Magna says it referred mayor allegations to the attorney general and ethics commission

Magna referred “certain allegations” in a complaint about Mayor Mick Sudbury to the Utah Attorney General’s Office and the Political Subdivision Ethics Commission, at the recommendation of an outside investigator, according to a city statement released Sept. 1 and reported by Gephardt Daily. The statement said the council was reviewing and implementing the investigator’s other recommendations. ^[1]

A referral is not a charge or a finding of wrongdoing. The Ledger found no public decision by either agency as of Oct. 16 and has not obtained the investigator’s report. ^[1][2]

What FOX 13 reported from the report

FOX 13 obtained the 85-page report, dated Aug. 19, through a public records request. It reported that the investigator, an outside attorney retained by the city after a July complaint, found that Sudbury acted unprofessionally toward city employees and police, exercised improper authority and retaliated against a witness. ^[2][1]

According to FOX 13, the investigator called Sudbury’s interactions with Unified Police Department officers the most serious finding, including threats to officers’ employment when they did not do what he wanted, and recommended a referral to prosecutors. The report says the referral “should be for independent evaluation, not a request that Mayor Sudbury be prosecuted.” ^[2]

FOX 13 reported that the report says Magna’s form of government gives the city manager, not the mayor, authority over employees and daily operations, and recommends ordinance and policy changes to clarify responsibilities and provide oversight of the mayor. ^[2]

Sudbury’s response

Sudbury denied retaliation and other specific allegations to the investigator, according to FOX 13. The report quotes him as not disputing “that significant conflict had developed” with city employees, Municipal Services District staff and police, while disagreeing “with the characterization of that conflict as a pattern of intimidation, retaliation, or improper exercise of office.” ^[2]

In a statement, Sudbury said he was reviewing the report with legal counsel and would “reserve detailed comments until that review is complete.” ^[2][1]

The council said on Sept. 4 that it “recognizes the seriousness of the matters addressed in the report” and was continuing to review it. Sudbury, Magna’s first elected mayor, took office in January for a four-year term. ^[3][1]