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A second ethics complaint over the city's outside law firm. Here's how the Council voted on that $970,000 contract

An anonymous city employee asked the Board of Ethics whether the mayor's chief strategist should have stepped aside from choosing the firm defending a lawsuit in which he is a defendant. Our records show the 8-4 vote that expanded the contract and what was said before it.

By Denver Politics staffUpdated

An anonymous Denver city employee has filed an ethics complaint against Jeff Dolan, Mayor Mike Johnston's chief strategist, over the city's choice of a law firm, CBS Colorado reported Thursday.

The complaint, dated Sept. 20 and obtained by CBS through an open records request, says Dolan sat on the five-person panel that picked Wheeler Trigg O'Donnell to defend the city in a lawsuit brought by Everett Martinez, the former top lawyer at Denver International Airport. Dolan is a named defendant in that suit. The complaint asks the Board of Ethics whether his role was official action on a matter in which he had a substantial personal interest, and whether he should have recused himself, CBS reported.

A complaint is an allegation, not a finding. The mayor's office told CBS the contract "was done by the book." The Board of Ethics is separately investigating two complaints against City Attorney Miko Brown, which it voted in September to review, CBS reported. That vote meant the complaints warranted a formal look, not that a violation was found.

Why it matters to residents: the contract is paid from the General Fund, the same pot that pays for parks, libraries and police. CBS noted the city faced a projected deficit of about $200 million. And the Council, not just the mayor's office, approved its expansion.

What our records add

The contract and the vote. On Oct. 5, the Council adopted 26-1343, adding $500,000 to the Wheeler Trigg O'Donnell contract for a new total of $970,000 and expanding it to cover a second employment case. The vote was 8-4 (roll call):

It had been delayed a week first: Flynn called it out on Sept. 28 for a one-week postponement, according to the matter record.

An earlier try to wait for the ethics board. At the Governance and Intergovernmental Relations Committee on Sept. 15, Gilmore moved to hold the contract until Oct. 20. She said the Board of Ethics was looking at complaints involving the city attorney and that she wanted that process to play out first (video). Her motion failed 2-5, with only Gilmore and Gonzales-Gutierrez in favor (roll call). The committee then sent the contract to the full Council 6-1, with Gilmore voting no (roll call).

What the city attorney told the Council. At that committee meeting, Brown said the firm has represented the city since 2011, that a five-person panel chose it from four firms, and that she was the last panelist to vote. "There is no conflict of interest here," she said, adding that she left the firm in 2017 (video). Brown was a partner there from 2007 to 2017, CBS reported.

On Oct. 5, Brown told the full Council the original contract for the Martinez case was $470,000 and a second case, brought by the same plaintiff's attorney, was budgeted at $500,000. She said the firm's lawyers bill a blended $800 an hour, below their usual rates, and that a new firm would likely charge similar rates plus a six-figure cost to get up to speed (video).

What members said. Lewis said $800 an hour was extraordinary at a time when departments were being told to make hard choices, and asked whether the city was spending more to defend the cases than it was trying to protect (video). Flynn argued that switching firms would cost more, said the firm's results in the two cases had been very positive for the city, and asked colleagues to support it (video). Another member said work on the second case had begun before the Council approved the money, and raised concerns about the firm's other clients (video).

What's next

  • The Board of Ethics decides whether to take up the complaint against Dolan. CBS reported no finding has been made.
  • The two complaints against Brown remain under the board's review.
  • Contract changes come back to the Council only if the city asks for more money or time. Follow the contract on its matter page.