Update by Brian: Despite all the controversy surrounding him, the Providence City Council reappointed Stephen Durkee to another five-year term.  I would like to commend the four Council members who voted against Durkee's reappointment: Narducci, Aponte, Young and Luna.

Update: Sources are telling Ethics RI that the Mayor's office is desperately lobbying members of the City Council to save the failing re-appointment of Providence's ethically challenged architect Stephen Durkee who is the subject of an active state Ethics Commission investigation.  Apparently the City Solicitor is going around telling Council members that the Olneyville Neighborhood Association's complaint against Durkee is without merit and that it's no big deal that he actively chaired multiple City Plan Commission hearings where his clients had a direct interest in the outcome.  Just watch the video evidence and ask yourself if Durkee followed the Ethics Commission's guidelines for recusal:

Recusal, under the Code of Ethics, refers to a public official or employee declining to participate in a matter because of a potential conflict of interest under the Code of Ethics. Recusal is not the same as abstaining which may mean that the public official will not vote, but has participated in discussions on a matter. Recusal means that you are not participating in deliberations or debates, making recommendations, giving advice, considering findings, or in any other way assuming responsibility for or participating in any aspect of the work or decision-making relating to the matter where there are potential conflicts of interest.

The Council shouldn't trust the City Solicitor's politically motivated interpretation for for a second.  After all, the exact same City Solicitor is suing the City Council over the PERA ordinance that Council members spent months diligently working on.  Hopefully Councilman Aponte and Councilman Luna can fight back this last gasp effort to save Durkee's re-appointment, which is obviously hanging by a string.

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It looks like there are even MORE complaints of conflict of interest against Providence's ethically challenged architect Stephen Durkee.  That's the same Durkee who is currently being investigated by the Rhode Island Ethics Commission for failing to properly recuse himself from a Providence City Plan Commission hearing, which he chaired, where his client Struever Bros. had an $8 million tax break on the line.

And now the Olneyville Neighborhood Association has filed two new complaints alleging similar ethical lapses.  One complaint alleges Durkee again failed to recuse himself from a hearing where one of his clients, Brown University, had an interest.  According to the Code of Ethics, recusal means you don't vote or participate at all in a hearing where there's a reasonable expectation of a conflict.  A second complaint alleges Durkee failed to properly disclose his financial interest in a property he bought from the city then quickly flipped for a profit:

The first of the two new complaints addresses Durkee's failure to recuse himself from chairing meetings concerning the Brown University Master plan, even though his architectural firm has an extensive and ongoing business relationship with the University. According to the minutes of the Ethics Commission for June 17, 2008, Durkee originally requested an advisory opinion from the commission but then he “recognized the need to recuse” and withdrew his request. However, at the CPC meeting later that day, Mr. Durkee did not recuse, and in fact chaired the meeting. The Department of Planning and Development has no recusal form on file from Mr. Durkee for that date. Durkee also chaired the December 1, 2009 CPC meeting at which the Brown University Institutional Master Plan Amendment #2 was discussed and according to the minutes he voted to approve it. As a side note, Mr. Durkee’s architectural firm is located in one of the areas affected by Brown’s Master Plan.

 

The second complaint charges that Durkee failed to disclose in a property that he bought from the City of Providence for $100,000 in May, 2008 and resold in September for $145,000. Most public officials are required by law to submit information annually to the Ethics Commission identifying their business interests.

It's clear that Durkee doesn't posses and ethical bone in his body and thinks it's perfectly acceptable to use his powerful position as Chairman to directly benefit himself and his architecture firm.

The Providence City Council needs to put a stop to this and DENY Durkee's re-appointment to the City Plan Commission, which for some inexplicable reason is on the Council's February 4th agenda.  How can the Council possibly vote on an appointee who is the subject of an active Ethics Commission investigation and now two new ethics complaints?!

Fortunately, sources tell Ethics RI that Councilman Luis Aponte and Councilman Miguel Luna are leading the charge to deny Durkee's re-appointment and 5 more years of endless conflicts of interest.  Here's hoping the rest of the Council stands up for strong ethics on Providence's boards and commissions and votes down Durkee's re-appointment!