Last Tuesday, Frisco Mayor Jeff Cheney stated that the city’s ethics ordinance will be put to review following the dismissal of several ethics complaints according to a Star Local Media article on August 6 which states,
“The statement came during a Tuesday City Council meeting after a resident called for an independent ethics council. Cheney said the city’s governance committee will be “picking up” the ethics ordinance and that the speaker could speak on it at a meeting later this month.
Cheney’s comments come after the Frisco City Council has twice faced ethics complaints this year.”
The first complaint came in January and as reported in an article of the Dallas Morning News from January 6 which commented,
“Martin Woodward requested that Cheney, John Keating, Brian Livingston and Dan Stricklin be removed from office for not following the state mask mandate or the city’s COVID-19 emergency order.
Woodward’s complaint cited Facebook photos on Stricklin’s campaign page that show him, Keating and Livingston among a “maskless, non-distanced crowd” at the Frisco Conservative Winter Social.”
The second complaint as reported in another Dallas Morning news article from July 8, alleged that,
“Mayor hosted a keg party at his home where his 18-year-old son and other underage attendees were drinking alcohol. Rouse said photos and videos posted to social media were widely shared and posted on a political news site.”
Eventually, the complaints were dismissed as the six members of the council unanimously voted to toss the complaints, contending that the said complaints were only accusations. However, this dismissal of complaints ultimately led to the loss of some citizens’ confidence and trust in city officials which made them request a review of the ethics ordinance of the city. This has further escalated into a division with some people defending the city council and some criticizing that the actions of council members were insensitive and inappropriate following the pandemic that had impaired the community for 10 months.