No legal conflict of interest for city finance department employee to run for Antioch City Treasurer
Moved back to Antioch two months ago, but has lived in the city for over half her life.
Lauren Posada. Photo from her campaign page on Facebook 08-10-20.
By Allen Payton
Questions have arisen about the possible conflict of interest of the candidate for Antioch City Treasurer, Lauren Posada, who is challenging appointed incumbent Jim Davis in the November election, because she works in the City of Antioch Finance Department. But City Attorney Thomas Smith says there isn’t a conflict of interest and she can run.
When asked to verify that, she responded, “yes, I work for the finance department in (the) City of Antioch. I’ll been there five years next month and have received all approvals to run for treasurer, including the City Attorney. I got the green light last Friday (July 31).”
Questions were sent to City Attorney Smith and City Finance Director Dawn Merchant asking for confirmation of what Posada shared and the relationship the City Treasurer has with the department.
In response Smith wrote, “The City Treasurer is an elected office, and under the law, any resident of Antioch who is registered to vote in the city may run for that office, including an employee of the City. The duties of the City Treasurer are set forth in the California Government Code and include ensuring that city funds are properly deposited and invested, sign warrants and submit monthly reports. On the other hand, the duties of the City Finance Department are much broader in range, including preparation of the City budget, utility billing and collection of fees, issuance of business licenses, and general fiscal operations, etc. If Ms. Posada is elected City Treasurer, the City Council may consider whether the compensation and/or benefits for the City Treasurer position should be adjusted.”
Davis shared that he as City Treasurer, is the custodian of the field checks each month and “those checks come back through Lauren’s accounts payable to pay them, including bills for the various departments.”
An email was then sent to Merchant asking about Posada’s duties and if there would be any overlap with the responsibilities of the City Treasurer.
The following questions were asked: “How much and in what ways do you and your department work with the City Treasurer?” and “is Mrs. Posada a full-time employee?”
Merchant responded with, “Ms. Posada is a full-time employee. Ms. Posada does not pay the Field Checks. Field Checks are manual/hand checks written by various authorized City employees to pay vendors for goods or services under $200.00. A carbon copy of those checks are returned by employees to our accounting department for review of account accuracy and adequate documentation. Ms. Posada then enters the field check data into the City’s General Ledger after accountant review so that they are properly recorded and accounted for. As far as the various bills of the City, all invoices are first reviewed by whatever department purchased the good or service. They are then approved by the authorized supervisor, manager or department head. Ms. Posada then enters those approved payments into the accounts payable system for processing. Her batches are then reviewed by the accountants before final payment can be made.”
Davis also broached the subject about Posada’s residency, claiming she’s only lived in Antioch for two months. When asked if that was true, if she moved away and recently moved back and how long she lived outside of Antioch, Posada responded, “yes, that’s correct. I’ve lived in Antioch for roughly 16 years throughout the course of my life, which is over half. My parents occasionally moved away but we always came back to Antioch.”
She then also shared, “I was born in Antioch (literally at Walnut Creek Kaiser), until I was around two-years-old, moved back from 2nd-10th grade, moved back in 2013 and my husband and I sold our home in 2015. Moved back in 2020. So, it’s been five years.”
On her campaign Facebook page earlier this week, Posada wrote, “Hello Residents of Antioch! This is just the beginning of my page and I look forward to sharing my heart with you concerning Antioch and why I made the decision to run for Treasurer.” She is married to Will and they have two children.
Davis was appointed City Treasurer by the city council in 2018 filling the vacancy left by former City Treasurer Donna Conley, and this is his first time running for election to the position. He is a former Antioch Mayor and Councilman. This would be Posada’s first time in elected office should she win. The election is on November 3.
the attachments to this post:
Lauren Posada campaign FB page 08-10-20
