A second member of the Danville Ethics Board has stepped down in less than a week, but Paul Smiley said his departure is not directly related to fellow member Jeff Trueblood’s resignation over the body’s lack of diversity.
Smiley, who is running for a seat on the City Commission, tendered his letter of resignation Tuesday to City Clerk Donna Peek. The end of Smiley’s term in November coincides with the election, but he thinks it would be inappropriate for him to sit in judgment over the next several months of anyone he may be running against or employees he may be asked to work with if he is elected.
Smiley said he would not have sought reappointment to the board regardless of the election’s outcome because he also would not want decisions made about opponents in the race called into question in the future.
The resignation comes on the heels of Linda Tillman’s replacement on the ethics board after her term ended. Tillman, who was the board’s lone female and African-American member, asked for an apology last week, saying she was never contacted about whether she wished to serve another term. She said she found out she had been replaced during a phone call from a third party.
