[Vision2020] re: conflict of interest

[Melynda Huskey]

Darrell raises some points that I'm sure others are wondering about, too.  
He writes:

>1.      I find it disturbing that a man is being raked through the mud 
>simply because he is a member of a church that has a pastor with some odd 
>views . . . Paul is being castigated for being a member of Christ Church 
>and, undeniably, making one bad decision in not removing himself from a 
>Commissioner vote. Does knowing Paul Kimmell attends Christ Church allow us 
>to accurately infer everything else about him?

One difficulty about this medium--Vision 2020 in particular and email in 
general--is that it invites polarization, and each pole is defined by the 
most extreme or "spirited" position taken.  Although I, for one, have grave 
concerns about the possible conflicts of interest, I don't have them because 
of Paul Kimmell's membership in a particular church.  I'm looking at 
patterns of behavior:

Paul Kimmell is described in church meeting minutes--to which he had access 
and to which he could have asked for revisions--as willing to accept 
oversight by the church's elders on some issues (unspecified).

Paul served as a land agent for the church.

In his capacity as President for the Chamber, he made staff hiring decisions 
which systematically favored members of his own church.

Church email was used to promote his election.

He did not recuse himself from a vote on the tax exempt status of businesses 
related to his church.  At the hearing on that status, inaccurate 
information was presented to justify the request.

Those behaviors would cause me concern no matter what church Paul attended.  
It's quite true that he was found not guilty of a violation of the conflict 
of interest statutes for his vote on the tax exemption.  He's absolutely 
innocent of breaking the law in this matter.  But for me, at any rate, there 
are ethical questions beyond the legal dimension.  Has Paul served Latah 
County well while blending these roles?  On what issues, exactly, might 
Christ Church elders have been given oversight on Paul's decisions or 
positions, and what were the consequences of that oversight?  Has Paul 
served the Chamber and Moscow businesses evenhandedly?  Was he aware that 
the information presented to the Board of Equalization was inaccurate?

I'll probably never know the answers to those questions.  But they remain 
important questions for me.

I also recognize that it's very hard to ask these questions without being 
perceived as mean or maybe driven by a vendetta. Ours is a small town, where 
we see each other all the time, in all kinds of places.  Unlike Seattle, 
say, or Columbus, Ohio, when I say something critical of a governmental 
official, I do so knowing that I'm likely to see him tomorrow in Rosauers or 
McCoy's or the Needle Nook or the Red Door.  That makes it just a little 
harder to speak up.

Constant readers know I've never made any secret of my distaste for 
Kimmell's pastor and his views--just as Doug Wilson has been pretty open 
about his disdain for me and mine.  But there is a middle ground possible, 
where serious questions are not necessarily personal attacks, and where 
public officials can be held to high standards without personal animosity on 
either side.

Melynda Huskey