The FPPC has now informed me that, “….there is good cause to direct the Chief of the Enforcement Division to reopen the matter.”

Just to remind anyone who may not know or has forgotten what this is all about, it all goes back to a $35 million Strategic Growth Council grant to the City of Richmond, some $10 million of which was directed to Urban Tilth, including an Urban Tilth program called “Rich City Rides,” which is essentially Najari Smith, Robinson’s live-in boyfriend and co-owner of their home.

All of this might have simply raised a few eyebrows about internal conflicts of interest at the nonprofit Urban Tilth but otherwise would have been illegal if Robinson had not run for City Council and been elected. Being an elected official while the City is doling out $10 million to the nonprofit she heads as well as to her roommate has serious ethical issues whether it is strictly legal or not. In previous opinions, the FPPC has held that Robinso’s conflicts, while real, could be absolved by a recusal.

But there are strict statutes that define how a recusal must be made, and Robinson did not comply, thus depriving the public about the true nature of her conflict. She also sought legal cover from the Richmond city attorney, and ultimately the FPPC, but she failed to disclose all the pertinent facts about her conflict, and so the advice was based on incomplete and faulty information.

Unfortunately, City leaders, including the city attorney, circled the wagons and did whatever they could to justify Robinson’s predicament. The solution would have been simple – she could have either left the City Council or left Urban Tilth, but she didn’t; she wanted it all.

Of course, the investigation is ongoing, and the outcome is unknown, but at least they are taking it seriously this time.