The Burden of Real Estate Agents Sitting on Newmarket Town Council

I never accepted former Councillor Joe Sponga's explanation of why he quit his Council seat just 17 months into his term. The idea of a potential law suit or code of conduct complaint running him out of office just seemed preposterous. It seemed to me that Sponga was simply seeking attention with his "Woe is me" act. How sad for him.

Now we know the truth.

Sponga has recently updated his Linked-In page to show that he is now a real estate agent. It seems obvious that Sponga was concerned with the inherent conflict of interests that will present themselves between that profession and his duties on council. He couldn't serve his constituents if he was always being forced to declare a conflict of interest (by having a listing in the area or a potential sale in the area, and so on).

In the Ward 5 By Election, there are a few candidates who are real estate agents or studying to become real estate agents. These candidates need to explain to voters now how they will attempt to balance their profession and their council responsibilities.

If a Council member is declaring a conflict of interest on a significant percentage of Council votes, then what use is there in this person occupying a Council seat? It would be better to follow Sponga's example and step aside, allowing an unencumbered representative to do the job representing constituents on each and every issue before the Council.