Was Offer of a Trip to Shreveport Councilman Unethical?

Did you ever wonder what sort of gifts - if any - area elected officials can take? Is there a limit on the size or amount? And what are the lines between what's acceptable, against the rules and against the law?

Caddo Parish Sheriff talks with 101.7 / 710 KEEL's Robert J Wright and Erin McCarty about those guidelines and is there a cut-and-dried way to tell what's okay and what crosses the line.

The discussion was triggered by an offer by Dash Marketing of New York City to Shreveport Councilman John Nickelson to visit the United Soccer League headquarters in Orlando, Florida. Both Dash Marketing and the USL have links to the proposed development of downtown Shreveport's Cross Bayou area. Councilman Nickelson declined Dash Marketing offer.

In response to the offer, Attorney Larry English of Gateway development Consortium, also with ties to the Cross Bayou Project, released the following statement.

"The USL offer to pay for city council person(s) to attend the winter summit of the USL was done for the purposes of seeing how this amazing opportunity could impact the city in bringing jobs and revitalization to downtown.

Jurisdictions across the country have different rules. Some allow trips that are for economic development to be paid for and some don't.

We have asked our local legal counsel Kelvin Sanders to research what is appropriate and not appropriate in Louisiana and act accordingly.

Thank you for bringing this to our attention."

Filed Under: Cross Bayou