Marion Council Member Nick Glew Under Investigation

Former Marion mayoral candidate and current Marion City Council member Nick Glew is under investigation for ethics violations, according to Eastern Iowa Government.

Linn County Attorney Jerry Vander Sanden is investigating a claim made by Marion resident Mike Dricken that Glew broke state law when he issued motions to pay his employer, Anderson-Bogert Engineers, for assorted work in Marion.

“It’s unfounded. We’re not worried about it, but it’s something people will have to spend time on, unfortunately," Nick Glew told Eastern Iowa Government.

In previous converstions with Mayor-elect Snooks Bouska, this topic was brought up frequently. Bouska said he thought it was an enourmous conflict of interest that Glew helped forward the Seventh Avenue Project when his employer was making many of the plans.

Still, it is an investigation, not a trial. Glew has not been found to have taken part in any wrongdoing. 

As to the specific instances of conflict under question, the Gazette writes:

In his letter to the ethics board Dricken submitted council minutes showing Glew made motions to vote July 7 and Oct. 20 on resolutions approving payments on a total of $5,404 worth of Anderson-Bogert bills. Glew abstained from the subsequent votes.

This instance may sound benign considering he abstained in future votes, but the matter is something a number of people have brought up.

So whether it is an absent minded mistake or someting more serious, we'll have more on this story as it develops.