will hear a case involving a university president.

ecowan@durangoherald.com

May 25, 2013
Dubai trip elicits an ethics complaint


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