CONFLICT OF INTEREST....

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The web definition of Conflict of Interest:

A situation in which a public officials decisions are influenced by the officials personal interests..

There are many other definitions of conflict of interest, which makes it quite difficult to actually define. But one thing is for sure, most people know it when they see it. Is it possible that right now in our city of Corpus Christi Texas we have a case of conflict of interest going on?

Let's be honest here, most conflicts of interest fall into a gray area where ethics and public perception are more relevant then laws or statutes. When a public official is newly hired, say 2-3 years or less, the official (city manager) needs to prove to his public that he can be trusted and is here to make the best decisions for his city's citizens. By dealing in these gray areas a city manager will lose all credibility not only with the citizens he serves, but also with the departments and the department leaders that work under him.

Now conflict of interest arise whenever the personal or professional interest of city officials are potentially at odds with the best interest of the the city he serves. Common conflicts of interests are: When a board member or city official (city manager) proposes that a relative or friend be considered for a staff position. Ok now read that again, When a city official proposes a relative or friend for a staff position is a conflict of interest. UH OH...We may have a problem here in CC Tx . I will return to that in a minute.

To be fair, these transactions are not necessarily illegal. They are very vulnerable to legal challenges and heavy public misunderstanding, but not illegal. Loss of public confidence and a damaged reputation will result from this sort of conflict of interest as we stated earlier. Because public confidence is probably one of the most important things to a city, its council, and its manager, these people (all of them) should take all the proper steps to avoid these conflicts of interest.

To return to the statement I made that this might be happening or have happened in C.C. Tx. At this moment the city is in the process of hiring a Fire Chief. Before I go any further I must remind everyone that here in C.C. Tx, the Fire Chief is hired by the city manager. Please keep that in mind.

The city has gone through the whole process of searching out and finding qualified candidates for this position. I am sure this process is not cheap and is paid for through tax dollars, so if a conflict of interest is taking place the tax payers should be aware of it.

The city of C.C. Tx had 12 finalists a month or so ago and that list was narrowed down to 5 finalists recently. Unfortunately one of the candidates had to withdraw his name due to unexpected family health issues.

So that left the city of C.C. with 4 finalists....

George Blackmore - Austin Tx

Brian Riley - Arlington Tx

Brian Brank - Killeen Tx

Robert Rocha - Kansas City, Kansas

According to reports, the city manager was to use input from different panels to make his decision among the final 4 candidates as well as the hiring of the eventual new Fire Chief. The panels were called the community panel, the management panel, and the executive panel. The city manager was to use information and feedback from these three panels as well as information and feedback from the Corpus Christi Professional Firefighters Assoc. Executive Board to assist with his decision.

This past week interviews were done with all 4 candidates. Each panel as well as the CCPFFA panel  was able to interview each candidate, with that information to be turned into the city manager to help his process of making his decision.

Last Friday the CCFD Union's panel was holding their last 2 interviews of the 4 finalists. It is said that in the middle of their last interview, a local news station reported that the city and the city manager have announced their final 2 candidates for the Chief's position. Uh really?? The CCFD Union's interviews were not even completed yet and their information definitely had not been given to the city manager..

Ok, so most of you are asking what does all of this have to do with conflict of interest? Well here it comes....

The 2 finalists the city manager has announced are Robert Rocha of Kansas City, Kansas and Brian Riley of Arlington Texas.

These 2 finalists will be asked to come back in a few weeks for a second interview. After talking with many people that had an opportunity to meet and interview these 2 candidates, it was quite surprising to find out they will be coming back for a second interview. The consensus was that Chief Rocha impressed everyone including the 3 panels as well as the rank and file of the CCFD and their Union officers.

Here is the conflict of interest. Our city manager was at one time the Deputy City Manager in Arlington Texas from approx 2004 to 2007. At the same time Mr. Olson was Deputy City Manager in Arlington Texas, a Mr. Brian Riley was the Asst. Fire Chief in Arlington Texas working under Mr. Olson. They are friends.

And now Mr. Olson has made Chief Riley a finalist and invited him back for a second interview, even after the consensus seemed to be for Chief Rocha. Remember from earlier, a conflict of interest is when a city official proposes a relative or friend for a staff position...Hmmm

Is this actually happening here? WE are not 100% sure that it is but we are just reporting facts and things just seem alittle too coincidental. Some of you may be saying well may be one candidate is just more qualified then the other. We will let you decide...

Chief Riley has over 30 years of fire service experience. The last 13 years have been spent at the appointed position of Asst. Fire Chief. Chief Riley has a Bachelor of Business Management degree as well as an Associate in Applied Science degree. Chief Riley's city of Arlington Texas is quite a bit smaller in size as compared to C.C. Texas. The city of Arlington is not a fire/ems based system, they privatize their ems using a third party company.

Chief Rocha has over 29 years of fire service experience. Chief Rocha served as Deputy Fire Chief from 2007-2011 prior to retiring. This position assumed all the duties of the Fire Chief in his absence. Chief Rocha holds a Executive Masters of Business Administration degree, a Bachelor of Arts - Management and Human Relations, a Associate in Applied Science, and is a Graduate of the National Fire Academy. Chief Rocha belongs to the following associations: The International Assoc. of Fire Chiefs, International Assoc. of Firefighters, Kansas State Assoc. of Fire Chiefs, as well as National Society of Hispanic MBD's. Chief Rocha is bilingual, fluent in both English and Spanish.

The city of Kansas City, Kansas is very close to the same size of C.C. Texas in square miles. Chief Rocha's department in Kansas City was and still is fire/ems based just like C.C. Texas is.

So to say that one candidate is more qualified then the other to become the new Fire Chief of Corpus Christi Texas is correct. It just depends on who you think that is. 

I hope for the sake of our city and its leaders (council members, manager) that there is no gray area conflict of interest taking place. But from the outside looking in it sure seems that way. The public has a right to know exactly what is going on and with all the facts about the situation. Transparency is not something that cities and their officials are used to but we here believe it is the only way to gain trust of the citizens.

So lets see how this plays out.....