Danny Williams says a councillor is in a conflict of interest. Ron Ellsworth welcomes the investigation
Ellsworth facing allegation that he used position on council to profit from St. John's land purchase
An external investigation has been launched into a conflict of interest allegation against St. John's city councillor and realtor Ron Ellsworth.
Danny Williams, the former Newfoundland and Labrador premier, made the allegation after he learned the city paid $640,000 for a property owned by one of Ellsworth's real estate clients.
"Look, it appears that there's a blatant conflict of interest here," said Williams.
"I don't have any problem with anyone making a living but you cannot basically benefit from your position as a member of the St. John's city council and be privy to an allocation of money whereby you're going to pick up a commission at the other end of it. That, to me, is clearly wrong."
Ellsworth says as soon as he became aware the city was looking at purchasing land on Goldstone Street, he removed himself from all discussions about it, and did not vote in the decision to purchase the land.
Ellsworth said he had no role in the decision to buy the land from his client but Williams doesn't accept that.
"It's ridiculous. I mean, the councillor is privy to the budget meetings and all the deliberations that go up to creating a budget," Williams said.
Ellsworth denies conflict
Ellsworth, who is the finance lead for the city, doesn't deny he profited when the city purchased land from his client, but he firmly believes there was no conflict of interest.
In June 2024, the city bought a 1.54 Hectare (3.8 acre) vacant parcel of land at 72 Goldstone St. from the Roman Catholic Episcopal Corporation of St. John's for $640,000.
The city says it needs that land to add a sidewalk and a traffic lane to make the area safer for pedestrians and people travelling in vehicles.
Goldstone Street connects Thorburn Road and the Pippy Drive area with the Kelsey Drive commercial district, and is also an intersection for the Team Gushue Highway.
"The allegation is that I used my seat on council to get council to buy land so I could get a five per cent commission on the sale of land. I was the realtor of record of the land," said Ellsworth.
"I was not involved in any conversations or discussions with the city on the sale of that property. The negotiations were done directly with the vendor's lawyer," he said.
Ellsworth said he did get a commission when the city purchased 72 Goldstone.
"Yes, because we are the listing agents, once the property is listed then we are entitled to commission for any sales that are completed. So when the city completed the sale with the vendor, the agency of record, RE/MAX Infinity, would have got their commission for that and then I would have got my part of the commission for that," he said.
But he is adamant that it wasn't a conflict.
"By our rules and regulations, no. I was not involved in the decision-making process. So if I'm not involved in decision-making, then I didn't direct the benefit to myself."
Williams made the allegation about a conflict numerous times over the last year in letters to the city.
"About six weeks ago, Danny Williams wrote another letter with the same allegation and when I understood this letter was out there, I requested the city manager consider it a formal complaint and I asked them to bring it to council and to investigate it as a conflict of interest complaint. And that's where we are today," Ellsworth said.
"I'm disappointed that when the city went back to [Williams] and asked him to officially lodge a complaint, he refused to do so. So I had no choice but to put a formal complaint in because this needs to be brought forward, right?
He added, "You know, just to be clear, I haven't lost a minute of sleep over any allegations."
St. John's lawyer Donna Ballard is handling the external investigation.
Ellsworth said he expects her report will be completed by late January.
It's not the first time Ellsworth's business and council roles have been in the news. In 2021, a Memorial University professor said it was wrong for Ellsworth to post an ad that said rezoning could improve the value of a property he is selling.
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