Seattle City Treasurer Cleared In Ethics Case

SEATTLE

Seattle City Treasurer Lloyd Hara has been cleared of charges he violated the city's ethics code.

In a report, interim elections and ethics administrator Mauree McKaen concluded there was no evidence Hara had used improper influence in the selection of a pension-fund manager who also served as chairman of the finance committee for Hara's re-election.

McKaen's investigation focused on Hara's association with Stuart C. Johnston, managing general partner of The Phoenix Partners, an investment firm chosen by the Seattle Employees' Retirement Fund's investment committee to manage a portion of the city's retirement fund. Hara is a member of that board. Johnston also served on Hara's 1991 re-election committee until he resigned in May over the possible conflict.

In dropping the case, McKaen said Phoenix Partners had been the unanimous choice of the city's Investment Committee in what had been a "full and fair search."