Mayor Wins again ! Downes Losses ! $$$
Mayor cleared of conflict
Ex-councillor fails to prove business relationship between Rosen, K-Rock boss, judge rules
Posted By JORDAN PRESS WHIG-STANDARD CITY HALL REPORTER
Posted 6 hours ago
A judge has ruled that Kingston's mayor did not violate conflict of interest laws when he took part in votes on building the downtown arena on the Inner Harbour.
In a ruling handed down Wednesday, Superior Court Justice Stanley J. Kershman dismissed an application from former city councillor Rick Downes to find Harvey Rosen guilty of violating the Municipal Conflict of Interest Act.
The judge ruled that Downes did not prove that there was a business relationship between John Wright from K-Rock radio and Rosen.
Downes claimed that Rosen failed to declare a conflict when he took part in debates and votes on issues related to the selection of property on Anglin Bay as a preferred site for construction of a new downtown arena.
Downes claimed that Wright had a stake in Kingston Marina, which the city would have had to purchase if it built the rink on the inner harbour.
"It is difficult to understand what possible personal benefit [Rosen] would have achieved in supporting ... council's originally chosen site.
There was simply no potential conflict of interest to disclose in the Court's view," Kershman wrote .
Downes could not be reached yesterday for comment.
In an interview, Rosen said he wasn't surprised by the decision.
"I took the legal process seriously ... but I never thought the case was a serious case. It was bizarre. It had no connection to reality," Rosen said.
Rosen's lawyer, Wilfrid Menninga, said the judge's ruling took into account evidence from Downes that was ruled to be improperly placed before the court.
"It's not just a technical decision. It was a decision on the merits [of the case]," Menninga said. "It was a complete exoneration of the mayor's position."
The judge ordered Downes to pay $5,500 of Rosen's legal costs, which is only a portion of Rosen's legal bill, which is more than $9,700.
Rosen said the city's insurance, which covers council members taken to court over municipal decisions, will cover his legal costs. It will be up to the insurance company, Rosen said, as to whether Downes will have to pay up.
Downes filed the civil action in March. Had Rosen been found guilty, he could have been removed from office.
In April 2004, Rosen announced that a task force he hand-picked had identified 4.7 hectares of land on the Inner Harbour as the ideal site for a new arena.
At a news conference on April 16, 2004, Rosen explained that to build there, the city needed to purchase nine-tenths of a hectare of land from Wright, who owns the Kingston Marina. He also owns K-Rock.
Rosen voted to build an arena on the site, but public outcry was largely responsible for moving it. The arena now stands at the corner of Barrack and Ontario streets.
Rosen declared a possible pecuniary interest this year when council approved a naming rights deal with K-Rock after he learned the radio station was the successful bidder. The name was kept secret until after the vote.
Council approved the deal, without Rosen voting or taking part in the debate. The deal is worth $3.3 million in cash and services over 10 years.
Rosen said he made the declaration because he didn't want to appear unduly influenced or biased. Afterward, Rosen said, he received legal advice that he had no pecuniary interest in the naming rights deal "but politically people perceive things differently than the law might draw."
The legal decision notes that Rosen Corp. signed a lease agreement with KRock in 2001 for space at 863 Princess St. Rosen signed the agreement as president of Rosen Corp., while John Wright signed the deal on behalf of KRock, the judge noted. Rosen signed the deal as "landlord of the property, and not in his personal capacity," the judge wrote.
In court, Downes argued unsuccessfully that the business relationship between Rosen Corp. and K-Rock created a pecuniary interest for Rosen in regards to city dealings with Wright.
During cross-examination, Kershman noted, Downes acknowledged there was no business partnership between the two.
"So we can ignore the words 'business partnership' because they purportedly refer only to the relationship of landlord and tenant, correct?" Downes was asked.
"I can agree with that, yes. That's fine,"Downes replied.
The lease, the judge ruled, was the only business dealing that existed between Rosen and Wright. "There was strictly a landlord and tenant relationship between Rosen Corp. and KRock [sic]. This is not the same as a business partnership," the ruling stated.
In court , Downes argued that Wright was a shareholder of K-Rock. Kershman wrote that none of the evidence Downes presented properly before the court proved this assertion correct.
"I make this statement as there are numerous materials submitted by [Downes] that are not properly before the court," the ruling stated.
In court, Downes tried to introduce city council documents, press releases, media reports and publicly available corporation information sheets as part of his case.
Downes didn't admit the documents as evidence as part of his affidavit in the case, Kershman wrote, nor did he admit them into evidence in the course of cross-examination of either himself or Rosen.
"I agree with [Rosen] that if [Downes] had wanted to place these documents into evidence, they should have been attached as exhibits to an affidavit," the judge ruled.
Kershman also wrote that there was no evidence to prove that a numbered company owned the Kingston Marina, or that Wright was a shareholder in that company.
The judge stated that Downes told the court that it is "common knowledge" in Kingston that Wright owns the marina. Other evidence that Downes presented, Kershman wrote, was proper evidence before the court.
"While this may appear to be evidence to [Downes], it is not evidence that is admissible in a court of law," Kershman wrote.
Downes narrowly lost the mayoralty to Rosen during the 2006 municipal election.
The $46.5 million K-Rock Centre opened on Feb. 22.
