Over a year and a half after the Durango Board of Ethics received a complaint about a former Financial Advisory Board member, the board’s review of the complaint filed Jan. 19, 2024, appears to be nearing its end.
On Nov. 5, the board will discuss three options at its disposal concerning a complaint filed by former City Councilor Melissa Youssef against former FAB member John Simpson.
Michael Goldman, special counsel to the ethics board, said at a September meeting the ethics board could 1) dismiss the complaint, 2) make a finding on the complaint, or 3) proceed with a hearing process.
Should the board find that Simpson violated the city’s codes of ethics or conduct, it would submit that finding to City Council, which would be responsible for assigning any penalty or punishment, Goldman said.
Board members briefly contemplated the merits of holding a hearing.
Goldman said the only reason to hold a hearing that is obvious to him is because Simpson has repeatedly requested one.
“He has been quite insistent throughout the process, kind of demanding that there will be a hearing and so forth. Whether we want to abide by his request or not is another judgment for us to make,” Goldman said.
Board chairman Andrew Dennison said Simpson has threatened to take the ethics board to court if he isn’t granted a hearing, and board members asked if that should be taken into consideration.
Goldman said the ethics board should not be concerned with avoiding lawsuits and instead with doing “the right thing.”
Possible penalties include a written reprimand, a public censure and being made ineligible to serve in any appointed or liaison role at the city, according to the city, although Simpson doesn’t currently serve on a city board or commission.
An investigative report was completed more than a year ago, but the ethics board’s review process fell into limbo following the resignation of two board members one after the other in August 2024 that left the board without a quorum.
Although the ethics board regained a quorum after the appointment of four new board members in October 2024, its review remained paused pending a district court decision about whether Simpson violated the Colorado Open Records Act when he withheld emails between himself and former Councilor Olivier Bosmans requested by The Durango Herald in a 2023 records request.
Sixth Judicial District Judge Suzanne Carlson granted a summary judgment on Aug. 6 finding Simpson did violate CORA by withholding two emails from his response to the records request.
Carlson further said the Board of Ethics may proceed with its review of the complaint against Simpson, who had previously argued to the ethics board it lacks the jurisdiction to determine whether he violated CORA as the complaint against him claims.
Simpson has made numerous attempts to get ethics board members to recuse themselves from the complaint and to have the complaint tossed out entirely, which so far have been unsuccessful.
He threatened to take the ethics board to court, which the city took him up on when it requested summary judgments about his CORA violation and the ethics board’s ability to proceed with its review of the complaint against Simpson.
Michael Blackwell, an additional special counsel hired to serve as a third party to the ethics board’s process last month, addressed five motions to dismiss the complaint filed by Simpson and said Simpson has filed seven motions for dismissal at various times since the ethics board began reviewing the complaint.
The Board of Ethics rejected each of the five motions for dismissal reviewed at the meeting.
cburney@durangoherald.com
