Tallahassee Reports has learned that Leon County School Board member, Alva Striplin, is seeking an opinion from the Florida Commission on Ethics.
Ms. Striplin, who retained Ron Meyer, of Meyer, Brooks, Demma and Blohm, P.A., asked the Florida Commission on Ethics if it was a violation of state ethics laws for a school board member to travel “and exchange gifts with a friend who is a partner in a law firm that provides counsel to the School District?”
The staff of the Florida Commission on Ethics drafted an opinion which will be presented to the Ethics Commisison at their January 22, 2016 meeting. See agenda and materials here.
The opinion states that since Ms. Striplin’s friend is “a partner of a lobbyist, the member is prohibited from accepting a gift from him with a value greater than $100, and because the firm is the firm or principle of a lobbyist, she is prohibited from accepting a gift worth more than $100 from the firm.”
The opinion does not address any issues related to voting conflicts.
Leon County School Board Member Seeks Ethics Commission Opinion added by Staff on
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Gee, Alva, what did you think the answer would be? And you questioned the propriety of the actions of your predecessor(s) regarding building contracts? It appears that your entire campaign that was supposedly based on ethics was a sham. Either that or you do not have a real clear understanding of conflicts of interest.