Call for Noble probe lacks explanation
4 lawmakers allege possible ‘illegal behavior’ by mayor and his wife but provide no details
KINGSTON, N.Y. » Four members of the Common Council have asked the state Attorney General’s Office to investigate “potentially inappropriate and perhaps even illegal behavior” by Mayor Steve Noble and his wife, but the lawmakers have not publicly disclosed the alleged behavior or said what evidence prompted them to seek an investigation.
The four also apparently have not disclosed that information to the mayor, but an uninvolved alderwoman said Sunday that she believes the complaint is related to requests for records involving overtime worked by Noble’s wife, Julie, a city employee.
Aldermen Jeffrey Ventura Morell said Sunday that he and the other three were advised by a lawyer from the New York Confer
ence of Mayors not to disclose any more than what was included in a press release the four issued at 5:40 p.m. Friday. He also said the four could not speak about personnel matters outside of a closed-door executive session of the council.
The investigation was requested by Ventura Morell, D-Ward 1, council Majority Leader Reynolds Scott-Childress, D-Ward 3, Alderwoman Rita Worthington, D-Ward 4, and Alderwoman-at-large Andrea Shaut, a Democrat who serves as Common Council president. Noble also is a Democrat.
“We were approached by several credible sources and, after consulting with a lawyer from NYCOM (New York Conference of Mayors), a body that [the state’s] municipal governments rely on for advice regarding ethical issues, they recommended we report our concerns to the attorney general,” Ventura Morell wrote in a Sunday email. “We hope this is resolved quickly. We are duty-bound to present the evidence we had to a neutral investigating party. This was not an easy decision and one we wish we didn’t have to make, but it was our obligation to do so.”
While the lawmakers who requested the investigation did not provide specifics, Alderwoman Michele Hirsch, D-Ward 9, said she believed it involved community members who filed Freedom of Information requests with the city for Julie Noble’s overtime records. Julie Noble is the city’s environmental education and sustainability coordinator.
Hirsch said she requested a copy of the letter that her four colleagues sent to the Attorney General’s Office, as well as information about their allegations, but was told that, based on advice from the NYCOM lawyer, they could not disclose those things.
Hirsch said she was told previously that the four were considering requesting an investigation but was “blindsided” by the press release they issued Friday evening. Hirsch also questioned whether it was the job of the Attorney General’s Office to stanch rumors.
The press release stated that “if no wrongdoing is found through an investigation, it is best to staunch [sic] the flow of rumors in order for our government to move forward to best serve our constituents and our community.”
Noble said Sunday that “none of the four council members reached out to speak to me about this.”
“I have been meeting with the council president and majority leader on a regular basis, and they gave no indication that they had such concerns,” Noble wrote in an email. “Even now, I still do not know what they are alleging.
“While I am disheartened to be accused of wrongdoing, I know in my heart that I have led from a place of integrity and dignity and have nothing to hide,” the mayor added.
Noble first was elected mayor in November 2015 and was elected to a second four-year term in November 2019.
In the Friday press release, Ventura Morell, Scott-Childress, Worthington and Shaut said they “have become concerned about potentially inappropriate and perhaps even illegal behavior by Mayor Noble and Ms. Noble in their roles as Kingston city officials. We have received reports from multiple sources that require us, by our duty as elected officials, to investigate the matter.”
The press release said such concerns typically would be referred to the local government’s ethics board. But because Kingston’s board is appointed by the mayor, they said, a conflict of interest was possible, so the matter was referred to the Attorney General’s Office.
“An investigation by the attorney general, a disinterested authority, is the ideal pathway to learn if, in fact, violations of our ethics code or the law have occurred,” the release stated.
New York state’s current attorney general is Democrat Letitia James.