A Municipal Election/Conflict Story for Election Week
Here's an election story with a conflict of interest angle. In Crescent City, California
(pop. 7,500) on the beautiful California coast up near the Oregon border, the
little city's former finance director is running for clerk.<br>
<br>
According to articles in the <span>Daily
Triplicate</span>, the finance director was <a href="http://www.triplicate.com/news/story.cfm?story_no=5944" target="”_blank”">fired</a>
a little more than a year ago, either (depending on whom you ask) because she had been <a href="http://www.triplicate.com/news/story.cfm?story_no=5864" target="”_blank”">arrested</a>
for domestic abuse against her husband and for not working well with
the council, or because she had unearthed the council's <a href="http://www.triplicate.com/news/story.cfm?story_no=4899" target="”_blank”">apparently
illegal health benefits</a> and other financial shenanigans. She sued
the city for a million dollars or so, for wrongful termination (even
though she was apparently in her probationary period), a suit that is
still pending.<br>
<br>
<a href="http://www.triplicate.com/news/story.cfm?story_no=10705" target="”_blank”">According
to the city attorney</a>, the clerk candidate has a conflict of
interest, because she is suing the city. But he makes a poor argument.
Would it be inconsistent for a clerk to, say, bring a sex
discrimination case against the city? Would she have to quit her job
first?<br>
<br>
The city attorney writes, "what would be her posture when her private
attorney ... calls upon her for help and information?" In other words,
would she favor this attorney over other attorneys or citizens seeking
to look at city records? Favoring a lawyer or business associate has
nothing to do with suing a city. This can be a problem with anyone. It
is irrelevant to the city attorney's argument.<br>
<br>
The city attorney writes, "What would be [her] posture were she to
become city clerk when called upon to assist in the city's defense?"
How could she be called on to assist the city, other than supplying
records? A clerk has no policy-making role. Is he implying that she
would be in a position to destroy, change, or withhold city records?
This would be the best argument against the clerk's candidacy, if one
didn't trust her, but it goes beyond conflict of interest. According to this scenario, she would be running for office to obtain the
opportunity to commit a crime to benefit her suit against the city.<br>
<br>
Also, the city attorney seems concerned that the clerk's lawyer is
representing another client against the city. How could this be
relevant? The attorney isn't running for office. Anyone he represents
other than the clerk candidate has nothing to do with the candidate's
possible conflicts of interest.<br>
<br>
The city attorney's inability to make any serious argument concerning a
conflict of interest implies that there isn't one. It also implies that his letter to the editor is itself ethical misconduct: misusing his position and authority to undermine a citizen's candidacy. The timing of his letter seems to point to this explanation. This seems to be just another partisan conflict putting on an ethical mask for Halloween.<br>
<br>
But possible conflicts involving suits against a local government come up again and again, often with respect to attorneys.
A serious problem arises when an attorney hired to sue a city is
selected to be its city attorney. Is it enough to drop the suit (which
might bring up legal ethics issues) when there is an appearance that
the attorney is antagonistic to the city? The considerations are how many
cases there are and how big they are. If it's just one minor zoning dispute, it's
no big deal. But if it's a number of suits or one really big one that's
in the public eye, even dropping the case might leave some doubt among
city residents where the attorney's loyalties lie.<br>
<br>
For more about the Crescent City situation, which has a lot of things
going on that I didn't mention, check out articles <a href="http://www.triplicate.com/news/story.cfm?story_no=5449" target="”_blank”">here</a>,
<a href="http://www.triplicate.com/news/story.cfm?story_no=5957" target="”_blank”">here</a>,
<a href="http://www.triplicate.com/news/story.cfm?story_no=10524" target="”_blank”">here</a>,
<a href="http://www.triplicate.com/news/story.cfm?story_no=10684" target="”_blank”">here</a>,
<a href="http://www.triplicate.com/news/story.cfm?story_no=10706" target="”_blank”">here</a>,
and <a href="http://www.triplicate.com/news/story.cfm?story_no=10707" target="”_blank”">here</a>.<br>
<br>
Robert Wechsler<br>
Director of Research-Retired, City Ethics<br>
<br>
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