The attorney for the Tampa Sports Authority is rejecting claims of conflict of interest against four of the public agency's board members.
But Jared Willis, the Tampa attorney who made that allegation, is pressing ahead.
Willis sent a letter to authority last week calling for those members to resign because he said property they owned created a conflict tied to the location of a proposed Tampa Bay Rays stadium.
ALSO READ: Tampa Sports Authority members accused of conflicts as tax vote clouds Rays stadium plan
"The TSA is required by their [Code] of Ethics not only to abstain from anything where they might have a conflict," Willis said Tuesday, "but it requires that they abstain from anything that even has the appearance of a conflict."
On Monday, the authority's attorney, Jeffrey Gibson, said there was no conflict because the members would not see any "private gain or loss” if a stadium was located near their properties.
Willis said even the possibility of material gain should be disclosed.
"The Code of Ethics requires them to go to their general counsel ahead of any meeting where this may happen, and talk through it and make sure that it isn't in conflict," Willis said. "The purpose of disclosing on the front end is to clear conflicts and to make sure there aren't any conflicts. It's entirely possible that the general counsel would have looked at it and said there's no conflict. The problem is that didn't happen beforehand."
ALSO READ: Tampa Sports Authority puts spending priority in writing. It's Raymond James Stadium
Willis, who has publicly supported the Rays' stadium proposal, said he was not contacted by anyone to file the complaint.
"I'm worried about my community. I'm worried about how this conversation has played out," he said when asked why he sent his letter. "I'd like to see us get back to a place where we can trust that everyone that's involved in the conversation is involved for the right reasons and is there because they are representing the taxpayers and they're doing it for the taxpayers.
"So to me, I'll continue to watch it."
The authority is an independent special district created under state law. It operates Raymond James Stadium, a sportsplex and three public golf courses. The 11-member board has four appointees from Hillsborough County, four from the city of Tampa, one from the governor and two ex-officio members.
The members targeted by Willis are Chair Patrick Manteiga, Tony Muniz and Andy Scaglione — all county appointees — and Joe Robinson, a city selection.
During the June 2 board meeting, Muniz made a motion for the board to send a letter to local elected officials that said TSA's priority for the use of public dollars was proposed renovations to Raymond James Stadium, not the Rays' project. All four voted for the motion, which passed.
ALSO READ: Hillsborough county attorney clarifies commissioners can't remove sports authority members
Willis had requested that the four members voluntarily resign or be fired. But the county's attorney has ruled that commissioners have no power to fire its appointees to the sports authority. That is expected to be discussed at Wednesday's commission meeting.
A request for such a ruling was made by Commissioner Christine Miller on June 3, a day after the board voted to draft the letter, which was sent June 5.
Miller said she wanted to ensure board members did not favor one team over another as negotiations continue on the $2.3 billion Rays’ stadium.
Willis spoke during the public comments period of the city's Community Redevelopment Agency meeting on May 21. He said he recently moved to Tampa from Tallahassee and told the board, "I really urge you all to support a Tampa that embraces big ideas and embraces possibility."
