Letter: McWhorter would withdraw as Trios insurance agent if elected to board

Misunderstanding and misinformation concerning Mike McWhorter’s “potential” conflict of interest requires correction.

Mr. McWhorter is running for a position on the Trios Board of Commissioners. In addition to being a longtime supporter and advocate of the hospital, he has also been their insurance agent. He has vowed that if elected, he will withdraw from that role, thus eliminating any direct or indirect personal interest in the hospital’s insurance contracts. This satisfies the law (RCW 42.23.030).

The law states that a municipal officer does not have a prohibited contractual interest if the officer’s interest in the contract is only remote. Mr. McWhorter’s interest would, at best, be remote in that he holds less than 1 percent of the shares of stock of his employer, PayneWest.

Mr. McWhorter will be required, in the rare instance, when insurance contracts come before the Board of Commissioners, to disclose his relationship, place it on the record, physically remove himself from the discussion, make no attempt to influence the others, nor vote on that contract.

Mr. McWhorter has demonstrated that he has both the knowledge and the integrity to do so.

Kennewick

This story was originally published October 24, 2015 at 6:50 PM with the headline "Letter: McWhorter would withdraw as Trios insurance agent if elected to board."