Maricopa elected city leaders last night unanimously voted not to act on an ethics complaint a Province resident filed against Councilmember Vincent Manfredi last month.

Council members said the panel’s ethics code was not intended to allow third parties like private residents to file ethics complaints against their elected leaders. The ethics policy’s intent was to allow one council member to file an ethics complaint against another.

“Based on the previous council’s actions and their thought process and direction on the ethics code, it seems to me that the ethics code is to be used by council members to  bring up ethics issues among ourselves rather than a forum for the community to assess their feelings about the elected officials,” said Councilmember AnnaMarie Knorr, who was appointed earlier this month to the council seat vacated by Rich Vitiello, who is running for Pinal County supervisor.

Knorr said the community’s power is to vote out council members. She voiced concern about allowing residents to file ethics complaints and the legal costs the city would incur.

Councilmember Eric Goettl, who was also appointed, said he believes the code was intended to allow council members “to police each other.” He called it an “internal check and balance between us” on the council.

Councilmembers Henry Wade and Bob Marsh agreed. Even if the ethics code is only to be used by council members only, a resident can still discuss complaints with a council member, Marsh said.

“Then that member can filed a complaint against another member,”
Marsh said. “So there is a path.”

Vice Mayor Amber Liermann said she agreed with previous council discussion on the ethics issue and moved the council to vote against the action on the complaint.

Province resident Terry Clark filed an ethics complaint April 23 against Manfredi.

Clark charges Manfredi with “bullying, name calling and calling out of people while discussing city business” in a formal complaint made April 23.

“He called me a ‘snowflake,’ a ‘coward’ and a lot of other choice words that I won’t repeat,” Clark told InMaricopa.

Clark filed his complaint in a 12-page document the city released in a records request.

The council met in an executive session last night before its regular meeting.

Responding to the council’s action, an angry and frustrated Clark called Mayor Nancy Smith and the City of Maricopa “corrupt” and Manfredi her “little hit man” in an interview this morning.

Clark said nowhere in his filing did it say the complaint was intended for “internal use only,” meaning one council member filing against another.

“To be honest, I am going to do everything I can, and make it public that Nancy Smith, Liermann, Marsh and Goettl, all of them are kicked out of office,” Clark said. “There’s a cabal here and Nancy Smith is the head of it.”

Vincent Manfredi is an owner of InMaricopa.