By Niki Cervantes
Staff Writer

June 12, 2015 -- A Santa Monica citizen’s watchdog group is accusing former City Manager Rod Gould of allegedly violating conflict-of-interest law by accepting employment with a firm that repeatedly did business with the City during his tenure.

The Santa Monica Transparency Project said Gould is violating the city’s anti-corruption law, commonly known as the Oaks Initiative, by going to work as vice president of Management Partners, a move he recently announced.

Mary Marlow, the activist who heads the Transparency Project, said the group has filed a complaint with the City that details multiple instances in which Gould approved contracts with Management Partners without a separate vote of approval by the City Council.

Gould said he hadn’t heard about a complaint being filed against him until receiving a call from The Lookout Thursday afternoon.

“It’s news to me,” he said. “I’ve reached out to the City Attorney’s Office to find out if there is any possibility” of conflict of interest. “It’s not my understanding, but I am awaiting advice from the City Attorney.”

Although city managers routinely approve contracts of less than $60,000, Marlow contends Gould went astray of the initiative passed by Santa Monica voters in 2000 when he then went to work for a firm that benefitted from the contracts he approved.

The charter amendment, she said, “prohibits a public official from receiving specified personal benefits from a person or entity after the official votes, or otherwise takes official action, to award a “public benefit” to that person or entity.

Examples of a “public benefit” include public contracts to provide goods or services worth more than $25,000 or a land use approval worth more than $25,000.”

She said the Transparency Project wants “a full investigation” into the allegations, and that “appropriate and full remedies be sought and enforced.”

“This is a matter of great public concern,” Marlow said. “The conduct described in these complaints is extremely troubling.”

The complaint said funds received by Gould from Management Partners should be repaid and put into the Santa Monica General Fund. Gould also should be barred from working for Management Partners until 2017, which Marlow said is required by the City law.

The City Attorney’s Office did not return a call for comment.

Listed by Marlow are contracts dating back to 2011, when Management Partners was awarded a $39,500 contract for organizational and financial analysis of Woodlawn Cemetery; April of 2012, when its received a $30,000 contract for review of the finance department; February of 2013, when it received a $50,000 contract for forestry oversight; and Oct of 2014, when the organization was granted a $44,900 contract for performance measures development.

Gould was City Manager for Santa Monica for five years before retiring from the post late last year.

Last month, Gould announced that he had joined Management Partners, a consulting firm that helps governments improve their performance. As vice president for management Gould is based in the West Coast office of the firm, which also has offices in Cincinnati, Florida, San Jose and Orange County.

“Throughout my career in city management, I have been consistently impressed with the quality and utility of Management Partners’ work,” Gould said in a statement posted on the company’s website. 

“I’m eager to join such a committed and expert group of management consultants dedicated to excellence in local government, and I view it as another stage of service," he said.