The Minturn Town Council will investigate Mayor Gordon “Hawkeye” Flaherty for possibly breaching town law by defending his friend at a municipal court hearing earlier this month.
Flaherty gave Jim Hoza legal counsel at a hearing about Hoza’s vacant property, which has been a point of contention among neighbors, who call it a cluttered eyesore.
“I think we’ve got an issue here of credibility of government when you’ve got officials appearing before government bodies trying to influence the outcome,” Town Attorney Allen Christensen said.
According to town law, “town officers or town employees shall not appear on behalf of any private person, business or entity before the Town Council, any town board or the municipal court.”
Some residents, however, said the issue was overblown.
“I’m proud to have a mayor who will stand up and be a friend. This (the investigation) is bad for Jimmy, bad for Hawkeye and an embarrassment for Minturn,” said Harry Gray, owner of a coffee shop next to Hoza’s lot.
