The Oregon State Bar closed the door for good early last week on the ethics complaints filed against University President Dave Frohnmayer.
“This (complaint) has no merits and never had any merits,” Frohnmayer said in an interview Monday evening.
Associate economics professor Bill Harbaugh filed complaints with the Government Standards and Practices Commission and the Oregon State Bar in September 2006 alleging that Frohnmayer had failed to properly fill out his 2005 Verified Statement of Economic Interest form, an annual form that top ranking University officials each must submit to the GSPC.
Harbaugh claimed that Frohnmayer should have reported the sale of his former house on Baker Boulevard and the purchase of a house on Spyglass Drive. Frohnmayer purchased the house on Spyglass Drive in 2005 from Tom Williams, who used to be the CEO of Williams’ Bakery; Williams resigned and severed ties to the Bakery in 2001. The University purchased the Williams’ Bakery property in 2005, and Harbaugh said this could be a conflict of interest.
But neither the GSPC nor the Oregon State Bar saw it that way; both tribunals dismissed the complaints less than one month after they were filed.
The GSPC concluded that there “does not appear to be a substantial objective basis to believe that Mr. Frohnmayer violated Government Standards and Practices law,” according to the GSPC’s preliminary review.
In early January 2007, Harbaugh appealed the ruling of the Oregon State Bar, and on Feb. 20 the bar reaffirmed its dismissal of the complaints.
“There is no evidence that Mr. Frohnmayer made knowingly false statements on his (Verified Statement of Economic Interest). On the contrary, it appears he had a reasonable subjective belief that he was not required to report the Baker/Spyglass exchange …”
Harbaugh said that because there are no further avenues of appeal, he will put his allegations to rest; if there were any, he would continue to pursue them.
“It’s just the basic principle that people in power should be held to the same rules as everyone else,” he said.
Sylvia Stevens, general counsel for the Oregon State Bar, said that Frohnmayer’s status did not play a role in the bar’s ruling.
“I can assure you that neither Mr. Frohnmayer’s position and reputation nor the limitations of the bar’s resources played any role in my analysis of your complaint,” she wrote in the Feb. 20 dismissal letter. “My only frame of reference was whether there is credible evidence to support your allegations … After carefully considering the facts presented, I concur in the Client Assistance Office’s dismissal of your complaint.”
“This is very straightforward stuff,” Frohnmayer said on Tuesday. “These are groundless complaints. Everyone who has looked at them…has found them groundless.
“Harbaugh’s wild allegations have been a complete waste of time and public money. He should be embarrassed,” Frohnmayer said.
Harbaugh said that he doesn’t think he was wrong in his allegations, despite the consistency of the rulings, and the conclusions against his claims from both Oregon University System Chancellor George Pernsteiner and Oregon Board of Higher Education President Henry Lorenzen. He said the conclusions of the bar say it was reasonable for Frohnmayer to not report the transactions and not that his accusations were ludicrous.