Ethics panel schedules hearing in Armstrong-Gaunce matter

By Melinda J. Overstreet / Glasgow News 1
The Glasgow Code of Ethics Committee had a two-minute special-called meeting Monday morning during which it took one vote, other than the one to adjourn immediately after the other one.
Committee member Ben Rogers read a motion he had prepared: “Glasgow Mayor Harold Armstrong has filed an ethics complaint against Glasgow City Councilman Patrick Gaunce. I move that the Glasgow Ethics Board make a determination based upon its preliminary inquiry that the complainant, Mayor Armstrong, is within the jurisdiction, that the complaint of Mayor Armstrong alleges a minimal factual basis to constitute a violation of the Glasgow ethics ordinance, subject to a hearing scheduled Nov. 10 to determine whether there’s been a violation.”
The two committee members present — Rogers and Rossie Kingery, chair – approved the motion.
Kingery had conducted a roll call before this motion was posed and, in doing so, advised those present in the audience – two members of the media – that member Mike Rice had recused himself at this time.
Once that vote was taken, she announced that the hearing was at 9 a.m. Thursday, and then they agreed to adjourn. As it was a special-called meeting, only the business listed in the agenda in the notice for the meeting could be addressed, and other than the call to order and the adjournment, the sole item was that “Code of Ethics Committee will be conducting a vote based upon the preliminary inquiry of Sept. 26, 2022.”
The findings of jurisdiction and minimal factual basis are required to be in the affirmative before a full hearing is scheduled, per city ordinance.
A public post on Gaunce’s Facebook page states that the mayor had filed an ethics complaint against him “for voting for the new Judicial Center to go where Dollar General is now-Reason he stated was my building on the square on main was being talked about as a possibility.”
He then states his reasons why he believes the complaint is in error.
Glasgow News 1 filed an open records request with City Clerk Mona Simmons, who, as records custodian, is also a nonvoting member of the ethics committee, just prior to the start of the meeting for documentation related to the preliminary inquiry.
The city’s ethics ordinance allows for such matters to be confidential “until a final determination is made by the board,” with one exception being that if the complainant or alleged violator publicly discloses the existence of a preliminary inquiry, the board my publicly confirm the existence of the inquiry, and, at its discretion, make public any documents issued to either party.
The inquiry was acknowledged in the notice for the meeting itself and secondly in Rogers’ motion.