The Oregon Government Standards and Practices Commission dismissed ethics complaints against University President Dave Frohnmayer and former Senior Vice President and Provost John Moseley on Friday morning.
Both men said they feel vindicated by the commission’s decision not to look further into complaints filed in September in which associate economics professor William Harbaugh alleged that the administrators incorrectly filed mandatory annual financial disclosure forms.
They criticized Harbaugh’s allegations as unfounded, questioning his motives.
“They basically found that Harbaugh’s allegations were without merit, and frankly, I considered this complaint as harassment all along,” Moseley said. “It’s really based on the fact that he is opposed to the University’s Diversity Plan, which I support, and he tried to find ways to do ‘gotchas’ on us.”
Harbaugh said he was surprised by the ruling and that he hopes the Oregon State Bar will rule differently on a similar complaint he filed with it about Frohnmayer, an attorney and former Oregon attorney general.
He previously told the Emerald he complained after searching for and requesting public documents from the administration related to the Diversity Plan and that he hoped his grievances would cause University officials to be more forthcoming.
Six of the commission’s seven members made the decision in a closed-door meeting Friday following a confidential, preliminary initial investigation into both complaints by Don Crabtree, the commission’s interim executive director.
Harbaugh had alleged that Frohnmayer failed to report the 2005 sale of his Eugene home on his Oregon Verified Statement of Economic Interest and did not report a potential conflict of interest arising from his purchase of a home from the former president and CEO of William’s Bakery during the same year that the University bought the bakery property.
Frohnmayer had denied the allegations, saying he reported more than was legally required.
“The accusations were professionally very careless and I think the commission obviously saw right through them and dismissed them in the entirety in both cases,” Frohnmayer said.
Crabtree’s preliminary investigation found no evidence that Frohnmayer had omitted information or had concealed a conflict of interest, concluding that “it appears that Mr. Harbaugh’s allegation is reduced to criticism of where information is disclosed on the form and not about a deliberate omission” and urging the GSPC to dismiss the complaint.
In his complaint against Moseley, Harbaugh had contended that Moseley did not properly report Deschutes and Lane County land transactions on the state disclosure forms, allegations that Moseley said could have been resolved without a formal complaint.
Crabtree’s report found that Moseley “may have violated provisions of Government Standards and Practices law related to the reporting requirements for real property interests” on the forms he filed in 2003-2006, suggesting that the GSPC investigate further, a move the commission rejected.
Moseley criticized the Emerald for printing a story about the allegations, saying they should have remained confidential until the commission ruled.
Harbaugh said all parties followed the procedure for complaints.
“So far as I know, I don’t have any reason to challenge (the ruling),” he said.
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Log onto dailyemerald.com and click on “News Meeting” for additional information about this story.
Read more at the Emerald news meeting blog.
Read Don Crabtree’s preliminary report on President Dave Frohnmayer.
Read Don Crabtree’s preliminary report on Vice President and Provost John Moseley.
UO officials cleared of allegations
Daily Emerald
November 19, 2006
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