A potential conflict of interest is raising concerns about the future of the HomewardBound of the Grand Valley Resource Center, as HomewardBound Board Chair William Wade and his wife, Karen Wade, are actively involved in multiple current Grand Junction City Council races.

They are backing candidates running against Council member Cody Kennedy and at-large candidate Ben Van Dyke. Kennedy has been a vocal critic of the resource center, while Van Dyke has cited the center as a key reason for his decision to run.

The Rocky Mountain Voice reported that the City of Grand Junction is considering purchasing a building on North Avenue as a permanent location for the resource center.

In the article Council member Scott Beilfuss was quoted, saying, “We have the $2 million set aside for housing that we could use for purchase, but then there’ll be remodel money and all that stuff, so that would come out of reserve funds possibly, you know, unless they have some other area. But we have some extra money in reserves for things like this.”

Beilfuss also noted grant funding may be available, though he was unaware of any current applications.

While Alexis Hitzeroth, Kennedy’s opponent for the District A seat, has not listed a registered agent or specified who is financing her campaign on her website. Hitzeroth’s New Committee Registration form, (I-45-108/C.R.S), shows that Karen Wade is the registered agent for Hitzeroth’s committee. Additionally, the petition for Hitzeroth’s candidacy was signed by Bill Wade and filed by Jordyn Madsen, the wife of current Grand Junction Mayor Abram Herman.

This suggests a potential political relationship between the Wades and the current mayor.

When asked about the potential conflict of interest, Wade told The Rocky Mountain Voice, “I am simply on the board of directors. There’s a difference between the position I occupy in the nonprofit world and someone who might be the executive director of an organization receiving city funding. I act only in an advisory capacity. But as I have done many times in my career, if there is a necessity for a discussion about whether my presence in a particular situation creates a conflict, I would recuse myself.”

The Business Times obtained an invitation showing Bill and Karen Wade, along with Chuck and Kendra McDaniel of Grand Junction, inviting community members to support Ken Scissors, a candidate running for the at-large seat against Van Dyke.

Wade played a key role in securing funding for the resource center while simultaneously working on then-Mayor Anna Stout’s bid for the state’s 3rd Congressional District. Wade was one of three presenters to the City Council at a workshop on Oct. 30, 2023, which led to the council approving the resolution to use $912,400 in American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds for the project.

At the time HomewardBound was awarded city funding, Wade was serving as treasurer and custodian of records for then-Mayor Stout’s primary campaign against Democrat Adam Frisch to challenge incumbent Rep. Lauren Boebert. The campaign, filed on July 26, 2023, ended on Jan. 31, 2024.

Minutes from the workshop presentation state, “The City received two formal proposals, one from Amos Supportive Housing Association and another one from HomewardBound in partnership with United Way of Mesa County.” The minutes show no indication that Wade or Stout disclosed their political relationship. Stout also did not recuse herself when voting in favor of approving the funding for the HomewardBound proposal.

In a Feb. 2 article in The Daily Sentinel, titled “Unhoused resource center passes one-year mark” Wade stated, “My overriding feeling – as the guy the city asked to do it, the guy who built it, and the guy who’s going to tear it down when we move it — is that we accomplished exactly what we wanted. We got people into a position where we’re getting them into services and getting them in line so we can get them out of homelessness and into housing.”

The Internal Revenue Service states, “While a charity is forbidden to participate or intervene in a political campaign, directors, officers, or other charity officials are not under the same restriction as long as they act in a private, not an official capacity. To avoid confusion, officials should make it clear that they are acting or speaking for themselves alone and not for the charity. Additionally, officials may not use the charity’s financial resources, facilities, or personnel in their efforts to support or oppose a candidate.”

While Bill Wade’s private involvement in current and past local campaigns involving city council members – along with soliciting city funds as acting board chair emeritus of HomewardBound – may not be illegal, the pattern raises ethical concerns. It points to a lack of transparency, the potential for quid pro quo, and creates the appearance of a conflict of interest, especially as the city looks to deepen its partnership with HomewardBound in the future.

It’s a partnership that now must be questioned, as evidenced by the city’s premature entrance into negotiations to purchase the building and land directly adjacent to HomewardBound’s current location for the new home for the resource center. City council did this without any public input regarding any new site locations, disclosure of the process of the city’s real estate search, and having no funds in its budget to acquire property. And it appears to have done this with the express purpose of buying a facility for HomewardBound’s mission, which includes its growing partnership with the city.

Given how the current city council has conducted business during its tenure, don’t bet your house, the farm or part and parcel of any property on getting many answers, unless that property is next door to one of city council’s pet projects.