Course for Hawthorne

As a member of the California Transportation Commission, Escondido businessman J.T. (Tom) Hawthorne has voted to spend $55.8 million for San Diego County highway and trolley construction projects. As the owner of the only Caterpillar dealership in the county, Hawthorne has seen nearly 92% of that money awarded to contractors with whom he does business.

That Gov. George Deukmejian does not see that as a conflict of interest--and did not when he appointed Hawthorne to the state post in February--is hard to understand.

By all accounts, Hawthorne is a decent and honest man. When he talks about the relationship of his business to his Transportation Commission votes, he speaks candidly, not defensively. He acknowledges that sometimes when he votes on a project he is aware that it might result in business for his Hawthorne Equipment Co. He doesn’t shrink from the fact that a reasonable person might conclude that his business has benefited by his votes on the commission.

Hawthorne and Deukmejian don’t see a problem with this dual interest in highway construction because the Transportation Commission’s role is to set priorities for highway projects, not to decide which companies will get the work. That makes Hawthorne’s votes one step removed from the actual landing of a contract by one of his customers. But since the commission occasionally must decide whether to fund a project in San Diego County or elsewhere--and given Hawthorne’s exclusive local dealership for the top earth-moving equipment--the distance between his vote and his financial interest can become quite small.

State law is somewhat murky on the situation, and Senate President Pro Tem David A. Roberti, a Democrat, has asked the Fair Political Practices Commission to determine whether a conflict exists.

But regardless of whether Hawthorne is found to have a legal conflict, he should resign. In matters as sensitive as highway construction, involving as much money as they do, no appearance of conflict should be allowed.

This is not to impugn Hawthorne’s integrity or dedication to the public trust. It is really Deukmejian and Roberti, who as chairman of the Senate Rules Committee presided over the hearing on Hawthorne’s nomination before his unanimous Senate confirmation, who are to blame. As an active Republican and Deukmejian supporter, Hawthorne was sure to get an important state post if he wanted one. He was under consideration for appointment to the University of California Board of Regents.

The governor simply appointed Hawthorne to the wrong job, and the Senate carelessly let the nomination go through unchallenged. Although Hawthorne is as much victim as anything else, he should resign.