Why a Wilmington council member was 'publicly reprimanded' again by city ethics commission

A second public reprimand issued to Wilmington City Council member Zanthia Oliver over an ethics violation revealed late last year has prompted one councilmember to ask the city’s legislative body to issue its own reprimand over the issues.

The Wilmington Ethics Commission last year issued a “public reprimand” to Oliver over her improperly cashing city checks meant to cover the costs of community events hosted in 2022 along with her failure to disclose her affiliation with nonprofits and other community organizations.

Attorneys for the commission found that Oliver improperly cashed a $610 check to cover the use of Wilmington’s Brown/Burton/Winchester Park for the “Love is in the Air” event hosted in July 2022 into her personal account and did not list her affiliation with the Eastside Community Association on her financial disclosure forms.

Oliver fixed the cashed check issue shortly after the city notified her of the error and acknowledged her need to disclose annually all memberships to corporate and nonprofit boards in her financial disclosures, according to ethics commission's latest reprimand.

ETHICS COMPLAINT: Wilmington City Council member subject of ethics complaint for second time this year

Oliver said she’s trying to put the latest ethics issues behind her, but a resolution by Councilmember Shane Darby to “publicly reprimand” Oliver over the ethics violation has brought it back to the surface.

“I just want it behind me. I’ve moved on,” she said. “It’s unfortunate that we have a council person who constantly has negative energy.”

The resolution is on the City Council agenda for Thursday, April 4.

Darby could not be reached for comment Friday.

Previous ethical issues

Darby brought forward a council resolution to censure Oliver last year following Oliver's first ethics violation.

Oliver was given a “public reprimand” by the Wilmington Ethics Commission last April for her 2020 vote supporting a $200,000 grant for her brother Norman Oliver's nonprofit, Our Youth Inc.

BACKGROUND: Wimington councilperson given 'reprimand' for approving $200K grant to brother's nonprofit

The councilperson later took “full responsibility” for the violation, apologized for the improper vote and promised to work with city attorneys in the future to ensure her actions remain above board.

Then in July, Darby sponsored a council resolution that would “censure” Oliver for the ethics violation. It was defeated in a 10-2 vote with one absentee.

Latest ethics violations

Oliver’s latest ethics violations center around community work and events for the Eastside neighborhood.

An ethics complaint was submitted against Oliver on Sept. 11 alleging she deposited a $610 check into her personal account meant to pay for a July community event at Brown/Burton/Winchester Park and did not disclose her affiliation with the Eastside Civic Association in the city’s required annual financial disclosures.

At the time when the commission’s investigation became public, Oliver expressed frustration and disappointment over the latest complaint, saying she “would never jeopardize the job I love for $610.”

Got a tip? Contact Amanda Fries at [email protected], or by calling or texting 302-598-5507. Follow her on X at @mandy_fries.

This article originally appeared on Delaware News Journal: Wilmington councilperson given 2nd 'reprimand' from ethics commission