Springfield Law Department: Claims against Oyola-Lopez appear as ‘witness intimidation’

Springfield At Large City Councilor Justin Hurst alleged City Clerk Gladys Oyola-Lopez is involved in “potentially criminal” matters that “reeks of corruption.”
Photo credit: Focus Springfield

SPRINGFIELD — Public allegations of potential corruption made by At Large City Councilor Justin Hurst against City Clerk Gladys Oyola-Lopez were left untouched by the city solicitor, who warned that the claims could be seen as “witness intimidation.”

At the June 22 City Council meeting, At Large City Councilor Justin Hurst publicly raised questions about actions taken by City Clerk Gladys Oyola-Lopez regarding a piece of city-owned property.

Oyola-Lopez is one of two managers of Brightwood Elderly Living Loving Assistance, whose parent company, MPZ NNCC Plainfield Street LLC, is the preferred developer for the redevelopment of the former Brightwood Elementary School. She is also the president of the New North Citizens Council Board of Directors, which is working with the city to redevelop the site. Hurst said Oyola-Lopez should have disclosed that information when the Brightwood Elderly Living Loving Assistance sought a zoning variant.

Three days after the meeting, Hurst requested City Solicitor Stephen Buoniconti issue a legal opinion on Oyola-Lopez’s actions, which he characterized as “potential ethics violations, conflicts of interest, self-dealing, disclosure failures and other potential legal concerns.”

However, on July 6, Buoniconti responded that his office was prohibited from issuing such an opinion. Buoniconti mainly cited an investigation by Attorney General Andrea Joy Cambell’s office which Hurst is the subject of. The investigation stems from Hurst’s 2023 run for mayor, during which he was accused of offering compensation in exchange for votes. Oyola-Lopez, in her capacity as the city’s elections commissioner, is a “primary witness” in the investigation.

“There is an appearance that your request for a legal opinion that targets the City Clerk could be viewed as an intimidation tactic against a witness in that case,” Buoniconti wrote in his response.

Aside from the potential optics of the allegations, Buoniconti wrote that the State Ethics Commission, and not the city Law Department, is the correct body to investigate such matters. Buoniconti, whose office recently released opinions about a potential conflict-of-interest and actions by City Council President Tracye Whitfield, said state statutes provide the Law Department with a “narrow” authority in such matters. He wrote, “The right belongs to the municipal employee who seeks guidance about their own conduct, not to third parties seeking opinion about others.”

Meanwhile, Oyola-Lopez referred a request for comment to attorney Scott Foster at Bulkley, Richardson & Gelinas, who represents the New North Citizens Council Board of Directors. Foster commented by email, “NNCC does not believe any of Councilor Hurst’s allegations have any legal merit. Rather, he seems to have incomplete and/or incorrect information and has jumped to a legal conclusion that cannot be substantiated.” He added that his office had been in touch with the Law Department and had provided Buoniconti with all pertinent information.

Hurst commented, “It is clear now more than ever that the City Council needs our own independent attorney. If our solicitor can’t make a basic determination for our body based on the facts presented as to whether we should vote on approving a grant for $100K because of a potential conflict of interest, then he is part of the problem.”

He continued, “Our City Council voted unanimously to send this item to committee in hopes of having our legal counsel weigh in. The solicitor’s failure to act now makes him a culpable party and only reaffirms for me what I have known all along ‘something is wrong… now to the depth of which it is wrong… I’m not sure.’”