Wellington Council Member Misses Point on Ethics Issue

By Rhonda Swan

Palm Beach Post Staff Writer

Wellington council member John Greene did not violate Palm Beach County ethics laws when he accepted gifts and donations to his legal defense fund from opponents of a proposed $80 million equestrian 
development, but he used poor judgment.

Neil Hirsch is a businessman and former director of Wellington Equestrian Preservation Alliance, a group formed to lobby against the project. He gave Mr. Greene $2,948 in temporary housing, $3,180 toward a vacation and $450 for a Boys & Girls Club annual gala. An inquiry by the Palm Beach County Commission on Ethics found that because Mr. Hirsch resigned his position with the alliance the day before Mr. Greene moved into his guest house, Mr. Greene did not violate rules that prohibit elected officials from taking gifts from lobbyists.

Mr. Greene sought an advisory opinion from the commission before moving in. The commission advised him that, as long as Mr. Hirsch served on the alliance’s board, he could not accept gifts from him valued higher than $100.

Mr. Greene and Mr. Hirsch have been friends for three decades. Mr. Greene said in an interview that he needed temporary housing for personal reasons. The vacation was one they took together with their families. Mr. Hirsch gave Mr. Greene and his wife seats at a table he purchased for the gala.

“Our families are very close,” Mr. Greene said. “There’s nothing new about this relationship. He’s been very successful in business. He’s a very generous man.”

There is something new: Mr. Greene now is an elected official.

Mr. Greene pointed out that he campaigned against the equestrian village project. Getting money from others opposed to the project — $5,000 from Mr. Hirsch’s business partner Stephen Rappaport and $4,000 from Victoria McCullough — should come as no surprise. Both contributed to the legal defense fund Mr. Greene set up to after election results incorrectly had him losing to an equestrian village supporter.

But Mr. Greene also said he wasn’t opposed to a dressage arena in the equestrian preserve. Yet he voted with Mayor Bob Margolis and councilor Matt Wilhite, both of whom also claimed to favor the arena, to rescind approval of dressage, even though the facility had been constructed. The vote was either political payback or a favor to a benefactor.

It’s not a coincidence that the three votes against dressage came from the council members backed by the Jacobs family, which opposes the equestrian village and spent $500,000 getting them elected. It also is not a coincidence that the only contributors to Mr. Greene’s legal defense fund are other well-heeled opponents of that project.

Mr. Greene said he believes in transparency. Then he should refuse gifts and donations that give the appearance of clouding his vision.

Rhonda Swan