Strange machinations of the 31st street hotel deal with city's 2 convict partners

31st St. hotel project gets approval - again

Can the VBEDA's approval of the 31st Street hotel project get more convoluted, confusing? You judge

Guess how new member Page Lea voted on the 31st Street hotel project

The city's partners in the 5-year ongoing controversial deal are convicts
The main proponent, Councilman William (Billy) Harrison paid $28,000 to settle a sexual assault complaint
After a vote by the same agency failed to approve the project on Friday of last week, Elizabeth (Betsy) Duke, a banker who said it would have been a conflict for her to vote on the deal because the two convicts are depositors in her bank, abruptly resigned after one conversation with Harrison.
Tuesday Harrison proposed Lea, a crony, for the position, guaranteeing a yes vote for the project
Lea was formally nominated by Vice Mayor Will Sessoms, another crony
At his appointment, Lea had not even submitted his name, to the city clerk's data bank of potential interested applicants
During his council campaign Lea ran a misleading ad saying when the people approve a referendum (31st project was rejected by 58% of the voters in a referendum in 2000), their desires should be listened to
Lea also joined a conspiracy to funnel tens of thousands of dollars into a pseudo conservation group used to run vicious attack ads against one of his campaign opponents. By doing so, he tried to hide his involvement and pledge of integrity (an oxymoron?)
VBEDA member Teresa Carrington, who works at Wachovia Bank in the same World Trade Center office as Vice Mayor Sessoms, voted favorably for the project last week and again Thursday
She said she did not know who nominated her for the VBEDA position on 9/1/01. City Clerk Ruth Smith said Carrington's nomination is 'secret' under the law and would not say who nominated her. Carrington didn't know if it was Sessoms or not, she said
Sessoms would normally have nominated her, but Carrington did not see that as a conflict of interest by having him as her mentor, working in the same office, and supporting his advocacy of the 31st Street project
And because Robert Fentress and Carrington made the motion and second, respectively, their votes were not polled by the clerk. The polled votes showed the project failing again by a 3-2 vote since Carrington and Fentress were not polled. City Attorney Les Lilley ruled that was ok since it was assumed those making the motion and seconding it voted for it
Darl Anderson and EDA member Robert F. Hagans Jr. (who voted against) question the validity of that ruling

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