Conflict, if Not Legality, Is Clear

Was it legal for Ventura City Councilman Jack Tingstrom to accept $70,000 for work as a consultant to a company preparing to renegotiate its contract with the city? Possibly. The district attorney is investigating whether Tingstrom’s actions violated the law.

Was it right? Absolutely not.

Elected officials who collect a paycheck from a public entity should not take a cent from private parties who do business with that entity. There’s an easy option for those who aren’t willing to forego this sort of income:

Don’t run for public office.

Technically legal or not, Tingstrom’s deal with Avila Golf Management Co. just plain smells bad. He says he was hired as a consultant for Avila in January 1995 to do community- and government-relations work on projects outside of Ventura. In 1997, while Tingstrom was serving his turn as mayor, Avila was seeking to renew its contract to continue operating the city’s Olivas Park Golf Course, as it had done since 1982. When the City Council ultimately declined to renew Avila’s contract, the company sued.

Mayor Tingstrom did carefully abstain from voting on the matter during City Council meetings, openly declaring his conflict. But he made no secret of his desire for Avila’s contract to be renewed. City Manager Donna Landeros has testified in a deposition that Tingstrom lobbied her and other city staff on Avila’s behalf.

Those actions could have carried Tingstrom’s conflict over the line of legality. Other members of the City Council recently decided to refer the matter to the district attorney’s office.

Voters and taxpayers have a different burden of proof. Call it common sense. In return for our votes, we rightly expect successful candidates to spend their term in office looking out for our interests--not the interests of private contractors looking to steer as much of the public budget as possible into their own bank accounts.

Ventura County has plenty of qualified consultants able to push for private business interests in negotiating such contracts. It also has an abundance of smart, qualified, civic-minded citizens eager to serve in elective office.

There is no room for those who try to work both sides of the street.