Ione Mayor Andrea Bonham announced a complaint has been filed against her with the California Fair Political Practices Commission. Bonham said the complaint letter and her response were available to the public and she wanted to air the matter during the Ione City Council meeting because she wondered if any other people had a similar complaint. Vice Mayor Lee Ard said the complaint was filed by Councilman Jim Ulm and Ard heard about the issue when confronted by Jackson and Sutter Creek residents, who told him, “Well, we see nothing has changed in Ione.” The complaint said that Bonham allegedly used her membership in the Ione Picnic Association to influence a donation by JTS Homes, the developer of the subdivision at Castle Oaks, in exchange for a vote favorable to the Developer. Ard said the letter “doesn’t state the fact that our own counsel said there was no conflict.” Regie Sargent, a board member of the Ione Picnic Association, read a letter from the board members stating that the JTS donation was not even the biggest one received by the group. She said JTS’s donation was small compared to others received by the Picnic Association. She also said Bonham was a volunteer but not an officer of the organization. City Attorney Kristen Castanos said that a council member cannot preside over an issue before the council in which that member has a financial interest, the definition of a conflict of interest. Castanos said if the council member were a volunteer for an organization, they would be considered having no financial interest and no conflict. But, if the council member were an officer of the organization, he or she would have a financial interest and a conflict. Likewise, there would be a conflict if the council member were a paid volunteer. In public comment, Jack Brotherton said he thought the issue was something the council needed to get away from and the council should have requested a city attorney opinion. City Manager Kim Kerr said that a conversation had taken place between Ulm, herself, and Castanos. Ulm stood by his decision to file the complaint. “I started this,” Ulm said. “It was brought to me from various people in the city.” He said those people wanted to remain anonymous. Ulm said the investigation was ongoing so he could not comment too much. “I thought I was taking a step up,” he said. “I thought I should take it to the (FPPC).”