Conflicting City-County Positions Where One Is Not Technically a Government Position

Update: February 5, 2010 (see below)

Here's an interesting dual position question, that is, a question involving one individual holding two government positions. The most important conflict involved in dual positions is that you cannot consistently fulfill your fiduciary obligations to one constituency while fulfilling your obligations to the other. See my blog post on state-local dual positions for a discussion of more possible dual-position conflicts.

According to an article last week in the Destin (FL) Log, a Destin city council candidate is also seeking the position of Tourist Development Council (TDC) director. The TDC is not a government agency, but it is funded with local taxes and works closely with the city of Destin, as well as with the county and other local governments within the county.

One person is quoted as saying that having one person hold both positions would give that person too much influence. Another person believes that there are bound to be conflicts between a city official and an organization whose goal is attract tourists throughout the county, not just to the city. Also, the TDC director hands out a lot of money and, therefore, the position is like a political position.

But another point of view is that having a Destin official running the TDC would give Destin more representation on the TDC, and this would be good for Destin.

The candidate himself is quoted as saying, “I can’t see a conflict of interest because the city of Destin and the TDC already work so closely together — as they should. You have to rely on the integrity of the individual to do what’s best.”

But isn't the best thing for the candidate to admit that there might be conflicts and to talk (i) about how he'll deal with them in a responsible manner and (ii) about whether they will be sufficiently important and/or frequent enough that he should not seek both positions?

I believe that the central question is whether one person can represent the interests of a city and a county at the same time. The more a Destin official spends TDC dollars to help his own city, as someone suggests, the more he fails to act in the interest of county residents. Every time he has to decide how to spend money, he will find himself wearing two hats. This is not fair to his constituencies or to himself.

It is also not good for public trust to see a city council member with a lot of money to hand out.

You cannot rely on the integrity of an individual to do what's best, because what is at issue is precisely the individual's integirty. Integrity is "the quality or state of being complete or undivided." Wearing two conflicting hats means that, by definition, you lack integrity. That is the essence of government ethics, and this candidate simply doesn't appear to understand.

Update: February 5, 2010
According to his letter to the editor, the council candidate asked counsel at the Florida Commission on Ethics about his situation, and was told that he had no conflict. The county and city attorneys agree. The candidate concluded, "I hope this puts this matter to rest. I am confident that I can do a good job at both of the positions and serve in the best interest of the people."

There is no doubt that there is no technical conflict of interest here. But that doesn't lay the matter to rest. Clearly, there is an appearance of a conflict, and dealing responsibly with a possible conflict of interest does not stop at the edge of the law. Most conflict of interest laws are necessarily limited. The provide only a minimal guideline, not the best way to deal with a problem.

The fact that the candidate refers to "the people" rather than to "city residents" or "county residents" shows that he is not fully comfortable with his situation, that he cannot say whose best interest he can serve.

Robert Wechsler
Director of Research-Retired, City Ethics

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