Lake Stevens Man Targeting Mccourt In Ethics Complaints -- Snohomish County Planning Commissioner Named In 4 Cases

EVERETT - A Lake Stevens man has filed four ethics complaints against Patrick McCourt, chairman of the Snohomish County Planning Commission, claiming he's violated the county ethics code and state finance-reporting laws.

Richard Maddalena filed his complaints yesterday with the county Ethics Commission.

All four complaints involve business deals that he claims McCourt, a real-estate developer, conducted in the Lake Stevens area since 1996.

But McCourt said yesterday that he knows nothing about the property described in one complaint. A second complaint, he said, involves a property he considered buying three months ago but never made an offer on.

"Mr. Maddalena's ethics complaints do not deserve a response," McCourt said.

McCourt said he absolutely has not committed any ethics violations.

Maddalena is one of 20 people who have requested county ethics-complaint forms since The Seattle Times published an Aug. 16 story about McCourt's apparent conflicts of interest. Maddalena is the first to return a completed form.

Last week, County Councilman Dave Somers asked McCourt to quit his county post to help restore the public's trust in the Planning Commission. McCourt, who says he's done nothing wrong, declined. Council members say they don't believe they have legal grounds to remove McCourt.

"Mr. McCourt has an awful lot of power, a lot more than people realize," said Maddalena, who narrowly lost a bid for a Lake Stevens City Council seat last year. "Nothing can be done in this town without Mr. McCourt's blessing, and that's kind of sad."

The Times investigation found, in part, that in 1996 McCourt invested $15,000 in a small business owned by David McGuire, who at that time was planning director for Lake Stevens. Three weeks later, McGuire proposed that the city's first priority for park acquisitions should be a property owned by McCourt.

In June 1997, Lake Stevens bought the land.

About two weeks after McGuire received McCourt's $15,000 check, McGuire told his supervisor.

McCourt did not report it to the Public Disclosure Commission at the time. McCourt is required to disclose his financial affairs by filing yearly statements with the PDC. McCourt said he filed an amended PDC report last month that included the investment.

Maddalena's ethics complaints are topped by McCourt's failure to disclose his financial relationship with McGuire, a violation of state and county rules.

The other three complaints relate to land deals for a new post office, a lakefront park, and a small residential development.

Ethics Commission Chairwoman Miriam Temple has until Friday to determine whether Maddalena's allegations would amount to violations of the county's ethics code.

If Temple doesn't dismiss the complaints, McCourt will be given a chance to respond. Then the five-member commission would study the case.

Diane Brooks' phone message number is 425-745-7802. Her e-mail address is: dbrooks@seattletimes.com