Voting for Oneself for Presiding Office
Table of Contents
April 2022 Voting For Oneself For Presiding Officer
1
Can a Principal be Held Liable for Excessive Force Used by a School Resource Officer?
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City May Not Delete Public Comments from Facebook Using “Off-Topic” Rule
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The Special Education Team is Leading in Ohio and Beyond
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Cincinnati 1714 West Galbraith Rd Cincinnati, OH 45239 (513) 421-2540 Columbus 300 Marconi Blvd, Suite 308 Columbus, OH 43215 (614) 705-1333 Cleveland 6000 Lombardo Center, Suite 120 Cleveland, OH 44131 (246) 487-6672
The Ethics Commission for the State of Ohio issued an advisory opinion regarding the issue of voting for oneself for presiding officer. Specifically, can a member of a legislative body of a local governmental entity vote for themself to serve as presiding officer of that entity, even where they will receive additional payments? The Ethics Commission starts its analysis by noting that Section 102.03 of the Ohio Revised Code generally prohibits a public official from participating in a public agency’s decisions that could result in a financial benefit for the official. Importantly, the benefit received by a public official for serving as presiding officer is a thing of value for purposes of Section 102.03 of the Ohio Revised Code. While this may seem to bar voting for oneself, the Ethics Commission determined that the benefit received by a member for serving as the presiding officer is not “of such a character as to manifest a substantial and improper influence upon the public official,” since the entities at issue may be required to elect a presiding officer and all members may participate in determining who is the presiding officer. The Ethics Commission also found that the unique nature of the elections at issue ensures that no external conflicts of interest influence the process. An additional area of consideration was the matter of the increase in pay associated with the additional duties of a presiding officer. The Ethics Commission has issued several formal advisory opinions regarding pay increases for public officials. Generally, the Commission has concluded that Section 102.03 of the Ohio Revised Code prohibits a council member from voting on or receiving an in-term increase in compensation for the office they currently hold. However, in this case, the public official is not receiving an in-term pay increase so long as the benefit is determined prior to their election to the position of presiding officer. Under such circumstances, there is no prohibition for the public official, if elected to the position, accepting the higher rate of pay for serving in the new position of presiding officer. What Does This Mean for Your District? In short, members of a legislative body of a local governmental entity are not prohibited from voting to elect themself to serve as a presiding officer of that entity, provided that the amount of any additional payment for this service is set prior to the vote.
Ennis Britton April 2022
School Law Review
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