An outside attorney hired to determine whether East Ridge Mayor Brent Lambert violated an ethics rule by accepting contributions from local developers in 2017 has concluded that a citizen's complaint is "without merit."
East Ridge resident Laura Seneker filed a complaint in May alleging that Lambert set a special-called council meeting on June 2, 2017, "for no apparent reason," pushed through a vote that authorized $4 million for infrastructure improvements on Interstate 75 Exit 1, and then 12 days later received $5,000 in campaign contributions, $3,000 of which came from developers working on that project.
Seneker said that behavior violated a 2006 ethics ordinance that says city officials may not accept any money or gifts that "reasonably may be interpreted as an attempt to influence his decision," and asked for outside counsel to evaluate her complaint.
But Dunlap, Tennessee, attorney Stephen Greer, who was hired by East Ridge in June, said Seneker's allegation was "unfounded."
In a July 17 letter released Thursday to the public, Greer said he met with Lambert and East Ridge City Manager Scott Miller to discuss the complaint in detail, reviewed documents, council minutes and laid out four main points for why Seneker's complaint was "without merit."
First, Greer said, Seneker's complaint portrayed Lambert as "instrumental" in setting a special meeting on June 2, 2017, as opposed to waiting for the regular council meeting, which was six days later.
"In fact, it was City Manager Miller who urged and prompted the special meeting on June 2 as a result of concerns that he had about the timing of planning and development of a commercial enterprise at the Exit 1 interchange," Greer wrote.
According to city charter, the mayor, or the vice mayor when acting as mayor, has the authority to call a special meeting. The Times Free Press previously reported that the local developers who gave $3,000 in campaign contributions to Lambert own the land being developed at the Exit 1 interchange. Since 2012, Exit 1 has been the focal point of revitalization and now includes a Chick-fil-A and a Bass Pro Shops.
Greer's second point: Lambert didn't propose the motion; a different council member, Esther Helton, did. Furthermore, the motion passed unanimously, so nothing would have changed if Lambert had recused himself or voted against it, Greer wrote.
Miller told Greer the urgency for the June 2 meeting was because the city needed plans to be finalized and approved "in order to retain the commitment by the developer for a commercial enterprise, Chick-Filet [sic]," the letter says.
As for the developers' campaign contributions, Greer said Lambert showed him copies of invitations to a June 10, 2017, fundraiser that were sent prior to the June 2 meeting. Lambert told him of those invited, he received five contributions, three of which were from Exit 1 project developers.
Lambert and his attorney, Bill Speek, did not bring that invitation to a press conference Thursday. Speek said he did not have any information about when or where the fundraiser was held, but added that it was a "general request or invite to come hear a candidate, support a candidate if you chose to."
"It was general," Speek said. "I don't think it was a mail out with a return letter and an envelope."
Lambert did not take direct questions but read a statement thanking Greer and his supporters throughout the process.
"As with all political issues, I fully understand that it takes time to gather the facts and to get the truth out," Lambert said. "Still, it has been very difficult for me and my family to remain silent in the face of baseless and petty, politically-motivated accusations."
In response, Seneker said the findings are what "most citizens believed would come out of City Hall."
"And once again, Mayor Lambert demeans his citizens by saying what I did was petty politics," he said. "I did what I did because the Mayor got paid for years of service to the Exit 1 developers, including the setting of the June 2017 meeting."
Contact staff writer Zack Peterson at zpeterson@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6347. Follow him on Twitter @zackpeterson918.
Contact staff writer Rosana Hughes at rhughes@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6327. Follow her on Twitter @HughesRosana.