It’s Evident That Yorktown’s Ethics Laws Are Feeble
Opinion Advocates for ideas and draws conclusions based on the author/producer’s interpretation of facts and data.
In 2019, current Town Supervisor Lachterman entered into an ongoing business relationship with former supervisor Michael Grace by hiring him as his personal attorney. For the last five years, Grace appeared before Supervisor Lachterman dozens of times on behalf of his other clients while Lachterman served as either a councilman or supervisor.
From the start, Supervisor Lachterman should have, at the very least, made his personal business relationship with Mr. Grace publicly known. Many believe it was unwise for Lachterman not to take the extra precaution of recusing himself to protect the town from accusations of preferential treatment. Has the revelation of Supervisor Lachterman’s and Mr. Grace’s undisclosed business relationship undermined public trust in the integrity and impartiality of Town Hall?
Yorktown Board of Ethics’ anemic response of not even convening a meeting to address this conflict speaks volumes about the ingrained systemic feebleness of Yorktown’s ethical oversight. Yorktown is long overdue for its elected officials to finally start following a much more stringent ethical standard like other municipalities. Yorktown deserves more than a toothless ethics law and better than a lethargic Board of Ethics contented with just phoning it in.
Stephen Brown
Yorktown
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