READERS RESPOND

AT ISSUE:

Mayor David Garofalo has been in the hot seat over alleged conflicts

of interest, with some residents and council colleagues urging him to

open his books.

After Mayor Garofalo answers questions about why accepting $2,995 from

the developer Commercial Investment Management Group, then voting on

actions that benefit the developer is not a conflict of interest, he

should explain his other questionable acts, such as:

1) Failing to properly report a $50,000 investment he made to Pacific

Liberty Bank. There is certainly nothing wrong with being a director of a

bank or in investing in one, but as an elected official, Garofalo should

know that one has to report investments one makes in businesses in the

city.

Also, while the mayor sat on the board of directors of this bank, the

developer of Wal-Mart invested $100,000 in the bank. Garofalo voted to

approve the controversial Wal-Mart rather than recuse himself.

2) To avoid charges of conflict of interest, Garofalo claimed when he

ran for reelection in 1998 that he had sold his paper, the Local News.

However, according to county records, the change of ownership did not

occur until January 1999.

Garofalo cannot make these issues go away by just claiming he has done

no wrong. He could, however, make these issues go away by providing

documentation that supports his claims, such as proof he paid for the

[St. Augustine] house or proof his paper was indeed sold in 1998.

These are not frivolous issues. They point to a pattern of behavior

that demonstrates either a staggering ignorance of the law or an

astonishing contempt for it.

CONNIE BOARDMAN

Huntington Beach