Code of ethics back before council

CITY of Westminster Civic Center (OC Tribune photo).

A code of ethics and conduct – the subject of previous contentious sessions – will be on the agenda for Wednesday’s meeting of the Westminster City Council.

Twice continued from earlier meetings, the code will be presented for “review” and to “provide direction” regarding drafts of the document. At the meeting, council members are presented with three potential versions:

• A modified version of the original policy centered on ethics;
• An ethics policy modeled after Huntington Beach’s Code of ethics, and;
• A copy of the original ethics policy and code of conduct.

Consideration of the codes have created or revealed a split in the council between Mayor Tri Ta and councilmembers Chi Charlie Nguyen and Kimberly Ho on one side and councilmembers Tai Do and Sergio Contreras on the other. The majority has generally been unreceptive to the level of detail in the proposed code; the minority has been more supportive on the grounds that ethical violations have become more common in the city.

The split has been emotional, leading to tears, threats of lawsuits, accusations and council meetings lengthened by a large number of members of the public weighing in on one side or another during the oral communications segment.

The council meets at 7 p.m. in its chambers at 8200 Westminster Blvd.