La Quinta City Manager Frank Spevacek’s role in the 2012 hiring of a consulting firm that employed his son-in-law did not constitute a conflict of interest, the Fair Political Practices Commission has ruled. The ethics watchdog says it found no evidence that Spevacek had financial interest in the company and, under FPPC rules, spouses of children are not considered “immediate family.”
Resident Linda Gunnett filed the complaint against Spevacek in 2016. Her complaint also alleged that Spevacek and his son-in-law, Brandon Fender, had failed to disclose economic interests related to Fender’s ownership of the Good Beer Company. But “the investigation did not find evidence of economic interests of Spevacek or Fender that they were required to disclose on their SEIs (statements of economic interests) that they in fact failed to disclose,” according to FPPC assistant enforcement chief Dave Bainbridge.
Spevacek said the FPPC’s ruling affirms the 2012 opinion of the city attorney, who also found no ethical or legal dilemma in retaining the consulting group.
Read more at the Desert Sun.