The Doña Ana County Board of Commissioners voted today to formally reprimand Treasurer Jim Schoonover for illegally using county staff and equipment to benefit the Elks Lodge and other issues, and to demand that he reimburse the county $1,500.
Commissioners voted 4-1, with Kent Evans casting the dissenting vote, for the formal censure.
The vote came after Schoonover, through his attorney Paul Rubino, refused to respond to a multitude of charges of improper and illegal conduct. Rubino said he would not do so because County Attorney John Caldwell accused his client last year of committing a felony crime by purchasing, with county money, pencils that were similar to his campaign materials.
“I told him to say nothing. You have constitutional rights allowing you to say nothing,” Rubino said.
That began an emotionally charged discussion that included raised voices, threats and tears. It ended with the vote to censure after at least two commissioners essentially offered Schoonover the chance to avoid a reprimand if he would agree to repay the county for the time and materials.
“Jim, I’m begging you,” Commissioner Bill McCamley said. “… If this doesn’t get fixed, you’re going to force our hand.”
Rubino refused to commit to restitution.
It’s the first time in recent memory that commissioners have voted to censure a county official.
The evidence and the findings
The commission’s vote was backed up by substantial evidence that Schoonover directed county employees, on county time and using county equipment, to type and e-mail agendas, minutes and other documents pertaining to the Elks Lodge, in addition to graduation announcements and a résumé for his son.
In response to a records request, the county released copies of dozens of e-mails sent from a former employee of the treasurer’s office to an Elks Lodge official in which she details work she did for the lodge at Schoonover’s direction, in addition to the documents relating to Schoonover’s son. The documents she typed are attached to the e-mails, which were sent from her county e-mail address.
The documents do not definitively prove that the work was done on county time, but do show that a county staffer used county equipment to type them.
The complaint was first made to the county by members of the Elks Lodge.
Other findings of the commission, in its censure, were that Schoonover failed to cooperate and provide information to the internal auditor, though state law requires him to do so; that he has failed to comply with state law governing the investment of public money and the county’s investment policy, though he has been questioned publicly by McCamley and the commission on that topic before; and that he has failed to keep documents and other materials ready for inspection by the commission at all times.
The censure related to the Elks Lodge issue also applies to Deputy Treasurer Jerry Wheeler. In 2006, Schoonover was the lodge’s “exalted ruler,” or its leader, and Wheeler was its secretary.
The findings of the county’s Internal Audit Committee that led to the censure were first made public at the commission’s Jan. 9 meeting, following a months-long investigation by the audit committee, county attorney’s office and a private law firm. At McCamley’s urging, the commission tabled a vote on the proposed censure until today’s meeting to give Schoonover an opportunity to respond.
Schoonover’s attorney blames commission
Rubino had a standoffish attitude from the start, telling commissioners they were to blame for the breakdown in communication. He also accused
He reiterated those statements when Commission Chairwoman Karen Perez urged him to respond to the specific allegations.
“I’m asking you to try to work with us and try to give us something from Mr. Schoonover to allow him to continue to work and to continue for the next two years,” she said.
Rubino refused, and accused the commission of “personal vendettas and partisan politics.” He said the commission would be committing defamation if it approved the censure.
“You’re not going to get an answer, an admission, a mea culpa because of your own doing. We didn’t start this fight. It’s unfortunate,” Rubino said.
Rubino also urged commissioners to “agree to disagree, make amends and move forward,” saying “we either go forward or get worse.”
“Mr. Schoonover is willing to move forward from this point by overlooking all of this,” he said.
McCamley says politics not behind action
Commissioners expressed concerns about the precedent they would set by letting the concerns slide. When Rubino pointed to times in the past that county officials were not reprimanded for violating ethics, McCamley and Caldwell both pointed out that they were not part of county government at the time.
When McCamley took office in 2005, he pushed for a rewrite of the code of ethics to toughen and clarify it in the wake of some of the controversies to which Rubino referred, but McCamley said the incident with Schoonover was the first since he has been on the commission.
McCamley, a Democrat, took exception to the allegation of partisan politics. He pointed out that the county’s audit committee, which recommended the censure, included former Commissioner Paul Curry, who, like Schoonover, is a Republican. He also called on Rick Merola, chair of the audit committee, who confirmed that he agrees with the committee’s recommendation and is also a Republican.
McCamley repeatedly tried to speak to Schoonover personally and cut off Rubino when he tried to interject. Schoonover kept his head down and didn’t say a word during the hearing, and the commission finally had to accept the statements of Rubino.
McCamley attempted to address Rubino’s concerns by admitting to “overreacting” when
Still, McCamley apologized for his harsh reaction to that situation.
He also admitted that it was he who, along with Curry, grilled Schoonover in public about problems with the investment adviser Schoonover hired last year – problems Schoonover later agreed with – and pointed out that, as a result of his questioning, Schoonover has agreed to work more closely with the investment council.
‘It could have been solved with restitution’
“I’m not accusing your of criminal stuff,” McCamley told Schoonover about the newest allegations. “I think some mistakes were made. We all make mistakes.”
Evans, a Republican, agreed, and used that to argue against a formal censure.
“I think it’s time to let bygones be bygones,” he said. “Mr. Schoonover has far received punishment just by what’s been going on.”
It was
Perez said she agreed with seeking restitution only. McCamley then asked Rubino if he would agree to discuss, with
Rubino said he would be happy to speak with Caldwell for as long as commissioners wanted, saying he got paid more if he talked more, but added that he would make “no promises” about Schoonover agreeing to repay some amount of money.
That’s when McCamley made the motion, seconded by Oscar Vasquez Butler, for the formal censure. Rubino and Schoonover left the room without a word immediately after the vote. Perez asked for a recess and left the room with what appeared to be teary eyes.
McCamley, Evans and Commissioner Dolores Saldaña Caviness appeared visibly frustrated after the vote.
“I really think it could have been resolved with restitution,” Evans said. “I think it would have been over.”