WILMINGTON, N.C. -- Sen. Michael Lee addressed the ethics complaint filed against him by two Wilmington residents in a news conference on Friday.
- Sen. Lee had a complaint filed against him
- He denies the claims
- The State Boards of Elections and Enforcement will decide what happens next
The two people who filed the complaint on Monday are lawyer William Shell and former Star News freelancer Terry Reilly. Shell and Reilly are accusing Lee of currying favor with his legal clients.
"What he does is, (he) has uses his positions to develop those clients and he's gotten paid a lot of money from these developers for doing this, and that needs to stop," Shell said. "Public officials don't need to be doing that. They can represent all the private clients they want, but not before local boards and commissions."
Sen. Lee says he unequivocally denies this complaint.
"The complaint is filled with false statements and alleges this grand conspiracy between the Wilmington City Council, the Wrightsville Beach City Alderman, the county commission and all the people on the appointed boards and commissions that hear matters," he said.
Mayor Bill Saffo and New Hanover County Commissioner Chairman Woody White, both released statements saying the claims aren't true.
Shell and Reilly say there is evidence in in several news articles and city meeting minutes.
The fate of this ethics complaint in now in the hands of the State Boards of Elections and Enforcement to decide what happens.