ORANGE : Irish Did Not Break Law, Attorney Says

School board member Alan Irish did not violate conflict-of-interest laws when he voted to hire a vendor who had contributed to his reelection campaign, according to a letter written by a lawyer for the county and released by Irish this week.

Two separate complaints challenging the appointment of Howard Mason to head the district’s maintenance, operations and transportation office as a possible violation of state law are under investigation by the Orange County district attorney’s office.

Mason, who contributed $1,000 to Irish’s 1990 election campaign, was unanimously approved by the Orange Unified school board last August as interim director for the department and was named permanent director in March.

The district attorney’s investigation will determine, among other things, whether the district improperly gave an administrative job to Mason and whether Irish’s support for Mason represents a conflict of interest.

But an Oct. 17 letter from an attorney for the County Department of Education states that the district broke no law in hiring Mason.

“The district may lawfully contract with an architect or other independent contractor who has made a campaign contribution to a district board member and the board member is not required to abstain from participating in board decisions concerning the architect,” attorney Val R. Fadely wrote.

Citing three sections of California government codes, Fadely said campaign contributions are not considered gifts or sources of income and that for a conflict of interest to exist, a public offical must have a financial interest in the decision made.

Mason’s former company, Rancho Cucamonga-based Howard Mason & Associates, a construction inspection service, has done work for the Orange school district for at least three years. Mason gave up control and financial interest in the company when he was named as an Orange Unified administrator in March. The company is completing about $20,000 in work orders and will not be rehired by the district, district officials have said.

Irish said he sought legal advice from the county last August after a teacher’s union representative warned him that he could be violating state law by voting to hire a contractor who had contributed to his campaign.