The Integrity Commissioner for Ashfield-Colbourne-Wawanosh ruled that a member of council did not violate the Conflict of Interest Act when discussing construction bids for Port Albert.
An application was filed against Councillor Curtis Blake in August, alleging that he failed to declare a pecuniary interest when council voted on the Wellington Street Construction Tender at a July 18 meeting. Blake had previously declared a conflict when discussing the Port Albert Roads Project in February.
Blake wrote to IC John Mascarin that he was pressured into declaring a conflict of interest during earlier discussions and said he should be allowed to partake in the talk under the “Interests in Common with Electors Generally" exception.
Mascarin concluded that Blake was correct in his use of that exception, but noted that had he made a statement about it during the council meeting, the entire application might have ben avoided.
You can read the IC's full report here.
