The Harbor Commission Lawsuit

The Times- Standard reports on the lawsuit filed by Leo Sears over supposed impropriety on behalf of the board members Humboldt Bay Harbor, Recreation and Conservation District. The problem seeming to be a deal having been made between the district and Coast Seafoods Co. 

The District borrowed a bunch of money from the company to clean up the old pulp mill on Samoa. In return (not sure if this is being questioned), the district extended Coast Seafoods' lease. The issue seeming to be that board member, Greg Dale, is employed with Coast Seafood, thus a conflict of interest existed.

I'm underwhelmed. The deal made seems, as best I can tell, to be in both parties' interest and there was no down side to it that's being claimed. Greg Dale apparently wasn't present on the board when the decisions were made. He broached the subject earlier at some Chamber of Commerce meeting. You have to wonder what else public officials are supposed to do at such meetings? Talk about the weather?

I also have to wonder if this same deal might have might have been made if Greg Dale wasn't even on the board? I suspect it would have. We can quibble about the fine points of conflict of interest, but in this case it seems to me no harm, no foul.