Advisory Opinion No. 98-54

Re: James S. Bennett

QUESTION PRESENTED

The Petitioner, the Treasurer of the Rhode Island Convention Center Authority, a state appointed position, who also will be a candidate for the office of General Treasurer, a state elected position, requests an advisory opinion as to whether he may retain stock ownership in the Mitkem Corporation upon relinquishing his position as its President, if he wins election as General Treasurer.

RESPONSE

It is the opinion of the Rhode Island Ethics Commission that the Petitioner, the Treasurer of the Rhode Island Convention Center Authority, a state appointed position, who also will be a candidate for the office of General Treasurer, a state elected position, may retain his stock ownership in the Mitkem Corporation (Mitkem) upon relinquishing his position as its President, if he wins election as General Treasurer.

The Petitioner represents that the Mitkem Corporation is an environmental testing laboratory that analyzes soil and water samples for U.S. government agencies, for state and local governments, as well as for private clients. The Petitioner advises that, if elected as General Treasurer, he would relinquish his position as President of Mitkem but would prefer to retain his stock ownership in that company.

The Commission concludes that it would not be a violation of the Code of Ethics for the Petitioner to retain ownership of Mitkem corporate stock if he is successful in his attempt to win election to the office of General Treasurer. The mere act of privately owning stock in a corporation while serving as an elected public official does not constitute an interest in substantial conflict with the proper discharge of his duties or employment in the public interest. However, if the Petitioner wins election to the office of General Treasurer, situations may arise in which he would be in a position to affect the Mitkem Corporation through his official activity, and thus take action which would ultimately affect the value of his corporate stock. This advisory opinion cannot anticipate every possible situation in which such a conflict of interest might arise. The Petitioner is cautioned and advised that in the event he wins election to the office of General Treasurer and a particular matter or issue comes before him in his official capacity that is likely to have a direct impact upon the Mitkem Corporation and/or his stock ownership interest in that company, it likely would be a violation of the Code of Ethics for him to participate in the matter. In such a circumstance he should exercise the notice and recusal provisions of the Code of Ethics and file a statement of conflict of interest with the Ethics Commission.

Code Citations:

36-14-5(a)

36-14-5(d)

36-14-6

36-14-7(a)

Related Advisory Opinions:

96-66

96-101

Keywords:

Candidate

Financial interest