Ethics Commission: 'We Look At Evidence Very Carefully'

In her first interview with Patch since the Missouri Ethics Commission issued a , the agency's Executive Director said complaints are taken "very seriously," and that evidence is looked at "very thoroughly" and "very carefully".

Julie Allen was unable to speak about specifics in the case due to state law, instead directing people with questions about the verdict to copies of letters available on the agency's website.

In reacting to the dismissal, Rhoades said Friday the ruling serves to "raise more questions than they answer..."

Allen, again while not addressing a specific element of the case said the agency is bound by specific areas of the law which dictate its authority.

The matter did come up at Monday's City Council meeting briefly. Councilwoman Rhoades entered her correspondence with the Ethics Commission into the record.

Mayor Glantz read a portion of the letter he received from the MEC informing him that its investigation found that the allegations were unsubstantiated. The Mayor said that, as requested by the MEC, he did file amended reports Monday with local elections authorities to reflect in-kind donations to the campaign to cover expenses for endorsement letters.

While Mayor Glantz repeated his hope to put the campaign behind the city, still unresolved is the MEC's decision on the ethics complaint Glantz filed against his opponent, Laura Bryant, over a missed deadline in filing a campaign finance report in February.

Bryant later submitted the report, with her campaign calling it an honest mistake.