The Rochester city ethics board has found no clear wrongdoing by city officials when they hosted an Uber job fair last month.
Mayoral candidate Rachel Barnhart had claimed the city wrongly gave favorable treatment to a corporation, used city property for the benefit the corporation, and allowed a former city employee to represent the corporation in a manner adverse to the city.
But Mayor Warren's Chief of Staff told the board the attention given to Uber was not out of line.
Board members conceded the ethics code language is vague and needs to be updated. The board must still issue a formal written ruling on Barnhart's allegations.
Rachel Barnhart released a statement on the Ethics Board Finding:
"The ethics board is made up mostly of people compromised by their campaign donations to Lovely Warren and employment by the city. That's why it wasn't surprising to see board members twist themselves into a pretzel to determine there was no ethical violation. For example, the code says, "No City officer or employee shall use or permit the use of City owned...property for the convenience or profit of himself or any other (corporation.)" There's no exception for any reason. Yet, the board agreed the code is deficient. Clearly, there's a problem with City Hall throwing parties for special interests.
The purpose of these job fairs is not to help residents. Companies can pay to recruit their own workers. The purpose of these job fairs is to promote Lovely Warren's fictitious job creation efforts. They're nothing but political stunts at the expense of public integrity."
Mayor Lovely Warren's statement on the Ethics Board Finding has been posted below.