Advisory Opinion No. 2006-41 Advisory Opinion No. 2006-41 Re: Deborah A. Smith QUESTION PRESENTED The petitioner, the Director of Municipal and External Affairs in the Office of the Governor, a state employee position, requests an advisory opinion regarding whether she may serve on her own time as the Honorary Chair of the Carcieri for Governor Committee. RESPONSE It is the opinion of the Rhode Island Ethics Commission that the petitioner, the Director of Municipal and External Affairs in the Office of the Governor, a state employee position, may serve as the Honorary Chair of the Carcieri for Governor Committee. This private political activity is not prohibited by the Code of Ethics because (1) the Committee is not a governmental agency; (2) the petitioner does not hold a public position concerning elections; and (3) public resources and time will not be used in the pursuit of political activity. The petitioner is the Director of Municipal and External Affairs in the Office of the Governor, a cabinet-level position that serves at the pleasure of the Governor. The petitioner represents that her duties include building and maintaining relationships between the Governor's office and officials who represent cities and towns throughout Rhode Island. She states that she is also responsible for supervising approximately 15 staff members who handle constituent inquiries and manage the process relating to the Governor's appointments to public boards, commissions and agencies. Finally, the petitioner states that she is responsible for the Governor's equal opportunity and diversity initiatives. The petitioner wishes to serve as the Honorary Chair of the Carcieri for Governor Committee ("Campaign Committee"), which is Governor Donald Carcieri's primary re-election political committee. She states that as Honorary Chair she will attend and speak at political functions and fundraisers, and perform other campaign-related duties. The petitioner expressly represents that she will perform all campaign-related functions on personal time or after business hours, and with no involvement of state employees, equipment or resources. She states that she will use her own personal cell phone, personal calendar and her own home office equipment for all campaign-related activities. Under the Code of Ethics, the petitioner may not have any interest which is in substantial conflict with the proper discharge of her duties or employment in the public interest. R.I. Gen. Laws § 36-14-5(a). The petitioner will have an interest in substantial conflict with her official duties if she has a reason to believe or expect that a "direct monetary gain" or a "direct monetary loss" will accrue, by virtue of her official activity, to herself, a family member, a business associate, an employer, or any business which she represents. R.I. Gen. Laws § 36-14-7(a). Additionally, she may not accept other employment which will either impair her independence of judgment as to her official duties or require her, or induce her, to disclose confidential information acquired by her in the course of her official duties. R.I. Gen. Laws § 36-14-5(b). In an analogous advisory opinion, A.O. 98-109, the Commission previously determined that the Code of Ethics did not prohibit an Administrative Assistant to the Westerly Finance Director, a municipal employee position, from volunteering to assist a candidate in his campaign for State Representative for the 51st District in Westerly. This opinion was based upon representations (1) that the campaign activity concerned the petitioner’s private conduct outside the scope of her public duties; (2) the petitioner did not hold a public position concerning elections; and (3) public resources and time would not be used in the pursuit of political activity. See also A.O. 2002-35 (North Providence Town Solicitor may serve as treasurer of Mayor's reelection campaign committee); A.O. 2005-42 (Providence Municipal Court Judge may appear in his son's political advertisements in campaign for General Treasurer); A.O. 98-107 (Johnston Environmental Coordinator may participate in Johnston Democratic Town Committee's endorsement of mayoral candidate despite fact that she was appointed by the mayor). Consistent with these past advisory opinions, and given the petitioner's representations that no public time or resources will be utilized for political activity, the Code of Ethics does not prohibit the petitioner from serving as the Honorary Chair of the Carcieri for Governor Committee. Noting that the petitioner serves in a supervisory role in the Governor's office, the Ethics Commission further cautions the petitioner that pursuant to Commission Regulation 5011 she may not solicit her subordinates for the purchase of fundraising tickets and/or other political contributions on behalf of the Campaign Committee. Finally, the petitioner is advised that this opinion only addresses the application of the Code of Ethics and does not address whether any other statutes, rulings, regulations or policies prohibit or regulate the represented activities. Code Citations: 36-14-5(a) 36-14-5(b) 36-14-5(d) 36-14-5(f) 36-14-5(i) 36-14-7(a) Related Advisory Opinions: 2005-42 2002-35 2001-72 2001-64 2000-10 99-38 Keywords: Political activity