Dual officeholders drawing scrutiny

In Massachusetts, known for its healthy appetite for politics, a quirk in the state constitution allows the state's most ambitious politicos to hold more than one elected office.

For that, Michael Sullivan can be thankful.

Sullivan, from a storied family of politicians, was elected Middlesex County clerk of courts last fall, replacing his 86-year-old uncle, Edward J. Sullivan, who had stepped down after nearly 50 years. Michael Sullivan is also an elected Cambridge city councilor.

His total pay: about $170,000 a year.

A state advisory panel for clerks of court has recommended that Sullivan drop one of the posts, saying conflicts of interest could arise between the dual roles. Sullivan insists he has taken steps to avoid any conflict, and has pulled nomination papers for re election to the City Council. He said he is confident he could continue to handle both jobs.

"It actually wasn't as demanding as I thought it would be," said Sullivan, who has yet to decide if he will run again.

Massachusetts is one of a handful of states with few restrictions on holding two elective positions.

Critics of dual office holding say it creates potential conflicts of interest, allows job holders to collect two public salaries and added pension benefits, and prevents new blood from filling public offices.

It is controversial in some states, but there has been little push to abandon the practice in Massachusetts.

The potential conflicts include the fact that a state lawmaker who is also a city councilor may vote on a budget that affects his own city, while other cities also are competing for cash. In Sullivan's case, his office processes court cases that include him as a defendant.

Besides Sullivan, other double office holders include another Cambridge city councilor, Timothy J. Toomey Jr. , who is also a state representative; State Representative Rosemary Sandlin, who is also a member of the Agawam School Committee; first-year State Representative Stephen Smith, who is serving his last year as a selectman in Everett; and state Representative Thomas Stanley , who is also an at-large Waltham city councilor.

To many of the politicians, the double duty is a point of pride: Not only did the voters elect them once, they elected them twice. They boast that they know the issues at home very well.

"I never have to 'take the temperature,' because I'm always in the middle of everything," said Stanley, a Democrat whose Ninth Middlesex District includes parts of Waltham and Lexington. "I have constant contact with local and state officials as well as constituents."

He earns two public salaries: $14,874 a year plus expenses from the city of Waltham, and $55,569 from the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.

One government watchdog group says the situation is acceptable, as long as the officials are careful about avoiding conflicts.

"I think we've seen many that are able to juggle those responsibilities well," said Pam Wilmot, executive director of Common Cause of Massachusetts. "Any time you do have a dual role, whether it's elected or having outside employment, there are potentials for conflicted interests. But frankly, I think they're less when holding two elected offices than when in the private sector."

State ethics law focuses on preventing financial conflicts of interest. For example, a state legislator, as a state employee, cannot obtain a contract to provide services to the state. Also a lawmaker cannot receive a second state salary, although there are exceptions, including faculty appointments. But state law says there is no restriction on state officials holding local elected office.

In other states, however, the practice has been controversial.

In New Jersey, Governor Jon Corzine is reviewing recently passed legislation that bans dual office holding. Under the law, current dual office holders would be grandfathered, but any current or future elected official who was elected to a second office would have to choose one.

Brenda Erickson , a research analyst with the National Conference of State Legislatures, said many states ban dual office holding to prevent double dipping for salary and benefits in public coffers.

Generally, city councilors and selectmen are not considered full-time employees, and they often hold private-sector jobs.

Stanley, the Waltham politician, said voters determine each year whether he's doing a good job handling his local and his state responsibilities. He's up for re election to the council and the state Legislature in alternating years.

Having so many elections is certainly time-consuming, he said. He says he probably has knocked on every door in Waltham.

"I enjoy it," he said. "It's like breathing to me."

But not everyone agrees that dual office holders can adequately serve both roles.

Waltham City Councilor Kathleen B. McMenimen challenged her council colleague Stanley in the 2004 primary election for state representative.

She promised to step down from the council post if elected to the House.

The legislative seat encompasses Waltham and portions of neighboring Lexington, and she said the needs of the two communities sometimes are in conflict.

"As state representative, he has a hard enough time balancing the needs of the Lexington constituents with the needs of the Waltham constituents," she said.

But Stanley said he has never felt a conflict in representing both communities.

"That was a concern of mine when I was redistricted into Lexington," he said. "But . . . the communities are more similar than one would think, and I can't think of a situation where I've been in conflict."

In Sullivan's case, the Supreme Judicial Court's Advisory Committee on Ethical Opinions for Clerks of the Courts weighed in on his dual roles in January.

He had asked the panel for its opinion on handling court cases involving the City of Cambridge. The panel's conclusion was that holding both offices would be "problematic."

The clerk's office controls the flow of cases through the courthouse and handles evidence and court filings. A Code of Professional Responsibility requires clerks to maintain impartiality on issues that could come before the court.

Sullivan says his office is up-front about his dual roles when cases involving the city of Cambridge come before the court. Parties are given the opportunity to move their cases to another clerk's jurisdiction if they are concerned about a conflict.

Several lawmakers who had brief overlap in their local offices and their state offices, say they decided not to run for re election to their local seats, because of the time commitment, the need to get others involved in politics, and potential conflicts.

"I preferred to focus on the one job," said state Representative William Brownsberger , a Democrat who was elected to the Legislature in November while serving as a Belmont selectman. He served out the last three months of his term as selectmen after taking office on Beacon Hill in January.

Sandlin was elected to the Legislature in November while serving as an Agawam School Committee member. She said she decided not to step down from the School Committee because the vacancy would have required an expensive special election for her community.

"I've not missed a meeting on the School Committee nor missed a vote in the House," Sandlin said. "But of course, I'm a very energetic person."

John C. Drake can be reached at jdrake@globe.com