Recusal Involves Participation in Any Forum
One of the most common mistakes government officials make is to see
recusal as involving only a decision whether or not to vote on a matter
where they have a possible conflict of interest. A Phoenix council member and a
city attorney appear to have made this mistake.<br>
<br>
According to <a href="http://www.azcentral.com/community/phoenix/articles/2009/12/18/20091218…; target="”_blank”">an
article in the <i>Arizona Republic</i></a>, a council member has a lease on 75
acres of land. When an upgrade to a park-and-ride facility across the
street from this property came before the council, he recused himself
on the city attorney's advice, even though he didn't feel he had a
conflict. He just wanted to be safe.<br>
<br>
The same property lies along a proposed freeway route. According to the
article, the council member has been making "aggressive efforts" to
move the freeway from one proposed route to the route that would
run along his property.<br>
<br>
"The difference between a park-and-ride and, let's say, a freeway is
that [the council member] had a direct vote on the carpool facility,
[the city attorney] said. He
doesn't have a vote on the location of the freeway."<br>
<br>
Page 14 of the <a href="ftp://phoenix.gov/pub/AUDITOR/ethics.pdf" target="”_blank”">Phoenix
Ethics Handbook</a> is clear about what recusal is, although it doesn't
use the term. "[A]s soon as members of City boards, commissions,
committees and the City Council realize that a conflict exists on a
given matter, they should fully disclose the conflicting interest on
the record for the minutes. From that point on you may not participate
in any manner (by discussing, questioning or voting) in that matter."<br>
<br>
Unfortunately, this way of describing recusal assumes that the
participation involves a meeting. What if there isn't a meeting? Can a
Phoenix official participate in discussions outside a meeting,
including lobbying other officials, writing letters to the editor,
sending out mailers, or giving speeches to community organizations?<br>
<br>
According to the city attorney, what matters is whether the official
has a vote, not whether he has a say in the matter. If he has a conflict of interest, whether or not he has a vote, I don't think he should
have a say. He should not participate in any way, in any forum, public
or private. That's what recusal involves.<br>
<br>
Robert Wechsler<br>
Director of Research-Retired, City Ethics<br>
<br>
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