Tacoma receives ethics complaint about mayor's paid trip to Israel. What's next?
The city of Tacoma has received an ethics complaint about Mayor Victoria Woodards' all-expenses-paid trip to Israel last month.
As previously reported by The News Tribune, Woodards traveled to Israel for seven days mid-March as part of a delegation of U.S. mayors organized by the American Jewish Committee in partnership with the U.S. Conference of Mayors. She was the only mayor from Washington to attend. The trip included round-trip airfare to and from Tel Aviv, luxury hotel accommodations, meals, historic tours, lectures on Israeli politics and society and a meeting with the families and survivors of the Oct. 7 terrorist attack.
Woodards told The News Tribune when she returned from Israel that she went on the trip to better understand the Israel-Palestine conflict and for spiritual reasons as a Christian. Her choice to accept the trip has been criticized by some, including the local Jewish Voice for Peace chapter. One member told The News Tribune the trip 'flies in the face of not just the ceasefire resolution that Mayor Woodards signed onto [in May], but just every standard of human morality.'
City spokesperson Maria Lee told The News Tribune the city's Board of Ethics was processing an ethics complaint about Woodards' trip and can't comment on the issue. She did not provide a timeline on when the public would know more. Lee said she was only aware of one complaint. Woodards declined to comment at this time.
Longtime Tacoma resident Rob Harrison told The News Tribune he submitted the ethics complaint to the city on March 27. Harrison said he filed the complaint not to target Woodards personally but to get some clarity from the city about whether accepting the trip and its perks was prohibited or an improper use of her position as mayor.
'It's about upholding the principle that city employees should be free from any appearance of being influenced by gifts. As a citizen, I believe this is crucial for maintaining public trust. We citizens have limited power to influence city policies, primarily through our votes,' Harrison said in an email, noting he used AI to craft his message. 'I hope the city will demonstrate its commitment to ethical governance by clearly stating its position on this issue following my complaint.'
In his complaint Harrison called attention to two sections of the city's Code of Ethics, which is expected to be upheld by all current and former city officers and employees, elected or not. The complaint was obtained by The News Tribune through a public record request.
Under the 'prohibited conduct' 1.46.030 section, Harrison questioned whether Woodards violated Section H that bars city officials or employees from 'knowingly us[ing] his or her office or position to secure personal benefit, gain or profit, or use his or her position to secure special privileges or exceptions for himself, herself, or for the benefit, gain or profits of any other persons.'
He also questioned if Woodards violated Section K that bars city officials and employees from 'directly or indirectly, giv[ing] or receiv[ing], or agree[ing] to give or receive, any compensation, gift, favor, reward or gratuity for a matter connected with or related to the City officer or employee's services with the City of Tacoma.'
Harrison argued that part of the reason Woodards said she went on the trip was because of her personal beliefs as a Christian. The trip, then, offered her a 'personal benefit … even beyond the substantial monetary value,' he said.
'The trip itself was offered by the American Jewish Committee to United States mayors for the express purpose of affecting U.S. policy at the local level,' he wrote. 'And while politicians on the national level indeed command attention, state and local politics move forward at the same time, often at a quicker pace in terms of legislation and reaction to crises. Thus, Tacoma Mayor Victoria Woodards used her position as mayor to qualify for this trip. It is not offered to other Tacoma citizens.'
In terms of accepting compensation or gifts, the ethics code notes city officials and employees can accept meals 'when it is provided in conjunction with a meeting directly related to the conduct of City business or where official attendance by the City officer or employee as a City representative is appropriate,' such as a public award ceremony or when they accept, 'Nominal promotional items including, but not limited to, items such as ball point pens, calendars, wearing apparel or food items which cannot reasonably be presumed to influence the vote, action or judgment of the City Official or be considered as part of a reward for action or inaction.'
Harrison argued the AJC 'hopes to affect politics at the municipal level' and noted the city of Tacoma has conducted business to pass a ceasefire resolution in Gaza.
'Though resolutions are non-binding, any future business regarding Israel, Jewish people or Jewish religion could be perceived to be influenced by this weeklong trip. Indeed, that is the reason the American Jewish Committee offers this free trip,' Harrison said in the complaint. 'There has been City Council business regarding Israel. There may be future business regarding Israel and Jewish people to come before the City Council. It is a glaring gap that this ethics clause does not mention the perception of bias. It reflects badly on the City of Tacoma for a city leader to accept a gift in the thousands of dollars when that gift is obviously meant to influence them and that gift is not available to everyone.'
The city's Board of Ethics will convene to discuss the issue, although Lee said the meeting scheduled for Wednesday has been canceled. The Board usually meets publicly every three months, and members are citizens who are formally appointed by the council although recommended by the Government Performance and Finance Committee, according to the city's website.
According to procedures outlined online, upon receipt of an ethics complaint the board will send a copy of the complaint to the person it was filed against and the city attorney. The city attorney will serve as a legal advisor to the board and examine whether the facts of the complaint file the Code of Ethics. Then they will issue an opinion for board members to consider. Board members then will deliberate.
The board may subpoena witnesses, take testimony under oath and compel the production of documents that relate to the complaint. The board might also appoint an independent investigator to investigate the facts of the complaint, who might be a city employee if that person is 'sufficiently removed' from the matter and is impartial. Neither the person who filed the complaint nor anyone else 'shall have special standing to participate or intervene in the investigation or consideration of the complaint by the Board,' according to the procedures outlined online.
Upon reaching a conclusion, the board would issue findings of fact based on the evidence of record presented and conduct a hearing relaying that information. Hearings are open to the public, but deliberations will be conducted in closed session, according to the procedure.
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