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Markkula Center for Applied Ethics

Stories

Train Lines: How two Press Democrat Owners Finessed a Petaluma Real Estate Deal

John Pelissero, senior scholar, quoted by the Bohemian.

John Pelissero, Ph.D, a senior scholar at the Markkula Center for Applied Ethics at Santa Clara University, told the Bohemian/Pacific Sun that the numerous overlapping interests on display during Anderson’s time working for SMART raise serious ethical questions—even if it’s just an appearance of a conflict of interest.

“When it comes to ethical issues, it doesn’t matter whether it’s an intended or a perceived conflict of interest. They both present ethical problems for those who are involved. And when you’re dealing with government, when you’re dealing with the public citizens and taxpayers, that’s where one really needs to pay special attention to the perception that you’re acting in your role as a government agency or somebody who works for a government agency in a way that creates a conflict of interest,” Pelissero said. 

John Pelissero, senior scholar, quoted by the Bohemian.

 

Ethics
media,government