Georgette said Garibaldi, an Officer of the Bank of Amador, could fear losing his job if he votes against the project since his boss is pro Jackson Hills, or Georgette suggested Garibaldi could have hidden intentions as he might have money to gain if he votes for approving the project since the developers will need millions of dollars to finance the project and the Bank of Amador may provide those loans which in turn would benefit Garibaldi who both works and owns stock at the company. At that point the City Attorney, Carlyn Drivdahl, said the facts presented did not establish that there was indeed a conflict of interest therefore Garibaldi was not did not disqualified from participating in the meeting or the decision, and the meeting continued. Gibson’s legal analysis does disclose that Garibaldi has three economic interest: he owns American River Bank shares, he is a manager of the bank branch, and he receives a salary from the bank, however the legal analysis also clearly states that this is still not enough reason for Garibaldi to be disqualified from the decision under the Fair and Political Practices Commission (FPPC) laws. Gibson points out in the document that there is no existing relationship between the Bank of Amador and the Jackson Hills development, and that there are at least 6 other mortgage lenders operating in the Jackson area that could also compete to finance the project’s loans, supposing that the project is approved. 

Legal Counsel said Garibaldi would only be disqualified if there was a monopoly of sorts with, say- just two mortgage lenders in the area. Gibson proceeded last night in walking the council through the Fair and Political Practices Commission 8 step analysis which is used to decide if an elected official has a conflict of interest. Using these steps Gibson said he determined, “Based on the facts as presented, Commissioner Garibaldi’s economic interests in the Bank do not establish a conflict of interest in relation to the Jackson Hills project.” Public members present did not seem to agree. Citizen Marilyn Lewis came forward and spoke about a recent article in the paper about the matter and said she was upset with the way Georgette was characterized in the editorial. She said, “A conflict of interest is very simple to determine. If there is any hint of impropriety in a vote the elected or appointed official should step down as a decision-maker.” Georgette also spoke and said he had hoped when bringing up this issue on May 7th that Commissioner Garibaldi would have explained why he felt he did not have a conflict of interest and why he can make a fair decision on the matter.

Georgette also made a point that being as it is small community, even if a person puts their name instead of the name of their business on a petition, other community members still associate them with the business they own or work at. He continued to say that he felt there’s a good chance that the Bank of Amador has something to gain if the project is approved. “To me technically legally so far it may not be a legal conflict of interest, but as Marilyn said it certainly has the look of impropriety. Unfortunately I think our city, this little community which I have been a part of, has been embarrassed by this and it may last a while.” Citizen Thornton Consolo ended his comments to the Council on the matter by saying, “It isn’t a conflict of interest because you guys don’t want it to be one.” Citizen Bud Lewis also spoke and echoed Georgette by saying he felt Garibaldi should have explained himself and said it is his belief that it was a conflict of interest for Garibaldi to be a decision maker in the case of the Jackson Hills Project. Several of the public members said they think Garibaldi is a good planning Commissioner, but suggested that he had a lapse of judgment regarding this issue.

Council member Andy Rodriguez also had a very strong opinion on the matter- he said that Commissioner Garibaldi has the utmost confidence of the Council. He continued by saying that hundreds of people in the community have known Garibaldi and his family for years and that they have found him to be an honest person. “I have not heard one person outside of this room right now suggest even a hint of impropriety. The feeling of the community is that Wayne is an honest honorable person, and that he had no conflict of interest.  He has the trust of the City of Jackson…” Rodriguez concluded by saying that vast majority of Jackson Citizens view this as a non issue. Council Member RosaLee Pryor-Escamilla said that the City handled the situation that came before them by requesting a legal report and that, that reports states there is not a conflict of interest, and that it is no longer an issue. Mayor Drew Stidger agreed and said he’s known Garibaldi since he moved to the area and have found him to be “a man of honesty and integrity and if there had been an issue he would have stepped down,” he said.  With that the Council accepted the legal opinion of the City Council, stating that Commissioner Garibaldi did not have a legal conflict of interest.