The Bangor City Council member investigated for not disclosing a business connection will not be penalized by the council.
The council Monday unanimously agreed to accept the Board of Ethics’ opinion that Council member Cary Weston did not violate the city’s ethics code. Weston last summer failed to disclose his marketing firm’s ongoing financial relationship with a tourism group that receives city funding.
The vote means the city council will not penalize Weston by censuring or fining him.
The council voted in late January to direct the ethics board to investigate Weston, after he acknowledged he had not disclosed that the Greater Bangor Convention and Visitors Bureau was paying his company, Sutherland Weston Marketing Communications, for ongoing website services. He said he was unaware of the payments.
“I appreciate the expeditious work of the ethics committee,” Councilor Dan Tremble said at the Monday meeting. “We probably could have come to that same conclusion ourselves,” he said, adding that the ethics board exists for situations such as these.
Councilor Joe Perry echoed Tremble’s statements, saying had the council not sent the matter to be vetted by the board, “a cloud would have lingered. They’re an independent board to help us through these situations.”
Weston, citing a conflict of interest, did not participate in the discussion or vote Monday.
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