Advisory Opinion No. 2001-41

Re: Denise DeGraide

QUESTION PRESENTED

The petitioner, a regular member of the Town of Coventry Zoning Board, a municipal appointed position, requests and advisory opinion as to whether she may participate in her board's consideration and vote regarding an application for property that has been in her family for generations, and that presently is owned by her third cousins.

RESPONSE

It is the opinion of the Rhode Island Ethics Commission that the petitioner, a regular member of the Town of Coventry Zoning Board, a municipal appointed position, may participate in her board's consideration and vote regarding an application for property that has been in her family for generations, and that presently is owned by her third cousins.

The Code of Ethics provides that a public official may not participate in the consideration of a matter in which she, a business associate or a family member has a financial interest. For purposes of these prohibitions the Code defines a family member as a spouse, parent, child, grandparent, aunt or uncle, grandchild, all whether by blood or marriage. The prohibitions do not extend to cousins. Therefore, the financial interests of the third cousins who own the property here do not fall within the purview of the Code of Ethics and the petitioner may participate in the matter before her board.

The fact that the property has been owned by her family for several generations is not relevant, unless there were some indication that she, a business associate or a covered family member had a reasonable likelihood of gaining a future financial interest in the property. That is not the case here.

Code Citations:

36-14-5(1)

Keywords:

Family member