PHOENIX — Editor's Note: In a push alert sent by 12News Anna Tovar's name was misspelled. The error has been corrected.
Three of five Arizona Corporation Commissioners voted Tuesday evening to officially censure their colleague, Commissioner Anna Tovar, for alleged ethics and legal violations. After a two-hour executive session behind closed doors, Commission Chair Jim O’Connor presented a motion to censure Tovar and refer the investigation to the Maricopa County Attorney’s Office.
The motion accused Tovar of violating state law regarding the confidentiality of executive sessions and confidential personnel matters and violating the Commission’s Code of Ethics relative to disruptive misconduct and treatment of staff.
“The commission finds them (allegations) substantiated by clear and convincing evidence,” said O’Connor while reading the motion.
As 12News previously reported, Tovar became the subject of an internal investigation after she wrote a public letter on November 18 explaining why she voted against a $20,000 bonus for the agency’s executive director, Doug Clark. In the letter, Tovar criticized her fellow Commissioners for approving the bonus. She called it unprecedented, unjustified, and not rooted in tangible criteria. Tovar also cited allegations of mismanagement of the agency made in a civil lawsuit by the agency’s former Senior Counsel Robin Mitchell.
The following week, O’Connor instructed the Office of General Counsel to conduct an investigation of Tovar for allegedly violating executive session confidentiality law, harassment of an employee, and “other matters that may implicate Commissioner Tovar or her office.”
Tovar told 12News the investigation was a political witch hunt.
She accused the Commission of not following due process in handling the matter. O’Connor designated the agency’s Senior Counsel Tom Van Flein to handle the investigation.
“I stand by my comments and the letters I wrote to keep the public informed,” Tovar told 12News last month. “Arizonans who have jobs, they have to get evaluated, they have to meet criteria to justify a raise or a bonus. And for me, that just wasn’t there.”
An attorney for Tovar told 12News on Tuesday evening that Van Flein’s role in investigating the ethics complaint was a conflict of interest.
“We have the lawyer who advised the commission on open meeting law compliance, be the same one to investigate an allegation of open meeting law compliance, act as the prosecutor, and then act as an advisor telling the commission how they should act on the report,” said Jim Barton. “He (Van Flein) should have had another lawyer, someone from the outside be involved. Nothing is serious about this. It’s a sham investigation.”
Voting in favor of Tuesday’s censure of Tovar were O’Connor, Kevin Thompson and Nick Myers. Commissioner Lea Marquez Peterson was absent. No one explained their vote, which they have the option to do. Tovar did not participate in the meeting.
As the lone Democrat on the Commission, Tovar told 12News last month she believed she was targeted. Tovar has been outspoken about the lack of clarity in the Commission’s code of ethics and she filed a complaint against fellow commissioners for alleged open meeting law violations that resulted in mandatory training.
Barton said the Commission’s decision to refer the matter to the County Attorney, a Republican, is evidence the investigation is partisan.
“They know their complaint is garbage. They know it is politically motivated,” Barton said.
Asked why Tovar discussed Clark’s bonus at all, Barton said it was a matter of public importance.
“The bonus was discussed in an open meeting by all the commissioners. The amount of money of such a high-level person makes is a matter of public record,” Barton said. “The claim is this is some sort of sensitive personnel matter. This isn’t some low-level official. He’s (Clark) the top employee of the agency and Commissioner Tovar should be permitted to comment on his effectiveness of the agency without being censured. This is silencing dissent of a matter of public importance and it is unconstitutional.”
Stay with 12News for updates on this developing story.
Editor's note: The video attached to this article is from a previous story.
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