Ethics investigation of Warrenton city commissioner ends with letter
May 24—WARRENTON — An investigation by the Oregon Government Ethics Commission into an infill received by City Commissioner Rick Newton has ended with a letter of education.
In April, the Ethics Commission voted to investigate an infill that Newton received from a city-approved road reconstruction project last summer. Last week, the commission unanimously approved a stipulated final order, which provides that Newton will receive a letter of education, rather than a financial penalty, for violating a state law.
"I'd just like to get this over with, because if the building official would've given me the correct answer to start with we would not be here," Newton told the Ethics Commission on Friday.
The project manager from Big River Construction, the company doing the road reconstruction, communicated with Newton before dumping the infill on a neighboring property owned by Newton and his girlfriend, who were planning to build housing units.
Under state law, no public official may receive a gift from sources with legislative or administrative interests in excess of $50 per calendar year. Newton previously confirmed the infill far exceeded $50.
Newton has said numerous times that he was intending to save money for the city and Big River.
The ethics complaint was submitted earlier this year by a city police detective. Mathew Workman, the city's police chief, said that the detective submitted the complaint as a private citizen.
The complaint raised questions about whether Newton used his position to get preferential treatment in regard to permits and sanctions. But Susan Myers, an investigator with the Ethics Commission, said it did not appear that Newton engaged in a prohibited use of office or used his position to get special treatment.
While civil penalties can range up to $5,000 per infraction under the law that Newton violated, the final order settled on a letter of education, the lowest possible punishment.
