EASTHAMPTON — Just days before Nicole LaChapelle announced her candidacy for mayor, she sought an ethics opinion on ways in which owning a business in the city might conflict with her job as mayor.
The mayor and her brother, Christian Anthony LaChapelle, are buying Casey’s Big Dog Saloon and a neighboring building with residential dwellings at 40½ and 40 Holyoke St.
The mayor said in a previous interview that she is a “silent partner” and her brother will be managing the day-to-day operations of the bar.
Attorney Michael Aleo, who spoke on LaChapelle’s behalf on Friday, said the mayor’s brother will be managing the residential building, interacting with tenants and other matters.
But when it comes to any matters that involve her business and the city, LaChapelle must recuse herself, according to a three-page ethics opinion from June. The mayor waived attorney-client privilege to make public the confidential document.
Pauline Nguyen, senior assistant general counsel for the State Ethics Commission, wrote in the opinion that, while the conflict-of-interest law does not prohibit the mayor from holding an interest in a business, it does impose certain restrictions.
LaChapelle is prohibited from using city time, equipment or resources — including her mayoral title — for the benefit of her business, Nguyen wrote.
“She must be careful to keep her private business completely separate from her public position,” Nguyen said. “And when acting as Mayor, she must act fairly and objectively with the City’s best interest in mind at all times. If she faces a situation where she feels that she cannot do so or might be unduly influenced, she must recuse herself from that matter.”
LaChapelle must recuse herself from any city discussions or decisions around the number of liquor licenses, as well as criteria for obtaining a liquor license, because she has a financial interest in the matter, according to Nguyen.
LaChapelle’s business also cannot enter a contract with the city because it would be of financial interest, according to Nguyen.
The mayor must recuse herself from matters involving competitors of her business, according to the opinion, and also cannot initiate business dealings with a matter pending before her as mayor.
“For example, if, as Mayor, Nicole had some involvement in a City licensing matter, she should not initiate private business negotiations with that licensee while the matter is ongoing before her,” Nguyen said.
On Jan. 8, Aleo represented the LaChapelles at a meeting where the city’s licensing board voted to approve the liquor license transfer from Casey’s Big Dog Saloon to Old Jarvis LLC.
The business entity Old Jarvis LLC is owned by the domestic profit corporation PER MGMT Inc., which is under the mayor and her brother’s names.
The purchase price for the property at 40 ½ Holyoke St. is $300,000, according to the purchase and sale agreement. The sale will close after approval of the liquor license from local and state authorities.
Local businesswoman Lisa Fusco owned the bar since 2007 and the building has been around for decades, according to Fusco.
The mayor and her brother were not present at the Jan. 8 meeting, and their attorney handled the application process — a move that is in compliance with the state ethics law, according to the opinion.
The mayor is prohibited from negotiating, signing documents and submitting applications in situations that involve her business and the city, according to the opinion.
Nguyen said the mayor cannot submit the liquor license application, appear before a city department or speak to a city department on behalf of her business.
“In this matter, and in other matters involving the City, she should hire a representative or attorney to act on behalf of her business,” Nguyen said.
Caitlin Ashworth can be reached at cashworth@gazettenet.com.