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Elected officials who work for other agencies, too, fight to avoid legal pitfalls -

In her home office, Fontana City Councilwoman Janice Rutherford has a long table with three computers set up side by side.

One is for her personal use, another is for Fontana city business, and the third is for her job as public affairs director for state Board of Equalization member Bill Leonard, she said.

She has taken the steps to keep from breaking the law and avoid conflicts of interest in her roles with the two public agencies. Sometimes it's tough, she said.

"I want to do right by my boss and right by the taxpayers," Rutherford said in a telephone interview this week.

Rutherford isn't alone. She is among more than a dozen elected council members in Riverside and San Bernardino counties who hold day jobs with other elected officials and government agencies.

It's illegal to use public resources to do political or unrelated work, and the multiple roles public officials hold are in the spotlight with the arrest last month of Rancho Cucamonga City Councilman Rex Gutierrez   Read Full Article...