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ICMA censures, bars Schnirman for violating its ethics rules

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The International City/County Management Association Center for Public Safety Management, a Washington, D.C.-based organization, said City Manager Jack Schnirman, a former member of the group, violated its ethics rules after he announced that he was considering a run for Nassau County executive last year.

Schnirman, a Democrat, who is now running for county comptroller, said in September that he was mulling a run for county executive and filed paperwork with the New York State Board of Elections to form an exploratory committee, called Nassau Forward, the first step in a possible run for higher office.

In a news release last week, the association said that Schnirman violated its Code of Ethics by creating a visible social media presence and raising funds through his committee, saying that he “leveraged his position and office with the city for the benefit of his political aspirations.”

But Schnirman’s campaign adviser, Kim Devlin, called the news release “ridiculous,” and said he has not violated any state or federal election and campaign finance laws. Schnirman had yet to formally announce an election campaign while he was an ICMA member, and Devlin questioned the timing of the release and called it a “typical political attack.”

“Jack Schnirman is a consummate government official who has run Long Beach with the highest ethics and professionalism, and who has a long and successful record of saving taxpayers money,” Devlin said in a statement. “Looking at the progress Long Beach has made in the last five years makes it easy to see how we need that kind of professional approach to cleaning up the mess in Mineola.”

Schnirman joined ICMA, an 11,000-member group that provides technical, financial and public safety assistance to local governments, in March 2015, the association said. That came after the city hired the association in 2014 to conduct a $55,000 study of its emergency services. Results of the study were released in January 2015, with a number of recommendations that led to the restructuring of the Fire Department to improve efficiency, including the hiring of civilian paramedics. Schnirman left the organization last December before he formally announced his campaign for comptroller in January.

On June 10, ICMA’s 21-member executive board agreed to censure Schnirman and permanently bar him from future membership. In a news release, ICMA said that members who work for a local government are required to abstain from engaging in any activities related to electing candidates for any public office. Members are not allowed to run for elected office, accept appointment to elected office, endorse candidates, and seek political endorsements or campaign contributions, among other requirements.

“By remaining politically neutral, ICMA members can best serve the entire governing body and maintain the public’s trust as objective sources of information, guidance and providers of public resources in an equitable manner,” the association said.

“For us, it’s a pretty serious infraction,” ICMA’s director of ethics, Martha Perego, said of Schnirman. “These city managers are apolitical people, and they are supposed to stay out of politics, and in this case, what he did was he launched and created an exploratory campaign. He’s raised money, and he’s talking about this both as a city manager and in his off hours, which is pretty active. If you’re the average resident and your city manager is running and politically active, and making decisions on city matters, is it for the benefit of the public or his campaign?”

ICMA’s Committee on Professional Conduct cited an invitation to a Jan. 10 Nassau Forward event that it said listed Schnirman’s position as city manager and referenced his accomplishments during his tenure. Additionally, ICMA said that Schnirman talked about his successes as city manager and his interest in running for elected office in an interview with the local media, “described as being held in his office.”

Perego said that a public censure and membership expulsion are reserved for the most egregious ethical violations.

Devlin said that when Schnirman was made aware of ICMA’s concerns about his committee, he canceled his membership as a precaution. In a letter to the association, obtained by the Herald, Schnirman wrote, “As we have discussed, an exploratory committee differs in many ways from a political campaign. Without rehashing those distinctions, I have determined, in an abundance of caution, that the safest course is to relinquish my ICMA membership. While this resignation is not — and should not be construed as — an admission of any type, it seems proper at this point in time, to take this precautionary measure.”

Perego denied claims of a political attack, and emphasized that ICMA is politically neutral. She added that the case was referred to ICMA by its president, Lee Feldman, and the New York State City/County Management Association.

“Which is not uncommon because people see things in the media that may raise an ethical concern,” she said. “We’d like to be speedier, but the emphasis is on being fair rather than being fast.”

Perego said that she informed City Council President Len Torres on June 16 about the board’s decision. Torres called the news “ludicrous.”

“[Schnirman] knew he couldn’t be involved in the political thing, and that’s why he decided to step out of the organization, and I think the facts are really going to speak for themselves,” said Torres, who added that he was not speaking for other council members. “Jack has very much been, as city manager, apolitical all this time.”

Councilwoman Anissa Moore said, however, that she was unaware of ICMA’s decision until she read about it on social media.

“It’s unfortunate that this information was not brought to my attention,” Moore said. “I’m deeply concerned because I had to find out from residents rather than the City Council president.”