Ethics, Appearance and Conflict
The Island County Assessor sets the taxable value of every home, farm, business, and parcel of land in the county. That responsibility carries a duty that goes beyond honesty — it requires the appearance of honesty. Not only do property owners deserve an Assessor who is fair. They deserve an Assessor whose fairness no one has cause to question.
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Two terms worth clarifying:
A conflict of interest exists when a public official has a personal or financial interest in a matter they may decide in their official capacity. The conflict exists whether or not the official ever acts on it.
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The appearance of impropriety is the broader and, quite possibly, the more important standard. It is not a question of whether or not an official is actually biased, but instead, whether a reasonable member of the public could reasonably believe they might be. This standard is vital to preserving and growing public trust.
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These are the standards of the International Association of Assessing Officers — the nation's leading professional and standards-setting body for property tax assessment. Its Code of Ethics directs members to avoid any activity the public could reasonably view as a conflict, and any conduct that creates the appearance of impropriety.
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These are standards that I help apply at the national level to claims brought to the Ethics Committee. I am currently serving my second term on the IAAO Ethics Committee, and I hold the IAAO's Residential Evaluation Specialist (RES) and Assessment Administration Specialist (AAS) designations. For over the past four and a half years, I have worked as a residential appraiser in the Island County Assessor's office. The standards in this section are not creations I invented for this campaign. They are the standards I already help interpret through our Ethics committee, and standards that should be taken seriously by any assessment professional.
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What I have already done:
When potential conflicts have arisen during my work in the Assessor's office — including matters involving a former supervisor of an immediate family member — I have recused myself by reassigning the property to a colleague with no connection to the owner. These reassignments are documented in the office's own work records. This is not a process that is new to me. This is how good, ethical business is performed.
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