Two vacancies on the Leander Ethics Commission were filled June 7 in advance of the committee's June 13 meeting.
The Leander City Council approved the appointments of Victor Villarreal and Richard Shirley to the Ethics Commission, a permanent board that is in the process of reviewing charges against former Mayor John Cowman.
Villarreal was approved 3-1, with Councilwoman Kirsten Lynch casting the lone dissenting vote. Council members Simon Garcia and Michell Cantwell were absent, and Place 5—Mayor Chris Fielder's former seat—remains vacant until the June 16 runoff election.
Lynch expressed concern over Villarreal's appointment, first over the procedure with which to appoint him and then his possible conflict of interest as an Austin Community College board trustee.
"I know he is a citizen and does not go against anything in the charter," Lynch said. "I'm just concerned about any possible impropriety—or at least the appearance of any impropriety."
Mayor Pro Tem David Siebold responded by calling Villarreal the most ethical person he knows, and that he will withdraw from any votes that involve ACC.
Lynch once again expressed her concerns of appointing an elected official before casting her vote against Villarreal. Shirley, Austin Police Department seargeant and 36-year law enforcement veteran, was unanimously approved by the council.
The appointees will serve at the next Ethics Commission meeting June 13, during which time they will hear ongoing deliberations against Cowman, who lost the May 12 city election to Fielder after serving three terms in the city's top office.