Ex-Tree Panel Member Cleared of Ethics Charges

A state political watchdog commission has ruled that there is no evidence to show a former member of the Sierra Madre Tree Preservation Commission had a conflict of interest when he went to work for a developer whose project he once inspected as a commission member.

In a letter to former tree Commissioner Lew Watanabe, the Fair Political Practices Commission wrote that it would conduct no further investigation into a complaint filed Oct. 3 by attorney Linda Thornton.

“Based on the information provided with the complaint, there is no evidence to show that you participated in or influenced a governmental decision which resulted in a reasonably foreseeable material effect for yourself or your economic interests,” wrote Darryl East, chief of the enforcement division.

Watanabe said he was elated at the outcome. He has acknowledged going to work for developer Brion Costa in December 1994, a month after inspecting the four-acre Jameson Estate that Costa was turning into a housing development.

The commission also dismissed an allegation that Watanabe failed to report more than $40,000 in income on his conflict-of-interest statement. It said the city’s codes failed to “clearly indicate the disclosure requirements of commissioners and board members” so it cannot hold commissioners accountable.