The Office of Campaign Finance has cleared D.C. Council member Marion Barry ( D-Ward 8 ) of violating city laws in giving then-girlfriend Donna Watts-Brighthaupt a $5,000-a-month contract in 2009.
The D.C. Office of Campaign Finance director has admonished former Mayor Marion Barry for failing to disclose his relationship with a woman whom he helped award a $15,000 city contract.
In an order Friday, Cecily E. Collier-Montgomery said Barry adversely affected the public’s confidence in the integrity of the city government. Her office said he didn’t violate D.C. campaign finance reform and conflict-of-interest laws.
Collier-Montgomery she urged him to access resources on legal ethics and standards of conduct.
At a news conference Monday, Barry said the office did a thorough probe, which has vindicated him.
Barry’s office awarded his former girlfriend, Donna Watts-Brighthaupt, a contract to draft a proposal for a youth program in southeast D.C.
Statement from Councilmember Marion Barry:
As you know, the Office of Campaign Finance (OCF)
Order was issued on Friday, 30 July 2010 regarding Resolution 18-418, Censure of Councilmember Marion Barry and Enforcement Referral Resolution of 2010, March 2, 2010.
I, as well as my attorney Fred Cooke, have read the report several times. The report is good news for those who believe in justice, fairness, due process, and truth.
The process that the OCF used is to be commended. They were thorough, comprehensive, fair, and factual. Whereas, the process Mr. Bennett used was biased, contained many half-truths, assumptions, mis-statements, represented a lack of due process, and was designed to be headline-grabbing as opposed to stating the truth.
Mr. Bennett was the judge, jury and the executor. His attitude was guilty until proven innocent. The OCFs attitude was the American way, innocent until proven guilty.
In reading the report, there is no way anyone could not conclude that this is not a vindication for me of Mr. Bennetts multiple charges against me.
I have called this press conference to highlight what the OCF Order did and did not find:
It did NOT find that I violated D.C. Official Code §§1-1106.01(a)-(b)&(g) when I sought and obtained D.C. City Council approval of a personal services contract to Ms. Watts-Brighthaupt because Ms. Watts-Brighthaupt was qualified, by education and experience, for such a personal services contract and produced a satisfactory written product for me; and, it cannot be reasonably concluded that I hired Ms. Watts-Brighthaupt under a $10,000 personal services contract to repay me for the loan of one mortgage payment in the amount of $700.00;
It did not find that I violated D.C. Official Code §1-1106.01(g) when I sought and obtained D.C. City Council approval of a personal services contract to Ms. Watts-Brighthaupt;
It did NOT find that I violated D.C. Official Code §1-1104.03, when I supported the receipt of earmark grants by various Ward Eight Councils;
And, it did NOT find that I circumvented legal restrictions on the type and amount of funding that may be used for CSO programs, pursuant to D.C. Official Code §1-1104.03, because, I did not control or direct the expenditure of funds from earmark grants awarded to the Ward Eight Councils, which were documented and structured, prior to the origination of earmark grants.
It did find that my actions created the appearance of using public office for private gain, using government property for purposes that were not officially approved, failure at all times to maintain a high level of ethical conduct in the performance of official duties which adversely affected public confidence in the integrity of the District Government.
These findings are much, much less serious than those that the Council and the public were led to believe by Mr. Bennett.
I have previously apologized to the public regarding the appearances my actions in this matter created, and I therefore, consider this matter closed and over.