Brentwood commission dismisses ethics complaint against Vice Mayor Ray Little

The Brentwood Board of Commissioners voted unanimously to dismiss an ethics complaint against Vice Mayor Ray Little after an outside investigator concluded the actions at issue did not violate the city's ethics code.

An outside attorney, Gail Von Ashworth, was engaged to investigate a complaint filed March 31, 2025, by Rebecca Martinez alleging a violation of Article 6, Section 2-233(b) of the Brentwood Code of Ordinances. The investigator's report, read to the board at the meeting, found that Little had mistakenly replied-all to a constituent email on Oct. 24, 2024, and then used the Microsoft Outlook "recall" feature to try to remove the message. The investigator concluded that the recall action was a routine, available feature and that neither Little nor the technology director attempted to delete the message from the system.

Why it matters: The complaint led to a formal outside review and drew sustained public and commission attention. The board's dismissal ends the formal ethics process for this matter and prompted public remarks from Little and colleagues about the political and personal effects of the complaint.

The investigator's findings, as summarized to the commission, said Little did not knowingly send the email to other commissioners and did not use his position to secure any special privilege or exemption. The report noted that the city's technology director, Sarah Van Wormer, assisted with the recall function and that the recalled message remained on the system.

Vice Mayor Little addressed the commission after the dismissal and described the process as "a horrible thing" for his family and reputation. "To destroy someone's reputation or to try to for power, political gain is a horrible thing," he said, adding he would work to ensure the city's ethics process cannot be used for political ends.

Commission discussion before the vote included praise for the city attorney's handling of the investigation and a call from one commissioner for the episode to "serve as a cautionary tale against weaponizing ethics processes for political theater." After discussion, Commissioner Donahue moved to dismiss the complaint; Commissioner Garris seconded the motion. The motion passed unanimously.

The board's action closes the complaint file; the investigator recommended dismissal, and the commission followed that recommendation. The commission also discussed revisiting the ethics code to reduce the potential for similar politically charged filings near elections.

The city attorney presented the investigator's report and answered procedural questions during the meeting. The transcript shows the board received the report, voted to dismiss the complaint, and then allowed Vice Mayor Little to speak at length about the personal and political impact of the complaint.