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Local Government Employees in Local Government Office
Wednesday, April 29th, 2009
Robert Wechsler
Electing local government employees to local government office can
cause problems. There are constitutional protections against forbidding
it, but there are conflict of interest arguments against doing it.
According to an article in today's Southtown Star, in Chicago Heights (IL) a group of ministers has filed a suit seeking an injunction against two city council members voting to replace a mayor who has resigned. The reason for their suit is that a candidate to replace the mayor is the superintendent of the city's Park District, and the two council members work for the Park District, as does one of their sons. In other words, they are in a position to vote for or against their boss.
The council members deny there is any conflict of interest. One says that the mayoral candidate doesn't own the district, and the other that he didn't hire her and can't fire her, and that in any event no one can influence her.
Of course, the other two possible mayoral candidates feel there is a conflict. The city attorney says he can't talk when there is litigation pending, and the outgoing mayor seems not to want to get involved.
No one seems the least bit concerned about the clear appearance of impropriety here.
What are three members of the same agency doing on a six-member council anyway? That alone suggests that they are there because of the boss/mayoral candidate, that he is another sort of boss. And according to the article, that is what the ministers are trying to show, that the city is being run from a back room. If these ministers are going to all this trouble to prove a point, I'd bet they have a point to prove.
Robert Wechsler
Director of Research-Retired, City Ethics
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According to an article in today's Southtown Star, in Chicago Heights (IL) a group of ministers has filed a suit seeking an injunction against two city council members voting to replace a mayor who has resigned. The reason for their suit is that a candidate to replace the mayor is the superintendent of the city's Park District, and the two council members work for the Park District, as does one of their sons. In other words, they are in a position to vote for or against their boss.
The council members deny there is any conflict of interest. One says that the mayoral candidate doesn't own the district, and the other that he didn't hire her and can't fire her, and that in any event no one can influence her.
Of course, the other two possible mayoral candidates feel there is a conflict. The city attorney says he can't talk when there is litigation pending, and the outgoing mayor seems not to want to get involved.
No one seems the least bit concerned about the clear appearance of impropriety here.
What are three members of the same agency doing on a six-member council anyway? That alone suggests that they are there because of the boss/mayoral candidate, that he is another sort of boss. And according to the article, that is what the ministers are trying to show, that the city is being run from a back room. If these ministers are going to all this trouble to prove a point, I'd bet they have a point to prove.
Robert Wechsler
Director of Research-Retired, City Ethics
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