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E-mail StoryWeir asked for economic details
Official dodging questions about business holdings, broker who filed complaint says
| Wednesday, Feb 21 2007 9:55 PM
Last Updated: Wednesday, Feb 21 2007 9:58 PM
The Fair Political Practices Commission has asked Bakersfield City Councilman Ken Weir to supply more information about his economic interests.
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Ken Weir
It comes after a local resident asked the FPPC to look into whether Weir violated conflict-of-interest rules when he participated in a closed-door council meeting involving a legal case brought by a former accounting client of his.
Since then, questions have also been raised about whether Weir fully filled out forms for public officials to disclose their economic interests.
In an FPPC letter to Weir dated Feb. 13, he was asked to supply more information:
* the "... precise location, i.e., address or assessor's parcel number, for the interest in real property described at Lene Place, Bakersfield, CA 93306."
* Income received from Weir & Associates Accountancy Corp., "if you have an ownership interest of 10 percent or more ..." Weir is listed as sole proprietor of the firm, Weir & Associates, according to the firm's Web site.
When asked if this was accurate, Weir said Wednesday, "I haven't looked at the wording on my Web site in a long time."
He said he received the commission's letter and will respond to the requests in a timely manner.
Weir has 30 days to submit the information to the city clerk, according to the commission's letter.
Elected and appointed officials and certain city employees have to complete a Form 700, which discloses to the public what kind of economic interests they have and whether there's a conflict, said Pamela McCarthy, Bakersfield's city clerk.
She said more than 200 people associated with the city of Bakersfield file the forms.
The FPPC reviews the forms submitted by elected officials and planning commissioners. The letter Weir received came from an internal review by commission staff, said spokeswoman Whitney Barazoto.
She couldn't say how often filers are asked to submit amendments. Amendments are checked against the letter requesting them and added to the filer's documentation, she said.
In general, "the filing officer would not penalize someone for filing the amendment," she said.
If there are omissions, filing officers have the option of sending the case to the commission's enforcement. Barazoto could not say whether this would happen with Weir.
If enforcement action is taken, filed amendments are typically viewed as evidence of good faith in an enforcement proceeding.
But a Bakersfield man says he alerted the commission to look into Weir's statements of economic interest.
Stuart Gentry is an insurance broker and vice chairman of the city's Fire Civil Service Commission. He earlier filed a complaint with the commission claiming Weir violated conflict-of-interest rules.
Gentry said Weir has consistently incorrectly filled out the Form 700, which he finds "mind-boggling." He thinks Weir is trying to dodge questions about his business and property holdings and would like Weir to acknowledge them and apologize for not being up front.
"He should be held accountable to the same standards that he holds us accountable to," Gentry said.