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Wednesday, January 25, 2012

Ethics filing follows naming of Salisbury city attorney

SALISBURY -- An ethics complaint has been filed against newly appointed City Attorney Mark Tilghman and the City Council members who voted to hire him.
Former council president Mike Dunn filed a complaint against Tilghman, Council President Terry Cohen, Council Vice President Debbie Campbell and Councilman Tim Spies with the city's Ethics Commission on Tuesday.
In the complaint, Dunn lists several alleged conflicts of interest regarding the three council members, including campaign contributions and other political support from the Tilghman family, as well as Spies' voting on legal counsel matters while involved in litigation with the city.
"There seems to be a clear pattern here," Dunn wrote. "The appearance of a quid pro quo seems to be apparent."
Dunn said his complaint is not based on the merits of Tilghman's ability to act as the city's chief legal counsel, but instead the fact that he and his firm stand to gain substantial work and compen-sation from the city. Dunn also said Tilghman has a clear bias for the three council members he has supported and for which he campaigned.
Cohen declined to comment on Dunn's ethics complaint.

Tilghman's appointment

Late Monday night, the City Council chose to hire Tilghman's firm -- Seidel Baker & Tilghman -- over Hall & Long, which agreed to serve as additional legal counsel upon the city's request.
Following a long discussion regarding possible conflicts of interest, the council voted to convene in closed session to interview representatives of the two law firms, which submitted bids to assume the position of city solicitor during a 2010 Requests for Proposal process.
Once the council reconvened in open session, a vote of 3-1 selected Seidel Baker & Tilghman as city solicitor. Council President Terry Cohen, Council Vice President Debbie Campbell and Councilman Tim Spies voted in favor, Councilwoman Shanie Shields was opposed and Councilwoman Laura Mitchell abstained, citing a lack of information due to the absence of more up-to-date bids.

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