The Provo City Council announced it would not be ammending it's ethics rules. At play in this particular debate is the issue of conflicts of interest.
The current rules requre a councilmember to only declare their conflict. They are still free to debate, discuss, lobby, and even vote on the issue. To me, I have no problem with a councilmember declaring their interest - transparency is a good thing. Also, they should be free to lobby and debate their point of view. I'm fine with all of that as long as it's done in the open. My beef is with the final vote. Councilmembers should excuse themselves from voting on those issues in which they have a direct conflict of interest.
Do councilmembers have greater influence on their collegues? Of course they do, but I think it's unfair or unwise even to not allow them to contribute to the debate on issues they have personal interests in. But, they shouldn't vote. Let their ideas and arguments sway the members on the council. Not their own vote.
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