The Denver Board of Ethics unanimously ruled Wednesday that Councilmember Flor Alvidrez’s behavior “does not appear to be a technical violation” of the ethics code. But in issuing the ruling, board members characterized Alvidrez’s use of taxpayer dollars as “reckless” and used the case to call for amendments to the city’s ethics code.
Alvidrez has been under investigation for office spending after a former aide filed a complaint in December. That complaint included claims that Alvidrez pushed staff to submit payment reimbursements for purchases that may have been barred under city spending rules, and yelled at staff when they pushed back. The complaint also included an instance where Alvidrez spent nearly $15,000 on two Halloween floats, one of which was made by her ex-husband. Alvidrez has said she does not agree with the complaint.
On Wednesday, board member Ray Gradale said the board did not find a technical violation because the funds were repaid “to the satisfaction of the city controller.” The board of ethics cannot issue punishments for violation, only rulings on complaints.
Alvidrez told Denverite she is declining to comment until the ethics board releases its final written decision.
When announcing the decision, multiple board members said they had lingering concerns about the conduct.
“The city councilmember's actions here in this case do appear to raise legitimate questions and concerns related to a pattern of apparent reckless use of taxpayer funds,” Gradale said.
Board Vice Chair Jane Feldman said she worried that the complaint came just a few months into Alvidrez’ term.
“As someone who has spent their career in public service, the idea that somebody would become an elected official and almost immediately appear to have completely disregarded respect for the fact that she is paid out of taxpayer funds… this was really a flagrant disregard of appropriate use of public funds,” she said.
Board member Everett Martínez recused himself from discussions and rulings on the complaint.
Alvidrez has also been the subject of human resources complaints during her time in office.
In addition to concerns about spending, all four of Alvidrez’s original group of aides filed human resources complaints before quitting in December and January. Those complaints included allegations of yelling, retaliation and other ethical concerns.
In an email between an HR staff member and one of the aides, the staff member classified Alvidrez’s conduct as “bullying,” but wrote that the complaints did not rise to a level warranting an investigation. In an email to Denverite, Alvidrez denied much of that behavior.
Ethics board members pointed to the outcome as an example of why the city should update its code.
While the board did not find Alvidrez in technical violation, board members said the current ethics code might not be up to date on how to consider family relationships.
“The board does have significant concern, and include in the opinion further suggestion for potential updates to the city ethics code,” Gradale said.
Board members did not elaborate on specific suggested changes to the code in Wednesday’s meeting. Denverite has requested a copy of the official opinion.
Editor's note: This article was updated to include Alvidrez's response to Denverite's request for comment.
