By Scott Tibbs, May 24, 2017
There is no reason that Planned Parenthood clinic escort Dorothy Granger should not recuse herself from the vote to fund Planned Parenthood next month. It is very shady for a member of a legislative body to continually use her position as an elected official to funnel financial resources to the organization where she works.
Because she is a volunteer, Granger is probably not legally required to recuse herself. She does not personally financially benefit from her vote. But does anyone really think that all of the other organizations that apply for funding from the city council are being given a fair shake? Of course not. Planned Parenthood is obviously getting preferential treatment from the city council. This has been the case for 18 years, but has been even more obvious (and more shady) since Granger joined the city council in 2012.
There is literally no reason for Granger not to recuse herself from this vote. There is no downside for her, the council, Planned Parenthood, or the other organizations who are applying for funds. The funding package will pass unanimously as it does every year without even a single dissenting vote. Granger's vote is not needed to pass anything. If Granger wants to vote for the funding for the other organizations, the council could split the funding package and consider Planned Parenthood separately. This is what the county council does every year.
Recusing herself from voting to fund the organization where she works would be a welcome move to demonstrate a strong commitment to ethics and basic fairness to the other organizations, with no councilor having a conflict of interest. There is a significant upside and no downside. Why is Granger continuing to be so petulant that she refuses to take this ethical step?
