Dawn DeSalvo, the wife of Port of Poulsbo Commissioner Mark DeSalvo, recently filed to run for Poulsbo City Council in the upcoming primary election. DeSalvo will be running for the position 1 seat at the dais and will be contending with Andrew J.L. Phillips, who filed for office on May 17.

Poulsbo Mayor Becky Erickson weighed in on the recent filing and whether she felt DeSalvo’s relationship to the port commissioner would have any effect on her ability to steer city government.

“There might be — I would think — some ethical concerns if we have the port commissioner’s wife making decisions on the city’s relationship with the port, I think that might be a little tenuous,” Erickson said. “If this woman is to be elected, I’m sure we would have a conversation about that. I think that Commissioner DeSalvo would have a similar conversation with the other port commissioners about what would go on in the port, with regard to the city while his wife was on the council.”

According to Erickson, councilor recusal and abstaining from certain matters have been used in the past as a means of distancing members from possible conflicts of interest.

“There’s formal recusal which is done if there’s a financial interest involved,” Erickson explained. “Then there’s also those who’ve abstained because they don’t feel comfortable or they think there might be some kind of possible tainting of their decision.”

Despite the relationship between the council hopeful and the port, Erickson said she did not find the matter to be a major concern.

“If she is elected to the position, she just needs to have common sense and understand that when we are debating situations with the port, it would be wise for her to not be participatory in that,” Erickson said.“It might be a little dicey, but I think we can get through it.”

The mayor also noted her own recusal from matters related to the recent Noll Road improvement project, due to the fact that her home is on the road in question.

“I have been recusing myself for two years on Noll Road. Things come up in a small town where we’re involved in other ways and we’ve always managed to work through those.”

According to DeSalvo, she would not be participating in any issues that come before the Poulsbo City Council which relate to the port.

“Without question, if anything comes up pertaining to the port, I will remove myself from any decision making, any comments, any involvement whatsoever,” DeSalvo said.

The council hopeful also said that she decided to run for the position, in order to help remedy Poulsbo’s longstanding parking problems, and guide the city government as it navigates the challenges of rapid growth.