It’s OK for councilman to campaign for spouse

Wednesday, May 4, 2005 | 8:16 a.m.

CARSON CITY -- A city council member may help a spouse in a political campaign in another branch of city government but should not raise money for the campaign, the state Ethics Commission said Tuesday.

The commission released an advisory opinion to an unnamed city council member who questioned about the ethics of campaigning for his spouse. The council member ratifies the annual budget of the branch of government to which the spouse may be elected.

The commission said a photograph of the public officer could be used in the spouse's campaign literature, but the public officer should not identified as a member of the city council.

There is no ethics violation if the city council member distributes the campaign literature door-to-door, provided the person does not promote himself as a city council member and that he does not accept campaign contributions.

The council member said there is no intention to solicit or accept campaign contributions during the distribution of the literature of his spouse.

"The commission supports public officer's decision to refrain from soliciting campaign contributions on behalf of spouse," said the opinion from the Ethics Commission.

The city council member also sought advice how he would handle voting matters that come before the council involving the department to which he spouse could be elected.

The Ethics Commission said the law requires public officers "to adequately disclose private interests and commitments when considering matters before them and, as appropriate, refrain from advocating the passage or failure of matters and abstain from voting when their independence of judgment is materially affected by their personal interest."

The city council member, after making the disclosure, "must then determine whether the independence of judgment of a reasonable person in that situation would be materially affected by public officer's private interests and or commitments." If so, he must refrain from voting

The Ethics Commission said the decision to abstain will vary depending on the particular issue and how the vote would tied to the private interest of the city council member.

"Not all matters that may come before the city council in which public officer's spouse may be to some extent personally involved or interested would require public officer to abstain," the ethics commission said.

In this case, the city council member has two more years in office. And the spouse's election will be held in about two months, said the Ethics Commission's opinion.