Letter: New COA member has inherent conflict of interest

Posted 6/8/19

To the editor:

The results of the May 22 FTM have left our town with ethical questions. Dr. Lisa Daft was elected to serve the COA. However, during her speech, she did not disclose her conflict. …

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Letter: New COA member has inherent conflict of interest

Posted

To the editor:

The results of the May 22 FTM have left our town with ethical questions. Dr. Lisa Daft was elected to serve the COA. However, during her speech, she did not disclose her conflict. She is married to Edward Daft, a vice principal at Barrington High School. His salary comes from the school committee side of our budget. This could be an ethics violation for Dr Daft. She chose not to disclose this conflict before the vote.

Looking back to the 2017 FTM, seven people ran for the COA. Dr. Daft was one of them. Cynthia Rosengard, Joshua Berlinsky and Scott Douglas were elected. That night, Mr. Douglas informed the voting members that his wife, Dr. Megan Douglas, was a member of the School Committee. He had spoken to town solicitor Mike Ursillo about his serving on the COA while his wife served on the School Committee.

Mr Ursillo stated it was okay, as long as Mr. Douglas stepped out of a hearing in which his wife was the speaker. This full exchange is available online.

Prior to the 2017 FTM, Dr. Douglas sought and was given an advisory opinion (No. 2017-18) that her husband may present information before her in the role of school committee member. This was okay, according to the Ethics Commission, because there was no financial gain by the Douglases.

After Mr. Douglas’ election to the COA, a couple of residents were not happy with Mr. Ursillo’s advice. They wrote a letter to the editor which lead to Scott Douglas asking for an Advisory Opinion (2017-44), completed on Sept. 26, 2017.

There were several reasons the Douglases were allowed to do their duties on the COA and school committees concurrently: 1. They were duly elected; 2. They had no personal financial interest in the budgetary process other than as general taxpayers, property owners and parents of school children. These interests are no different than any other SC or COA members. They also reversed Mr Ursillo’s restriction about appearing before each other’s committees (No. 2017-44).

Now getting back to Dr. Daft and the 2019 FTM. If we use Mr Douglas’ Advisory Opinion, it does not appear that Dr. Daft would be able to discharge her duties as a COA member on the School Committee side of our budgetary equation, for the reason above that there is a personal financial interest, due to her husband’s salary. In advisory opinion No. 2017-44, it also states conflicts exist when an official has reason to believe a person within their family will derive monetary gain or suffer direct monetary loss by duties being carried out. 

I also have some ethical concerns about Dr. Daft serving on the COA and interacting with the SC in that role. 1. Her husband is a subordinate to Superintendent of Schools Michael Messore. As such, it would be inappropriate for her to comment on anything that Mr. Messore does as far as policy budgeting or any other part of his job. 2. There is a teachers’ union contract negotiation this year. Her husband’s position is management. It would be inappropriate for her to weigh in on any part of these negotiations either before, during or after.

Dr. Daft should not participate in any SC-related COA decisions until she has an Advisory Opinion from the Ethics Commission. Dr. Daft should inform the public when she has done this in writing. Dr. Daft should also apologize to the FTM participants for her failure to disclose her conflict. It is too bad that Dr Daft did not follow the Douglas’ example. 

Sincerely,

Paul J. O’Brien Jr. DC

Barrington

http://www.ethics.ri.gov/advisory/

http://www.ethics.ri.gov/advisory/individual/2017/2017-018.htm

http://www.ethics.ri.gov/advisory/individual/2017/2017-044.htm

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