Before I get started with this article, I need to make a couple things clear: Maricopa County Supervisor Bill Gates (District 3), has already stated that he will not run for re-election in 2024, and all information in this article relating to official Code of Conduct is derived from the Committee of Ethics of the U.S. House of Representatives.
Among the many responsibilities of the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors, approving the annual county Fiscal Year operating budget is one of them. Unless county supervisor Bill Gates recuses himself from a particular portion of the county budget when it comes to approving it, is he in violation of the Code of Conduct or Code of Ethics. The portion of the county budget that I am referring to is the part that deals with the Judicial Branch of Maricopa County. If you do not know, supervisor Gates wife is the Associate Presiding Judge of the Judicial Branch (making her the number 2 Judicial Branch judge of the 4th largest county in America).
The official U.S. House of Representatives website that I am pulling this information from is https://ethics.house.gov/outside-employment-income/employment-considerations-spouses-members-and-staff. The part of the article that I am concentrating on is this (it’s long):
“Neither federal law nor House rules specifically precludes the spouse of a Member or staff person from engaging in any activity on the ground that it could create a conflict of interest with the official’s congressional duties. However, House rules and statutory provisions impute to a Member or staff person certain benefits that are received by his or her spouse. Thus, a question may arise as to whether the official is improperly benefiting as a result of the spouse’s employment.
The rules and standards that prohibit the use of one’s official position for personal gain, which are set out in this chapter, are fully applicable to Members and staff persons with regard to their spouse’s employment. Specifically, a provision of the House Code of Official Conduct, prohibits a Member from receiving any compensation, or allowing any compensation to accrue to the Member’s beneficial interest, from any source as a result of an improper exercise of official influence (House Rule 23, cl. 3). Additionally, the Code of Ethics for Government Service (¶ 5) admonishes officials never to accept benefits for themselves or their families “under circumstances which might be construed by reasonable persons as influencing the performance” of official duties. The income received by a spouse from employment usually accrues, albeit indirectly, to a Member’s interest. Nonetheless, neither of these provisions is triggered by a spouse’s employment unless a Member or staff person exerts influence or performs official acts in order to obtain compensation for, or as a result of compensation paid to, his or her spouse.”
The second part to this article is some of the things that are included in the Operations Budget of the Judicial Branch, that needs approval to pass by the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors. Personal Services, Employee Related Expenditures, and Professional and Outside Services are all included. What else is included are in state and out of state travel expenses. Those of us who travel for work know that the more money our company gives us to travel on, the less money we must spend out of our own pockets. Don’t let me forget to mention that the Judges compensation and salary increases were included in the Fiscal Year 2023 budget that Supervisor Gates voted to approve and didn’t recuse himself from.
If one goes off of this part of the Code of Conduct, Nonetheless, neither of these provisions is triggered by a spouse’s employment unless a Member or staff person exerts influence or performs official acts in order to obtain compensation for, or as a result of compensation paid to, his or her spouse”, the fact that Supervisor Bill Gates votes to approve the Judicial Branch’s operation budget every year, which included special pay rates and salaries that would also go to his wife’s salary, it is easy to see that he has been in violation of Code of Conduct and/or Code of Ethics every time he doesn’t recuse himself for voting to approve the county budget. Supervisor Bill Gates’ wife has been a Judicial Branch judge a lot longer than he has been a county supervisor. To say that he has had a direct influence over his spouse’s annual salary, salary increases, and other special pays since 2016, is a huge understatement.
Since this Code of Conduct is from the federal level, I don’t know if local laws differ from these. Even if they do, and this practice would be allowed by Maricopa County, this is a prime example of the Maricopa County Supervisors doing whatever they want that benefits them and their families, whether its legal or ethical or not.
This is one of the many reasons that the 5 current members of the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors only have their best interests at heart and in mind, and not ours, the people, their constituent’s. All 5 must be replaced in 2024, so please find out who the county supervisor is in your district and vote for their Republican challenger. These days, it is not enough to have a Republican in office, we must have the RIGHT Republican in office. Although the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors have had the Republican majority since at least 2000, it’s long past time to get the right 4 (or 5) in office.