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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.