Va. House speaker seeks ethics inquiry on delegate
RICHMOND, Va. - RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — Virginia's House speaker called Monday for an ethics investigation of an influential fellow Republican who pursued a job at a new teaching center before securing money to create it.
Speaker William J. Howell asked the House Ethics Advisory Panel to investigate whether Del. Phillip Hamilton violated conflict of interest laws when he asked for a job at the Old Dominion University center a few months before using his position as a budget negotiator to direct $500,000 toward its creation in 2007.
Howell said he hoped the independent ethics panel would conclude its work "as thoroughly and expeditiously as possible."
"As speaker, I believe in faithfully and impartially discharging my duties and in protecting the integrity of the entire House of Delegates," Howell said in a statement. "The seriousness with which I view this matter dictates determining the facts and finding out if any impropriety occurred."
Hamilton, of Newport News, is one of the legislature's most influential members as one of a handful of legislators who largely determine how billions of state money is spent. He did not immediately return calls or e-mails to his district and legislative offices.
Hamilton has been paid $40,000 a year as an independent contractor for the center since it opened in 2007.
Hamilton and the university severed ties Thursday after e-mails discovered through a Freedom of Information Act request by two newspapers showed that he had discussions about a job with Old Dominion officials at least five months before he put in a budget amendment to fund the Center for Teacher Quality and Educational Leadership.
Hamilton is a retired teacher and school administrator who works part time for Newport News Public Schools. He wrote Dec. 21, 2006, to inform David Blackburn, ODU's head of the Program for Research and Evaluation in Public Schools, that he had filed the budget amendment.
"My city retirement is reduced in May 2007. I will need to supplement my current NNPS income ($38,000) by at least an equal amount or separate from NNPS for $75,000 a year," Hamilton wrote.
Blackburn then sent an e-mail to William Graves, dean of the College of Education, about Hamilton's note: "Phil must feel he will get money...and is ensuring that he has a home to go to...if you recall, he only wanted a small part time deal."
Hamilton also e-mailed the school's president at the time, expressing concern that he hadn't heard anything about his possible employment at the center since they first talked about it that August.
Before the e-mails surfaced, Hamilton had denied discussing a possible position at the center before steering money its way.
A number of statewide Democratic candidates have called for him to resign. Gov. Timothy Kaine didn't go so far, saying the matter was between Hamilton and his voters.
Hamilton has rarely been opposed in his 20-year legislative career but in November faces a Democratic opponent who has called for stronger ethics laws.
Virginia's conflict-of-interest law bars legislators from accepting money or professional opportunities for services performed within the scope of legislative duties.
Complaints against House members are investigated by the House Ethics Advisory Panel, an independent entity made up of five non-legislative members.
If after a preliminary investigation the panel decides to proceed, Hamilton could choose whether to hold the hearings in public or behind closed doors. However, violations found would become public.
If the panel finds Hamilton knowingly violated the law, it must refer the matter to the attorney general. Attorney general spokesman David Clementson would not comment on whether the office is investigating Hamilton.
Ethics panel member Alfred C. Anderson said Monday he had not been contacted regarding the Hamilton case, and declined to comment further. Other members could not immediately be reached.
Democratic House Minority Leader Ward Armstrong called on Howell to instead convene the House Privileges and Elections Committee, which has the power to investigate charges or complaints against House members, so that the proceedings would be guaranteed to be public.
"Unfortunately, a lack of transparency is what led to this situation in the first place," Armstrong said in an e-mailed statement. "Delegate Hamilton is a public official, and any investigation into his actions should be conducted in full view of the citizens of Virginia."
The last public ethics inquiry was that of Democratic Sen. Peter Babalas, a member of the Senate Finance Committee censured in 1987 after voting against a measure that would have harmed a company that paid him more than $60,000 in legal fees. Babalas was acquitted on two criminal counts of violating conflict of interest laws.
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Associated Press Writer Zinie Chen Sampson contributed to this report.
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