Watchdog finds limited conflicts for Santa Rosa City Councilwoman Erin Carlstrom

Santa Rosa City Councilwoman Erin Carlstrom’s new job with Pacific Gas & Electric Co. will create a conflict of interest for her only if the council considers matters directly affecting the finances of her employer.

That’s the opinion of attorneys at the Fair Political Practices Commission, the state’s official political watchdog. Carlstrom agreed to seek guidance from the commission about how her new role as a government affairs representative might conflict with her council duties.

Carlstrom will have to recuse herself from any council votes about grants that will affect PG&E or its franchise agreement with the city. But the FPPC attorneys said there were no other “reasonably foreseeable” conflicts related to her job.

“As an attorney, I knew there was no major conflict,” Carlstrom said in an email. “I’m glad the FPPC came to the same conclusion. In the interests of true transparency, it didn’t do us any harm to ask the questions. Now we can get back to the city’s work.”

Specifically, the FPPC found that Carlstrom would not have to recuse herself from the evaluations of the city manager and city attorney, which some council members questioned given her new job’s involvement in working with government officials.

She has said she would not lobby Santa Rosa city officials or engage in any PG&E work in the city. Her job involves a program designed to upgrade the utility systems in mobile home parks.

The FPPC also didn’t see any direct financial conflict in her working for PG&E and sitting on the county’s Regional Climate Protection Agency. The agency, which has no direct oversight over PG&E, advocates for communities reducing their greenhouse gas emissions in part by supporting Community Choice Aggregation efforts like Sonoma Clean Power, a direct competitor to PG&E.

“Here again, there is no indication that PG&E is explicitly involved in such decisions, so there is no presumption of foreseeability,” FPPC attorneys wrote.

You can reach Staff Writer Kevin McCallum at 521-5207 or kevin.mccallum@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter @srcitybeat.