Probe clears Port’s McGregor after fellow commissioner’s conflict of interest claims

Another Port of Olympia commissioner has been cleared in a conflict of interest case based on claims from a fellow commissioner.

E.J. Zita accused Bill McGregor of having a conflict of interest related to the Lacey MakerSpace, set to open next year at Saint Martin’s University. McGregor had recommended the port contribute $15,000 a year in funding to the project, which is located in his district, and the claim was that members of its executive committee and steering committee supported McGregor’s 2017 election campaign.

Thomas McPhee, a retired Thurston County Superior Court judge, was appointed to investigate the claim. He found McGregor did not violate rules on conflicts of interest that bar commissioners from making decisions that benefit themselves. McPhee found just one campaign contributor involved in the project.

Earlier this month, McPhee cleared Zita in a case involving a possible conflict of interest with a plan to develop port-owned land in Tumwater, a claim that came from McGregor.

This story was originally published November 21, 2018 at 7:00 AM.