Ex-councillor fails to prove business relationship between Rosen, K-Rock boss, judge rules
Posted By JORDAN PRESS WHIG-STANDARD CITY HALL REPORTER
Posted 6 hours ago
A judge has ruled that Kingston's mayor did not violate conflict of interest laws when he took part in votes on building the downtown arena on the Inner Harbour.
In a ruling handed down Wednesday, Superior Court Justice Stanley J. Kershman dismissed an application from former city councillor Rick Downes to find Harvey Rosen guilty of violating the Municipal Conflict of Interest Act.
The judge ruled that Downes did not prove that there was a business relationship between John Wright from K-Rock radio and Rosen.
Downes claimed that Rosen failed to declare a conflict when he took part in debates and votes on issues related to the selection of property on Anglin Bay as a preferred site for construction of a new downtown arena.
Downes claimed that Wright had a stake in Kingston Marina, which the city would have had to purchase if it built the rink on the inner harbour.
"It is difficult to understand what possible personal benefit [Rosen] would have achieved in supporting ... council's originally chosen site.
There was simply no potential conflict of interest to disclose in the Court's view," Kershman wrote .
Downes could not be reached yesterday for comment.
In an interview, Rosen said he wasn't surprised by the decision.
"I took the legal process seriously ... but I never thought the case was a serious case. It was bizarre. It had no connection to reality," Rosen said.
Rosen's lawyer, Wilfrid Menninga, said the judge's ruling took into account evidence from Downes that was ruled to be improperly placed before the court.
"It's not just a technical decision. It was a decision on the merits [of the case]," Menninga said. "It was a complete exoneration of the mayor's position."
The judge ordered Downes to pay $5,500 of Rosen's legal costs, which is only a portion of Rosen's legal bill, which is more than $9,700.
Rosen said the city's insurance, which covers council members taken to court over municipal decisions, will cover his legal costs. It will be up to the insurance company, Rosen said, as to whether Downes will have to pay up.
Downes filed the civil action in March. Had Rosen been found guilty, he could have been removed from office.
In April 2004, Rosen announced that a task force he hand-picked had identified 4.7 hectares of land on the Inner Harbour as the ideal site for a new arena.
At a news conference on April 16, 2004, Rosen explained that to build there, the city needed to purchase nine-tenths of a hectare of land from Wright, who owns the Kingston Marina. He also owns K-Rock.
Rosen voted to build an arena on the site, but public outcry was largely responsible for moving it. The arena now stands at the corner of Barrack and Ontario streets.
Rosen declared a possible pecuniary interest this year when council approved a naming rights deal with K-Rock after he learned the radio station was the successful bidder. The name was kept secret until after the vote.
Council approved the deal, without Rosen voting or taking part in the debate. The deal is worth $3.3 million in cash and services over 10 years.
Rosen said he made the declaration because he didn't want to appear unduly influenced or biased. Afterward, Rosen said, he received legal advice that he had no pecuniary interest in the naming rights deal "but politically people perceive things differently than the law might draw."
The legal decision notes that Rosen Corp. signed a lease agreement with KRock in 2001 for space at 863 Princess St. Rosen signed the agreement as president of Rosen Corp., while John Wright signed the deal on behalf of KRock, the judge noted. Rosen signed the deal as "landlord of the property, and not in his personal capacity," the judge wrote.
In court, Downes argued unsuccessfully that the business relationship between Rosen Corp. and K-Rock created a pecuniary interest for Rosen in regards to city dealings with Wright.
During cross-examination, Kershman noted, Downes acknowledged there was no business partnership between the two.
"So we can ignore the words 'business partnership' because they purportedly refer only to the relationship of landlord and tenant, correct?" Downes was asked.
"I can agree with that, yes. That's fine,"Downes replied.
The lease, the judge ruled, was the only business dealing that existed between Rosen and Wright. "There was strictly a landlord and tenant relationship between Rosen Corp. and KRock [sic]. This is not the same as a business partnership," the ruling stated.
In court , Downes argued that Wright was a shareholder of K-Rock. Kershman wrote that none of the evidence Downes presented properly before the court proved this assertion correct.
"I make this statement as there are numerous materials submitted by [Downes] that are not properly before the court," the ruling stated.
In court, Downes tried to introduce city council documents, press releases, media reports and publicly available corporation information sheets as part of his case.
Downes didn't admit the documents as evidence as part of his affidavit in the case, Kershman wrote, nor did he admit them into evidence in the course of cross-examination of either himself or Rosen.
"I agree with [Rosen] that if [Downes] had wanted to place these documents into evidence, they should have been attached as exhibits to an affidavit," the judge ruled.
Kershman also wrote that there was no evidence to prove that a numbered company owned the Kingston Marina, or that Wright was a shareholder in that company.
The judge stated that Downes told the court that it is "common knowledge" in Kingston that Wright owns the marina. Other evidence that Downes presented, Kershman wrote, was proper evidence before the court.
"While this may appear to be evidence to [Downes], it is not evidence that is admissible in a court of law," Kershman wrote.
Downes narrowly lost the mayoralty to Rosen during the 2006 municipal election.
The $46.5 million K-Rock Centre opened on Feb. 22.
posted by LVEC EDUCATED at 1:04 p.m.
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