It is a matter of some relief that the Durango Board of Ethics cleared City Councilor Chris Bettin, City Manager Ron LeBlanc, and, indirectly, former mayor and Durango Land and Homes co-owner Christina Rinderle (also Bettin’s business and personal partner) of engaging “in a substantial financial transaction for the public official’s private business purposes with a person the city official inspects or supervises in the course of the city official’s official duties.”
This provision of the city’s code of ethics is intended to avoid conflicts of interest, that is, to avert any act that abuses the trust that the citizens have placed in their elected or appointed officials.
A conflict of interest may be actual, apparent or potential. Given the complaints that emerged, the proposed real estate transaction (now completed) was an apparent conflict of interest – one in which a reasonable person would think that the parties’ judgment is likely to be compromised. It may well have had the potential of evolving into an actual conflict of interest.
In situations like this, the prudent action is to consult the Board of Ethics in the very first instance, before an agreement has been finalized, and have the board determine whether or not, in its judgment, the proposed transaction and relationship might develop into a real conflict of interest. If so, it should not be undertaken.
If the Board of Ethics had initially cleared the parties of any substantial conflict, much of the resulting consternation could have been avoided.
Richard O. Mason
Durango
