April 2003
The January column reported a story of a citizen member of a local planning commission who spoke out publicly against a proposed housing development in a letter to the editor in which the commissioner signed her name but did not identify herself as a member of the commission. The developer complained to the mayor and a controversy ensued. The citizen/commissioner claimed the she had the right to speak out as a concerned citizen even though she would sit as a member of the commission that passed judgement on the merits of the development. Did the citizen commissioner cross over the ethical line?
Mark Monson (Mark.Monson@dhp.state.va.us) analyzed the situation in the following way:
“There’s no question in my mind that commissioner Jones erred mightily.
The minute she took the oath of office as a planning commissioner, she gave up her freedom to speak as a private citizen on planning issues. This is the case for anyone in any role in any government.
We always retain our right to speak out on matters, as long as those matters are not related to our duties or the areas of responsibility of our organizations.
When we do speak out on matters related to our jobs or positions, we become de facto representatives of our employing organization, whether we like it or not. If I’m not mistaken, that is the rationale courts have used in our state to enable a Governor to limit the matters state employees can comment on to the legislature.”
“I’m hesitant, though, to chastise Jones too harshly. It may well be that the locality for which he is a planning commissioner needs to do a better job educating new board and commission members of their roles, responsibilities and limitations. My agency has 13 regulatory boards. We hold an intensive orientation and training session for every new board member, including guidelines on speaking out on issues related to their duties as board members. Since we’ve been doing these sessions, we’ve not had the kind of problem described in your column.”