The Florida Commission on Ethics prosecuting advocate is saying that Tallahassee Mayor John Marks did violate ethics laws for taking part in several votes at City Commission meetings. Her recommended penalties include public reprimanding and monetary fines.
Diane Guillemette, a senior assistant attorney general who acts as a prosecutor for the state ethics commission, says Marks should have excused himself from voting on city matters that financially benefited companies that had retained him as an attorney. The City Commission votes happened from 2007 to 2010.
Guillemette is recommending Marks should be fined $6,000 for each of five votes, for a total of $30,000 in fines.
The state attorney general’s office declined to comment, saying this is an ongoing matter. And Marks’s attorney did not respond to a request for comment by air time.
A hearing officer is still reviewing the recommendations, which were filed on Nov. 1.
