IRVINE : Conflict Complaint Settled by Mayor

Mayor Sally Anne Sheridan on Monday agreed to pay the maximum $2,000 penalty to settle a state conflict-of-interest complaint.

Sheridan had been accused of illegally voting on March 28, 1989, to promote Paul O. Brady Jr. to city manager. Under state law, Sheridan, a real estate agent, had a conflict of interest in matters concerning Brady since she had split $16,038 in commissions from the sale of his home.

Brady sold a home and purchased another in June, 1988, through Sheridan’s real estate partner, Donald Sheridan, whom she later married. State law prohibits public officials from voting on matters that could financially affect someone who has given them more than $250. The prohibition against voting lasts a year.

In a written statement issued through her attorney Monday, Sheridan said she unknowingly violated the law and repeated that she voted to appoint Brady based only on his qualifications for the job. Brady had previously been the city’s assistant city manager.

Her agreement Monday in Orange County Superior Court to pay the penalty settles a civil complaint brought by the district attorney’s office.

The investigation began after Mark P. Petracca, an Irvine resident and frequent Sheridan critic, filed a complaint over Sheridan’s vote for Brady.