After the controversy surrounding the sale of a city-owned plot of land, the Cesar Chavez Foundation announced it will not rebid on the property following accusations of a conflict of interest involving District 7 Councilman Michael Nowakowski.
Nowakowski was at the center of the controversy after Robert Lyles, a partner with developer Deco Communities, told The Arizona Republic that Nowakowski didn’t disclose that his employer, the Cesar Chavez Foundation, was also bidding for a 7.5 acre plot of land on Fillmore Street between Fourth and Sixth avenues. The Cesar Chavez Foundation’s bid was selected, but Nowakowski denied violating any conflict-of-interest laws and said he did not know his employer was planning to bid on the land.
Nowakowski was cleared of any wrongdoing after the land sale was put on hold .The law firm Sanders and Park evaluated the situation, although the firm did note in its report that Nowakowski could have been more transparent about his employer.
Related: Councilman Nowakowski cleared of wrongdoing by city-commissioned report
The city canceled the deal with the Cesar Chavez Foundation and put out a call for a re-bid on Thursday, according to The Arizona Republic. City Manager Ed Zuercher said in a memo to city employees that although the investigation by Sanders and Park showed Nowakowski had not violated any conflict-of-interest laws and that the bidding process had been fair, it was in the city’s best interest to ensure residents trust the bidding process, The Arizona Republic reported.
“The bid we presented along with our partner, Trammell Crow, stood out as best in class by all stated measures,” said Alfredo Izmajtovich, the Chavez Foundation’s executive vice president of housing and economic development, in a statement. “Before we could move ahead with the project, pressure from outside parties with special interests subjected our conduct to a comprehensive independent city-commissioned investigation that cleared us of any wrongdoing. So we were deemed most suitable bidder twice by the city of Phoenix. Yet the project is still being entirely rebid.”
Nowakowski’s office declined to comment.
Related: Councilman pushes back against conflict-of-interest allegations
“This particular process is open until Feb. 2 so we do not know who will submit or who will not submit until the process closes,” Phoenix Public Information Officer Cynthia Weaver said. “So at this point in time we would not have a comment available for you because it is too preliminary in the process to know who we will receive proposals from.”
The foundation said in a statement Friday that it remains committed to quality affordable housing development and other services for its constituents in the Phoenix area.
“We are disappointed at the series of politically motivated events that took place concerning the Fillmore project,” Izmajtovich said.
Contact the reporter at Emily.Lockwood@asu.edu
