SARATOGA SPRINGS – Mayor Meg Kelly suggests there should be consequences for filing “frivolous” ethics complaints.
In a statement that continued a war of words between Kelly and Public Safety Commissioner Robin Dalton, the mayor asserted Dalton’s recent ethics complaint against her was “baseless and absurd,” and had only been issued to damage Kelly’s reputation.
Dalton countered that she’s not surprised by the Board of Ethics’ determination that cleared Kelly, considering the mayor appointed each member of that board.
Dalton also told The Daily Gazette that Kelly tried to have the city attorney talk Dalton out of filing a formal ethics inquiry.
The Board of Ethics recently cleared Kelly of any wrongdoing concerning Dalton’s complaint that alleged Kelly unfairly publicized her employer, The Charlton School in Burnt Hills.
The board concluded there was no reasonable cause for believing the city official violated any section of the city ethics code.
Dalton’s three-part complaint alleged Kelly favored students from the school for an award for artwork involving a Juneteenth celebration; favored students for an internship; and alleged improper influence over a $200,000 award to the local school from a charity.
The board said the first two allegations “approach frivolous” because there’s no city policy regarding the posting of art, delivering non-monetary certificates and/or giving tours to schoolchildren.
The third allegation was “more worthy of consideration,” yet it was unsupported and contradicted by the facts, the board determined.
“Our analysis did not find the subject party used the City position for any ‘personal financial benefit,’ ” the decision read.
Kelly and Dalton didn’t seek re-election. Dalton made a failed bid for mayor last month.
In a statement, Kelly revealed what she said was Dalton’s real motive.
“Ms. Dalton and I have had a strained relationship,” Kelly said. “Although we tried to work towards a productive, effective tenure together, it became apparent early on that she was not up to the task. Under her leadership, our City became less hospitable and volatile. That is her legacy.”
Kelly pointed out that her deputy mayor, Lisa Shields, hadn’t endorsed Dalton for mayor.
“I believe this was taken as a personal slight and this contributed to the public crusade to damage my reputation,” Kelly said.
“As I was forced to go through our City’s ethics review process, hire an attorney and deal with the inaccurate and defamatory statements in the complaint, I realized that our City’s ethics code lacked some important components,” Kelly said.
There are no consequences for people who file frivolous complaints with the Board of Ethics, nor are there penalties against “those who leak complaints for the purpose of weaponizing our ethics process for political purposes,” said Kelly, who asked the Board of Ethics to consider amending the code, so that the board’s process cannot be misused and abused going forward.
Kelly quoted former U.S. Secretary of Labor Raymond Donovan, who, in 1987, after being cleared of an ethics complaint, famously asked, “Which office do I go to get my reputation back?”
Kelly said during her four years as mayor the city overcame a litany of challenges, including a lightning strike that damaged City Hall and displaced the city government for nearly two years, and the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic.
These and other significant events were “the best” of what public service offered, Kelly said.
The attack by Dalton, Kelly contrasted, represented “the worst.”
“These actions are unbecoming of someone honored with the title of Commissioner by our City,” Kelly said. “Moreover, the damage to public discourse when someone entrusted with the public service of serving as Commissioner of Public Safety weaponizes the City’s ethics process for petty personal political purposes is, well, irreparable.”
Reached for comment, Dalton said she waited until after November’s election to file the complaint because she didn’t want it to be viewed as a political statement.
“But after two years of watching Meg Kelly lie, manipulate, double deal and take so many instances of unethical behavior – one, in particular, stood out,” Dalton said. “I had the courage to write it out and submit it to the ethics panel.”
Dalton went on to allege that Kelly “instructed her attorneys to try to talk me out of it before it even reached the hands of the ethics panel, which is unethical in and of itself.”
Dalton denied leaking her complaint to the press, and she said she’s miffed that she’s yet to receive any formal follow-up from the Board of Ethics.
“They never spoke to me,” she said. “They never confirmed that they got the inquiry. I never knew they were meeting. I never knew they’d come to a conclusion. The only time I heard anything was a result of the ethics panel reaching out to the media, as opposed to reaching out to the person who made the complaint.”
The commissioner added: “Kelly appointed every single person on that ethics panel, so I’m not surprised at all by the outcome.”
“Her statements about me personally are despicable and say more about her than they say about me,” Dalton said, adding she wouldn’t have accepted the deputy mayor’s endorsement.
“It was not politically advantageous for anyone to receive her endorsement this election cycle, as evidenced by the fact that every one of her endorsed candidates lost, so I don’t know why Ms. Kelly would invoke that into this ethics inquiry.”
Dalton also rejected Kelly’s assertion about the commissioner’s legacy.
“Only someone who is tremendously narcissistic and egotistical thinks about their legacy,” Dalton said. “My legacy is being honest, sincere and making the best decisions in the interests of Saratoga Springs. Her legacy is nepotism, manipulation and lies.”
Asked what she meant by nepotism, Dalton accused the mayor of “pushing her niece into a city position.”
She said she was referring to Teri Wilson, a former city communications manager.
Contact reporter Brian Lee at [email protected] or 518-419-9766.
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