Advisory Opinion No. 95-51

Re: Carol A. Mumford

A. Question Presented

Whether Ms. Mumford may serve as the Chair of the Scituate Republican Town Committee, which committee supports and endorses candidates for the town's school committee and town council, when both the school committee and the town council must review and either approve or reject the budget proposal Ms. Mumford submits as Chair of the high school English Department.

B. Summary

Ms. Mumford's participation as a member, or Chair, of the Scituate Republican Town Committee is not "employment" that impairs her independence of judgment in her capacity as a teacher in and Chair of the Scituate High School English Department, nor does the Code of Ethics otherwise bar her participation in such private political activities.

C. Discussion

1. Facts

Ms. Mumford is a teacher in and Chair of the English Department at Scituate High School. As Chair she prepares and submits for approval the department's annual budget, which she describes as the largest academic budget at the high school. The officials and governing entities responsible for reviewing and either approving or rejecting her department's budget are the school superintendent, the school committee and the town council. In addition, the final budget is presented for passage at the annual town meeting.

Ms. Mumford also serves on Scituate's Republican Town Committee and the Republican State Central Committee. She is contemplating running for Chair of the town committee and believes she would stand a good chance of winning the seat. The town committee supports and endorses candidates for, among other positions, the school committee and the town council.

2. Analysis

As a teacher in the Scituate High School English Department Ms. Mumford is an employee of a department within local government. As such, with respect to her conduct as a teacher, she is subject to the Rhode Island Code of Ethics. See R.I. Gen. Laws § 36-14-2(3) and (4)(b).

Conversely, neither the state nor the town Republican committees on which she serves are governmental agencies. Therefore, conduct engaged in by Ms. Mumford as a member or chair of either of those committees does not fall within the purview of the Code of Ethics. While involvement in those committees clearly constitutes political activity that may have an impact on public policy or public decisions, any action by Ms. Mumford as a member of either committee is private, not public, conduct.

As a teacher, and Chair of the English Department, Ms. Mumford prepares and submits the department's annual academic budget. There is no indication that her preparation and submission of the budget is in any way affected by her political activities. Rather, it is more likely that her private activities as a member of the political committees are influenced by the fact that she is a teacher and, presumably, supports funding for education in general, and her English Department in particular. Therefore, the Commission finds that the mere fact of Ms. Mumford's involvement or "employment" with the town and state Republican committees does not impair her independence of judgment as to her official duties in the English Department and concludes that such "employment" is not prohibited by R.I. Gen. Laws § 36-14-5(b) or any other provisions of the Code of Ethics.

While the mere fact of participation in the town and state Republican committees does not run afoul of provisions of the Code of Ethics, the Commission reminds Ms. Mumford that R.I. Gen. Laws § 36-14-5(i) prohibits any person from giving or offering "any gift, loan, political contribution, reward or promise of future employment based on any understanding or expectation that the vote, official action or judgment of said person would be influenced thereby." In other words, Ms. Mumford may not offer or influence contributions or an endorsement to prospective members of the school committee or town council in return for a promise that they will treat favorably budget requests from her department. Similarly, R.I. Gen. Laws § 36-14-5(l) prohibits the candidates for any such office from soliciting or accepting "any gift, loan, political contribution, reward, or promise of future employment based on any understanding that the vote, official action or judgment of the candidate would be influenced thereby."

Keywords

Budgets

Political Activity