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New council member spurs ethics query
By MAUREEN BYRNE AHERN SEMINOLE -- Jimmy Johnson vowed that if he were elected to City Council, he would abstain from any discussions or votes about his place of business, the Greater Seminole Area Chamber of Commerce. Little did he know that he would have to make good on his promise during his inaugural work session. During the casual discussion of city business Tuesday, City Manager Frank Edmunds asked council members to review statements and questions concerning the chamber. The city is requesting an opinion from the state Ethics Commission on whether a conflict of interest would exist if the chamber's executive director, who happens to be Johnson, also served on the council. Council members also want to know if the city's partial funding of a small business program run by the chamber poses a conflict. The questions had been hypothetical until March 4, when Johnson easily won one of three seats up for election. Now it's a real situation, and Johnson and his fellow council members await a decision, which could take up to 60 days. If the decision comes back negative for Johnson, he could have to choose between his full-time job and his new role as a politician. "More than likely, we would appeal it," Johnson said. In a city like Seminole, where council members are longtime friends, the situation is becoming awkward. But said Council member Pete Bengston: "Let's get it over with." When Mayor Dottie Reeder asked Johnson what he thought of the information being sent to the Ethics Commission, he replied that he had been advised by his attorney not to comment. As an elected official, "you're going to have situations come up, so you better have enough wisdom to know when not to get involved," Johnson said Thursday in his work office as he thumbed through a stack of congratulatory letters that he received from local and state elected officials. On a bookshelf behind his desk sits the city's code of ordinances and comprehensive plan. Nearby is an issue of Quality Cities, a publication by the Florida League of Cities that highlights information for newly elected officials. Johnson, 60, says he supports the council's decision to seek advice from the Ethics Commission. "It's not a crisis," he said. "It's just a situation that has to be dealt with, and it will be." He says he thinks the commission will rule in his favor. So does his attorney, Tim Schuler. "I still feel that based on all the research that I did for him, that it is not a problem," Schuler said. Johnson says he never dreamed his election would cause such a stir. He says fellow council members even encouraged him to run for a seat. However, when constituents started asking questions about a possible ethics violation if Johnson was elected, the council had no choice but to get an opinion, Reeder said. Ethics is a hot topic here. Last month, local attorney John Hubbard conducted a seminar for the council. The city's elected officials also recently struggled over the potential for conflict if one of the council members also served on the city's fire pension board of trustees. Heeding the advice of City Attorney John Elias as well as two other attorneys, the council decided against appointing one of its own. "Then all of a sudden this whole thing became an issue," Johnson said. Johnson, a retired Kmart Corp. manager whom chamber members once named Mr. Seminole, was hired in August 2000 as the chamber's executive director. He first moved to Seminole in 1980 to manage a Kmart. Johnson says one of his best accomplishments at the chamber is starting the Business Assistance Program, a partnership of Seminole, Pinellas County and the chamber designed to help small- to medium-sized businesses. The city and county each make an annual $20,000 contribution to the program. The chamber's operating budget is $182,500. Johnson sees no conflict since he doesn't directly receive any of the $20,000. His salary mostly comes from membership dues raised by the chamber. And, he says, his assistant, Gretchen Cain, primarily runs the Business Assistance Program. "I hope the city will always continue this relationship, because it's just a good thing," he said.
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