Superior Handling of a Conflict Matter

Too many of my blog entries look at instances where things did not go right. One reason is that when things do go right, no one talks about them. Another reason is that so often ethics problems are not handled very well.

So it's nice to read about the proper handling of a conflict situation in Superior, Wisconsin. I suppose when you live in a town with this name, your aspirations are greater than most cities'.

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According to an article in the Superior Daily Telegram, a city council member, who is also business manager for a local labor union, presented an ordinance requiring project labor agreements on all sizeable city projects. The city attorney cautioned council members about the possible conflict of interest, and the council decided to table the ordinance.  The district attorney was consulted, and he found the conflict "obvious." He recommended that the council member discuss the conflict with private counsel and/or the city attorney.  He added, "This situation may present an opportunity for training for the City Council on the conflict of interest prohibitions in the statutes."

It does seem a bit excessive to bring in the district attorney, because nothing criminal was done.  But, since Superior does not appear to have an ethics commission or any other clear enforcement or advisory procedure, the right thing was to table the ordinance and get a neutral opinion before anything was done. The next thing to do is to set up a formal process.

Robert Wechsler
Director of Research-Retired, City Ethics