Former Deputy Mayor Joins Flaherty & Collins After Overseeing Distribution Of Tens Of Millions Of Tax Dollars To Firm

It seems nobody serves in government these days out of a sense of civic virtue. We've seen this played out time and time again here in state and local government so we shouldn't be surprised or appalled when we see it repeated. Deron Kintner, the former Deputy Mayor for Economic Development, has joined local developer Flaherty & Collins in a newly-created position of general counsel following his departure from the mayor's office last month. One of the last projects Kintner supervised was the awarding of a $23 million subsidy paid out of the downtown TIF fund for a luxury high-rise apartment project on the site of the former Market Square Arena the City awarded to the firm he's now accepted a high-level job earlier this year. From the IBJ's Kathleen McLaughlin:

Kintner, 38, is a 2001 graduate of the Indiana University Maurer School of Law. He started work with the city in 2008 as executive director and general counsel of the bond bank before ascending to deputy mayor in 2012.

His move to Flaherty & Collins, however, is drawing skepticism from government watchdog Julia Vaughn, policy director of Common Cause/Indiana.

The city has agreed to contribute up to a $23 million subsidy for Flaherty & Collins’ $100 million, 28-story mixed-use skyscraper to be built on part of the former home of Market Square Arena. Kintner served on a five-member panel that unanimously recommended the developer’s proposal for the project to Mayor Greg Ballard.

The City-County Council in March approved a financing plan to fund the subsidy. Property taxes generated by the project would be used to repay the city's contribution.

“I think it’s way too close for comfort,” Vaughn said of Kintner’s joining the firm. “There should be a period of time before people leaving government service can jump into the private sector.”

State officials are required to wait at least a year before taking a job with a company they have regulated or whose contracts they oversaw, although a provision in state law for waivers allows some to circumvent the requirement.

At the local level, city officials have no time constraints prohibiting them from joining the private sector. But once they leave, they are restricted from representing someone in a matter involving the city or county if they personally participated in the matter while employed at the city, according to city code.

Kintner tries to soften the perception of his new job by claiming he won't participate in any projects he oversaw while working for the City. McLaughlin reminds us that former Ballard chief of staff, Paul Okeson, left his job to go to work for Ersal Ozdemir's company, which received most favored city contractor status in housing development projects, as well as a $6.5 million gift to build a parking garage in Broad Ripple. There are many more who've cashed in as well. When will the Justice Department do something about the rampant theft of public funds taking place here in Indianapolis. I highly encourage any corrupt pol anywhere in this country to relocate to Indianapolis. There is no better place in America to ply your trade than here. As long as you're shoving money into the right people's pockets, our corrupt prosecutors and law enforcement won't do a damn thing to you.