Multiple Hats

What's the difference between wearing multiple hats and having conflicts of interest?

Former Vancouver City Manager Ken Dobell is the project manager (contractor, not employee) for a cultural precinct in Vancouver, British Columbia. He is also chair of the finance committee of the Vancouver Organizing Committee for the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games. He is also a long-time adviser to British Columbia's Premier, Gordon Campbell (under contract; formerly Deputy Minister to the Premier).

The Olympic Organizing Committee is being asked to provide funds to Vancouver for the cultural precinct. It will be negotiating on this with the project's manager, Dobell.

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Dobell's contract with Vancouver requires him to lobby the Premier, who will make a decision based partly on Dobell's recommendations.

In a recent Globe and Mail article (no longer accessible without payment; but part of it, plus blog commentary, can be found here), Dobell was quoted as saying, "There are multiple hats, and it's quite true I have to take one off and put on another one, but that's not atypical for people that are in this kind of a role."

One clue to whether there are conflicts is the fact that he wrote a letter to the city and province about possible conflicts six months after he signed the cultural precinct contract, and one day before another (untendered) contract with the city to develop funding models for social housing was made public (a month after it was signed).

With conflicts, there's often a smoke and fire issue, only it works different than usual. Where there is no smoke (no disclosure), there's usually a fire.

As for multiple hats, Dobell seems to be right: they're not atypical for people in his sort of role. He's a player. He makes money off of government, works in government, participates on governmental commissions, and advises politicians. Is it possible for such a person not to be in a constant state of conflict between the many interests of the roles on which the hats sit? What can be done about this? Or is this just the cost of hiring "the best person for the job" (there's no doubt he's incredibly knowledgeable and experienced)? Are there simply not enough qualified people to go around? Or not enough people who wear or have worn the right hats, which need to be worn by people who have worn the right hats...?

Oh, two more of Dobell's hats are director of the Canadian Council of Public-Private Partnerships and Vice-Chair of the Law Society of British Columbia's Complainants' Review Committee, which deals with lawyer discipline, that is, ethical misconduct by lawyers (he's a lay member or "bencher").