Advisory Opinion No. 2008-26 Rhode Island Ethics Commission Advisory Opinion No. 2008-26 Re: Margie M. Caranci QUESTION PRESENTED The petitioner, the Recording Clerk for the North Providence School Committee, a municipal appointed position, requests an advisory opinion as to whether it would violate the Code of Ethics for her to seek election to and serve on the School Committee, given that, if elected to the School Committee, she will resign as Recording Clerk prior to being sworn into office in January, 2009. RESPONSE It is the opinion of the Ethics Commission that the petitioner, the Recording Clerk for the North Providence School Committee, a municipal appointed position, may seek election to the School Committee, while simultaneously employed as the Recording Clerk, given that she intends resign as Recording Clerk prior to being sworn into office in January, 2009. The petitioner informs that she was appointed as the Recording Clerk by the North Providence School Committee (“School Committee”) in April, 1993, and has been reappointed each January since that time. The petitioner states that in this part-time position, she is required to attend all regular and special meetings, take the minutes of those meetings and submit the minutes to the School Department approximately one week prior to the next regular meeting of the School Committee. She advises that she also attends most executive sessions and some sub-committee meetings. The petitioner states that it is her intention to run for a seat on the School Committee in the 2008 election. The petitioner represents that if elected to the School Committee, she will resign from her position as Recording Clerk prior to being sworn into office. Given these representations, the petitioner seeks guidance from the Commission as to whether there is any violation of the Code of Ethics in her seeking election to the School Committee while simultaneously serving as the Recording Clerk. Under the Code of Ethics, a public official or employee may not participate in any matter in which she has an interest, financial or otherwise, which is in substantial conflict with the proper discharge of her duties in the public interest. See R.I. Gen. Laws §§ 36-14-5(a), 36-14-7(a). An official will have an interest in substantial conflict with her official duties if it is likely that a “direct monetary gain” or a “direct monetary loss” will accrue, by virtue of the public official’s activity, to the official, a family member, employer, business associate, or a business that she represents. See R.I. Gen. Laws § 36-14-7(a). Also, R.I. Gen. Laws § 36-14-5(b) prohibits a public official or employee from accepting other employment that will either impair her independence of judgment as to her official duties or employment or require her to disclose confidential information acquired by her in the course of her official duties. Finally, R.I. Gen. Laws § 36-14-5(d) provides that a public official may not use her office for pecuniary gain, other than provided by law, for herself, a family member, employer, business associate, or a business that she represents. The Code of Ethics does not create a blanket prohibition against municipal employees running for elective office while simultaneously serving in their municipal employee capacity. See A.O. 2007-46 (opining that the City Clerk for the City of Central Falls was not prohibited from seeking election to the City Council while simultaneously employed as City Clerk, given that she will retire from that position prior to her being sworn into office); A.O. 99-74 (opining that the Confidential Secretary to the Lincoln Superintendent of Schools was not prohibited by the Code of Ethics from running for a position on the Lincoln School Committee and that, furthermore, if petitioner was elected, she could continue to serve as Confidential Secretary until taking office on the School Committee). The law does provide, however, that persons subject to the Code may not use their public positions for private gain or financial advantage and may not participate in public decisions when their independence of judgment has been impaired because of a private interest. See R.I. Gen. Laws §§ 36-14-5(a),(b) and (d). The fact that the petitioner may campaign for a seat on the School Committee while simultaneously serving as the Recording Clerk of the School Committee does not, in and of itself, present an inherent conflict of interest under the Code of Ethics. Accordingly, if elected, she may continue to serve in her present capacity until she takes office. The petitioner is cautioned, however, that this opinion is based on her representation that she will not be serving as Recording Clerk and a School Committee member simultaneously; if these circumstances are to change, the petitioner is advised to seek further guidance from the Ethics Commission. Furthermore, the petitioner is cautioned that provisions of the Code of Ethics do prohibit her from using any public time or resources to support her candidacy. See A.O. 2007-33 (opining that a Program Coordinator for Rhode Island Housing may run for a position on the Central Falls City Council, but must refrain from using public time or resources to support her candidacy). All campaign-related activity must be conducted on her own time and without the use of the Town of North Providence resources. Finally, the Petitioner is advised that this opinion solely addresses whether the Code of Ethics prohibits her, as a municipal appointed employee, from seeking or holding office as a member of the North Providence School Committee. This opinion does not address whether any other statutes, rulings or policies, charters or ordinances prohibit such activity. Code Citations : 36-14-5(a) 36-14-5(b) 36-14-5(d) Related Advisory Opinions : 2007-46 A.O. 2007-33 A.O. 99-74 A.O. 98-118 Keywords: Candidate Political Activity