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Mayor could still catch heat for alleged ethics violation

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by Bridget Roby

Friday, August 31, 2007

Mayor Dave Cieslewicz is currently under review for potentially violating a city ethics code during his re-election campaign last spring.

The complaint , filed by former Ald. Dorothy Borchardt ,claims Cieslewicz posed for a photograph with Madison firefighters at their fire station and used that photo in his campaign.

"Where he violated the ethics code was when he used it in his campaign," Borchardt said. "That’s using something that belongs to the taxpayers to better himself."

In a jurisdictional hearing held Aug. 20, Borchardt filed three separate complaints against the mayor. The ethics board found only one of the complaints to be a possible violation.

"We dismissed two, but we found that the third — regarding having his photo taken with the fire department — was a potential violation of the city ethics code," said City Council President Mike Verveer, who also sits on the ethics board.

According to Verveer, the ethics board voted unanimously that the photo taken with the Madison firefighters was a potential violation.

As a result, an evidentiary hearing has been scheduled for Oct. 1, as Cieslewicz's attorney requested at least one month's time to prepare.

If the ethics board finds that Cieslewicz did violate the city ethics code, they will recommend a penalty for the mayor to the city council.

Cieslewicz communications director George Twigg said the mayor made a sincere effort to make sure all rules were followed during his campaign.

"If it was a mistake, it was an honest mistake," Twigg said. "We'll respect what the ethics board wants to do in this case."

The reason Borchardt said she is pursuing the complaint is she fears the city would see even more ethics code violations in the next election cycle if no one called the mayor on his mistake.

"The fine isn't even as important as saying it is an ethics violation," said Borchardt. "You can't use public property for your own private gain."

According to Verveer, however, the ethics board does not receive many complaints in a given year.

"It's rather unusual, and that may be an indication, I would hope, that there aren't very many violations that occur," Verveer said.

Borchardt said she feels certain the board will see the photographs as the violation they are.

"I sure hope that the ethics board realized the seriousness of it," Borchardt said. "Is this really what we want to have happen in Madison?"

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