Advisory Opinion No. 97-88

Re: Pamela J. Holley

QUESTION PRESENTED

The Petitioner, Charlestown Town Councilor, a municipal elected position, requests an advisory opinion as to whether she may simultaneously be employed by the Charlestown Chamber of Commerce.

RESPONSE

It is the opinion of the Rhode Island Ethics Commission that the Petitioner, Charlestown Town Councilor, a municipal elected position, may simultaneously be employed by the Charlestown Chamber of Commerce. However, if matters concerning the Chamber of Commerce come before her at the Town Council, the Code of Ethics requires that she recuse herself from participation in those matters and file a Section 6 notice with the Town Council and the Ethics Commission. Section 5(a) of the Code states that a public official shall not have any interest or engage in any business, employment, transaction or professional activity which is in substantial conflict with the proper discharge of his or her responsibilities.

Section 7(a) of the Code states that a substantial conflict occurs if the public official has reason to believe or expect that he or she or any person within his or her family or any business associate, or any business by which he person is employed or represents will derive a direct monetary gain or suffer a direct monetary loss by reason of his or her official activity. Given that matters affecting the financial status of the Chamber of Commerce, her employer, will come before the Petitioner as a member of Town Council, she must recuse in order to avoid conflicts of interest under the Code of Ethics.

Code Citations:

36-14-5(a)

36-14-7(a)

Related Advisory Opinions:

97-51

97-19

97-4

96-94

96-46

96-42

95-43

95-20

95-7

94-14

94-4

93-5

92-41

Keywords:

private employment