A legal opinion on Vaughan's conflict of interest

A legal opinion from Greensboro City Attorney Julia Danish on Mayor Pro Tem Nancy Vaughan's conflict of interest on the city's solid waste decision, compared to possible conflicts of interest by at-large Councilman Robbie Perkins and District 3 Councilman Zack Matheny:

Council Member Vaughan [spelling corrected], this e-mail is in follow up and intended to clarify the discussion that occurred at yesterday’s (4/26/11) work session regarding the White Street Landfill RFPs. During that discussion, a question was raised regarding your ability to participate in those discussions. As you were previously advised, you have an actual conflict involving a direct benefit directly related to the contract. As such, this conflict is governed by all the applicable conflict statutes, including but not limited to the state criminal statute, the state ethics statute, the applicable charter provision and city policy. Most notably, the criminal statute specifically provides that you “shall not attempt to influence any person...’’ As such, this statute prohibits participating in any discussions. Your actual direct conflict is distinguished from the other possible council member conflicts currently under review (no final determination of a conflict has been made as to those other council members). Therefore, based upon the law and the facts, you can neither participate nor vote in this matter. All of your actions to date related to the landfill have been consistent with the law.  I regret any inconvenience this may have caused you. Should you have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact me.