A recent letter by serving Ilwaco Council member Cullimore raised an important ethical issue: should an elected official publicly endorse candidates? Does the answer change if the endorsed candidate is running for a seat on the same governing body as the endorsing official?

There are no rules preventing such endorsements when made in a personal capacity. This is important to protect the right to free speech. Nonetheless, there is often a nuanced difference between simply operating within the rules and doing the right thing.

Elected officials should consistently run their actions and decisions through an ethics filter. As the Mayor and Councilmember Handbook published by the Municipal Research and Services Center of Washington (MRSC) says: “Like it or not, the public expects you [elected officials] to behave according to higher standards than the next person on the street.” This is equally true during a council meeting or when making public comments on local politics.

In researching various perspectives on this issue, I found this to be a particularly compelling summary by the editor of a community newspaper in another part of Washington: “As representatives empowered by voters to serve in non-partisan positions, sitting elected officials would better serve the community that elected them by refraining from making public declarations for or against candidates, whether it be city, county, station, or national level positions. The benefits, whatever they are, are small compared to the costs of undermining public confidence and trust in government.”

Finally, to quote the handbook once more: “Public officers have the duty of serving the public with undivided loyalty, uninfluenced by any private interest or motive. Care must be taken not to violate this duty of trust, either in appearance or in fact.”

I urge readers to consider these ethical questions when reading politicians’ endorsements of friends, close associates, or any other candidates for elected office.

CEDRIC HILLE

Ilwaco