When the Seattle City Council votes on a new, lower pay standard for app-based delivery drivers next week, Councilmember Tanya Woo should recuse herself, according to the city’s ethics czar.
The reason, said Wayne Barnett, director of the Seattle Ethics and Elections Commission, is that Woo’s father-in-law owns Kau Kau BBQ in the Chinatown International District and uses delivery apps, giving Woo’s family a possible financial stake in the vote.
“For me, that’s just too close,” Barnett said.
Woo sought out Barnett’s advice on her own, as is common whenever any city official has a question about possible conflicts of interest. Woo told Barnett that small orders via delivery apps are down at her father-in-law’s restaurant — echoing the concerns of those pushing for the new pay standard.
In most cases, elected leaders accept the advice offered to them by Barnett. Woo, however, said she hasn’t decided whether she will recuse.
“As a matter of principle, Councilmember Woo believes that her constituents are best served when she is able to vote on important matters before Council,” her staff said in an email. “As such, we feel it’s a matter of due diligence to get a diversity of opinions before making a decision on whether or not to recuse.”
Following his advice, which was first reported by The Stranger, Woo told Barnett she’d seek out the opinion of the city’s seven-member ethics commission — not common, but not unheard of either.
At the same time, Barnett told two other members of the council they’re cleared to vote.
Council President Sara Nelson’s Fremont Brewing was recently acquired by Seattle Hospitality Group. The deal will combine Fremont Brewing with Pike Brewing, making it one of the largest breweries in the state.
Barnett received a complaint that, because the hospitality group included members that would be affected by the changes to the law, Nelson should recuse herself.
Barnett disagreed, saying the brewery does not have any contracts with delivery apps and therefore does not have a direct financial stake in the law’s passage.
Councilmember Maritza Rivera also sought out Barnett’s advice. Her husband, Dan Kully, was a former partner with the consulting firm, Sound View Strategies, which has worked with DoorDash. But Kully no longer has a stake in the company so Rivera does not need to recuse, Barnett said.
When deciding when a member of the council should recuse from a vote, the question the ethics code weighs is whether the potential benefit or harm to the member is widely shared. Members who own a home can take votes that may affect property taxes broadly citywide, for example.
But when the benefit or harm is not widely shared — most people in Seattle do not have direct ties to a restaurant — a member should consider recusal.
The council’s vote next week on whether to lower the pay standard for app-based delivery drivers comes just five months after the current standard went into place. The swift action comes as restaurant owners complain they’re being hurt by the added costs of delivery, largely in the form of service charges put into place by the companies. Backers of the current pay standard are pushing members to give it more time to show its benefit before making any changes.