Worcester D1 Councilor Wants Opponent To Release Ethics Ruling

Worcester MA

15 September, 2021

4:24 PM

Description

WORCESTER, MA — A day after Worcester's preliminary election, incumbent City Councilor Sean Rose is demanding his 2021 opponent Richard Cipro — a city police sergeant — release records showing he can obey state ethics laws while serving in office. In a new release Wednesday, Rose said Cipro — who was the top vote-getter in the D1 primary — has told voters that the state Ethics Commission has vetted him to serve as an elected official. That opinion should be made public for voters to see, Rose said. Under state law, municipal employees like police officers and teachers can run for and hold office. But state law could prohibit Cipro from voting on items related to the police department. Cipro, who is also a police union leader, has made public safety funding a plank in his campaign, saying on his website he will, "fight to increase our police and fire services by advocating for the needed resources to keep our city safe and secure." Cipro did not immediately return a request for comment on Wednesday. "Residents in District 1 deserve to know what he can and cannot vote for as it relates to things that impact him," Rose said Wednesday. "I do think there are some mistruths being put out there that are resonating with folks." A spokesman for the state Ethics Commission said Wednesday the agency can neither confirm nor deny if a particular candidate has received advice from the commission. Cipro wouldn't be able to lobby other Councilors to support items that affect the police department, Rose said. He cited a 2017 state Ethics Commission opinion that says public officials can't participate "by voting, discussing, delegating or otherwise acting, in any matter that affects … his or her own financial interests." Rose also questioned Cipro's pledge to forgo a Council salary and instead allocate it to "groups that assist addiction, homelessness or mental health issues." Under state conflict of interest law, municipal employees can't take a second, separate paid job in the same city. Cipro earned more votes than Rose in Tuesday's three-way District 1 preliminary election: 1,384 to Rose's 1,227, a difference of 157 ballots. Cipro, 55, has been a Worcester police officer for nearly 30 years, and is the president of the IBPO Local 504 union, which represents ranked members of the department. The District 1 race is his first attempt at office. Rose, 45, first won the District 1 seat in 2017 in a tight race against Edward Moynihan. Rose went unchallenged in 2019.