By KIRSTEN LASKEY
Los Alamos Daily Post
kirsten@ladailypost.com
A compliant filed by Community Development Advisory Board (CDAB) member Anna Dillane against Los Alamos County Councilor David Izraelevitz has been dismissed.
Dillane filed the complaint Aug. 18 and County Human Resource Manager Denise Cassel issued a decision Aug. 29.
In her letter to Cassel about the compliant, Dillane explained she opposed Izraelevitz’s comments as CDAB Chair Aaron Walker made a presentation about the CDAB during the July 28 County Council meeting.
Dillane argued Izraelevitz and other councilors violated the County’s Standard of Conduct. Specifically, she alleged that a subsection was broken in the Standard of Conduct, which states that, “public officials shall conduct themselves in a manner that justifies the confidence placed in them by the people at all times maintaining integrity and ethically discharging the high responsibilities of public service”.
“I thought this was a good opportunity to keep that conversation alive about how we expect our elected officials and County staff to treat our citizens … I think Izraelevitz’s treatment of Aaron Walker at the July meeting was completely unacceptable … for the County to back David Izraelevitz up and act as though nothing was wrong is beside the point. His behavior is not the way to treat residents and I am tired of it,” Dillane told the Los Alamos Daily Post Thursday.
In a memo to County Manager Harry Burgess and County Attorney Alvin Leaphart, Cassel said that the complaint “fails to state a claim under Article 1 of Chapter 30 of the County Code (“Code of Conduct”).” She further reported claims made in the complaint were either without merit or insufficient.
In a separate interview Thursday with the Los Alamos Daily Post, Izraelevitz said he felt the discussion highlighted in the complaint was a “frank discussion”. He added that he reviewed the CDAB presentation prior to the meeting and felt that several talking points were not reflective of the whole board but Walker’s personal opinions.
As a result, Izraelevitz said he was concerned the presentation wasn’t differentiating between points that were shared by the whole board and Walker’s own opinion.
“I hope that the board moves forward with its future work plan,” Izraelevitz said.
This includes the revision of the Chapter 18 Code, which deals with weeds, outdoor material storage and inoperable vehicles, he said.
He added, “We value the contributions of all our boards,” Izraelevitz said.
Dillane also is eager to get back to work, saying she appreciates the work that County Councilor and CDAB Liaison James Robinson have done.
