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Public commenter says voters approved charter changes; urges ethics director hire
Summary
John Marshall Lee told the council that voters approved Charter Review Committee proposals requiring stronger ethics oversight and urged the council and mayor to fund and staff an ethics office and director rather than delay implementation.
John Marshall Lee, a Bridgeport resident who said he served on the Charter Review Committee, told the council the committee’s 13 members prioritized ethics reforms and that voters approved two committee proposals on the ballot. Lee said the city has not recruited or hired an ethics director to work with volunteer commissioners and described continued delay to staff the office as a failure to honor voter consent. “Any delay in maintaining the former status quo with no ethics director recruited, selected, and employed … fails to respond to the hearings, discussions, and the time allowed,” Lee said.
Lee asked the council to place a placeholder budget line so the mayor and council have a plan to implement the charter changes. He also noted gaps in other oversight bodies, saying the city lacks an operating Fair Housing Commission and that the Fair Rent Commission situation is different but still troubling.
Why it matters: Lee framed the issue as a direct consequence of a recent charter-review process that voters approved; he positioned hiring an ethics director as an implementation step the council and mayor must budget for to honor voter intent.
Council context: The transcript records the public request and the chair thanked Lee; the council did not record an immediate response or staff report during the hearing explaining why the position remains unfilled.
