Councilman Barry Graham’s Feb. 7 interaction with city employees violated the city’s ethics code, according to a three-judge panel.

The ruling at the conclusion of a June 5 Zoom hearing by retired judges Lawrence Fleischman, J. Kenneth Mangum and Timothy Thomason: “We believe there was a technical, unintentional violation of the ethics code.”

The panel does not recommend any penalties.

“I don’t think anything should happen to Councilman Graham,” as Fleischman put it.

They do not have the final say on any punishment, as the four-month process initiated by a complaint from Laura Norton continues.

According to the city charter outline of the ethics complaint process, “City Council shall consider the panel’s report at a public meeting and either accept or reject the report as submitted.”

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