Weeks before the City Council election, Faye Schrater, wife of Durango City Councilor and candidate Dick White, has resigned her position on the city’s Board of Ethics, an advisory group.

“I wish to avoid any appearance of impropriety or perception of conflict of interest that could arise as a consequence of my marriage to Councilor White,” Faye Schrater wrote in a letter to the mayor dated March 9. All other city councilors were copied on the letter.

The ethics board was created as part of a new city code of ethics passed in October that seemingly was written to avoid the exact situation that Schrater said in her letter she was trying to avoid.

“City officials must be mindful that the appearance of impropriety can be as corrosive of public confidence as an actual impropriety, and must strive to avoid situations which may create an appearance of impropriety,” the code reads. So far, the board has not issued any opinions, and it has met only twice.

Schrater said she asked her fellow board members if they would like to discuss her situation and whether it would constitute a conflict of interest. But that conversation never happened.

Before she resigned, Schrater said she had heard second-hand that a citizens group was concerned about her appointment.

“Some citizens, upon hearing I was a member of the Board of Ethics, felt that City Council had done wrong,” she said.

While she does not regret applying for the board and does not believe she did anything wrong, she said she did not what to hurt others by staying.

“I determined I would not remain in a position to be used against the board or City Council either collectively or individually,” she said.

Schrater’s November appointment to the Board of Ethics came to The Durango Herald’s attention March 11.

An anonymous note to the Herald said: “March is National Ethics Awareness Month. Faye Schrater is married to Dick White.”

White’s opponents in the April 7 election – Mayor Sweetie Marbury, Dave McHenry and Sean Waddell – denied knowing anything about the letter.

The two political challengers, McHenry and Waddell said they didn’t know she was on the board.

Only Waddell said he saw a problem with the appointment.

“That would be kind of a conflict, at least the appearance of one,” he said.

Marbury, however, defended White and criticized the way the Herald was anonymously notified.

“Isn’t it ugly someone can’t stand up and be a big boy and sign their name?” she said.

Schrater declined to say whether she thought the note or disgruntled group was politically motivated, although she said the timing could make it seem that way.

“I think it’s a distraction to the true purpose of the board. I do not believe it has merit,” she said.

Schrater was involved with the creation of the board since the summer. She both gave feedback on the code that created the board and was asked to apply for it. She was one of four applicants to a five member board. Later, a fifth member was appointed. As of Friday, Schrater had not been replaced.

The director of Colorado Ethics Watch, Luis Toro, said people might think a council member’s spouse sitting on the Board of Ethics raises the appearance of a conflict, but it might be unfair to assume one spouse is an extension of the other.

“This is tricky territory,” he said.

The City Council is charged with navigating this territory when appointing all the members of the Board of Ethics.

All of the councilors, except White, appointed Schrater to the board in November in a unanimous vote. White recused himself from the vote, according to meeting minutes provided by the city.

The councilors, excluding Dean Brookie who could not be reached, said the appearance of a conflict of interest was not apparent to them. Each one said they believed that Schrater would have recused herself if White was ever the subject of an inquiry.

In addition, Schrater also served on the Mercy Regional Medical Center Board of Ethics, making her qualified for the job, Marbury said.

The city’s lawyer, Dirk Nelson, said the councilors did not ask him whether the appointment would create the appearance of a conflict of interest.

mshinn@durangoherald.com

Schrater Resignation Letter (PDF)