{"id":1253,"date":"2016-05-03T13:08:24","date_gmt":"2016-05-03T18:08:24","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/truthinaddison.com\/?page_id=1253"},"modified":"2016-05-03T13:23:49","modified_gmt":"2016-05-03T18:23:49","slug":"significant-conflict-of-interest-in-addison-politics","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"http:\/\/truthinaddison.com\/?page_id=1253","title":{"rendered":"Significant Conflict of Interest in Addison Politics"},"content":{"rendered":"

Significant Conflict of Interest in Addison Politics<\/strong><\/h3>\n

After being admonished by the then City Attorney in 2014 for violating the Town\u2019s prohibition against political advertising and other ethics violations in campaigns, Addison\u2019s Mayor, Todd Meier, and the Council voted to change the Town\u2019s long standing Code of Ordinances to allow them to do so in the future\u2026and to not violate the law. As a result, Councilmembers and the Mayor can campaign for anyone today, including other members of the Council, using their title, etc. \u2013 all without violating any of the former prohibitions against doing so. The Mayor, current councilmembers, and their supporters are quick to point out that this campaign activity is perfectly legal and violates no law\u2026and they are right\u2026as far as it goes.<\/p>\n

The change to the Code of Ordinances is obviously \u201cself-serving\u201d and effectively makes it almost impossible for a challenger to win a seat on the council. The mayor and council\u2019s action fits the Law.com definition of a conflict of interest as follows:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cconflict of interest<\/sup><\/strong><\/p>\n

n. a situation in which a person has a duty to more than one person or organization, but cannot do justice to the actual or potentially adverse interests of both parties. This includes when an individual’s personal interests or concerns are inconsistent with the best for a customer, or <\/sup>when a public official’s personal interests are contrary to his\/her loyalty to public business<\/sup><\/strong>. An attorney, an accountant, a business adviser or realtor cannot represent two parties in a dispute and must avoid even the appearance of conflict. He\/she may not join with a client in business without making full disclosure of his\/her potential conflicts, he\/she must avoid commingling funds with the client, and never, never take a position adverse to the customer.\u201d<\/sup><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

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Addison\u2019s current and very heated Council election is a clear example of this conflict. Six candidates are vying for three seats, three incumbents and three challengers. The Mayor, who is not up for reelection, is openly leading the campaign for the three incumbent councilmembers, speaking frequently on their behalf, using Town resources (newsletter, flyers, meetings, etc. to publicize their actions) and creating and funding large glossy campaign flyers in support of their candidacies. We should ask ourselves \u201cwhy would the mayor do this and at what price?\u201d It\u2019s only a matter of time until another controversial community issue, like the recent Sam\u2019s site decision, causes the mayor to remind those he supported and funded in this election that they are in his debt.<\/p>\n

However, an even larger problem looms if one or more challengers is successful this next Saturday. How does the mayor lead a divided council made up of those he financially supported and those he did not? Not easily, since many of the statements he\u2019s made in favor of his \u201cslate\u201d have been called disingenuous, misleading, and simply untruthful by numerous individuals. To quote the good book:<\/p>\n

\u00a0Matthew 6:24 states: \u201cno man can serve two masters.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

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