Sojka Cognizant of Potential Conflicts

Steven Sojka, the newest member of the City Council, has close ties to local business, a relationship considered to be an asset by his fellow council members

But Sojka, whose company provides direct-mail advertising services to local businesses, acknowledged that he will have to tread carefully, given California’s conflict-of-interest laws, when he deals with clients who have business before the council.

Sojka’s home-based Money Mailer has clients in Simi Valley and Moorpark, and his wife runs a similar business providing services for Camarillo.

“I’ll just take each case as it comes,” he said, “If there is ever any inclination of a conflict of interest, I’ll just abstain.”

City Atty. David Hirsch said that although the potential for conflict exists, he believes it will not diminish Sojka’s effectiveness on the council.

“It is simply a fact of life that if you’re involved in the community, you will have a conflict of interest,” Hirsch said. “It doesn’t mean he shouldn’t be on the council. He is going to have to be aware of potential instances of conflict of interest.”

Those would include decisions involving businesses in which Sojka has a personal financial interest. Sojka’s predicament is not unusual, said Gary Huckaby, a spokesman for the California Fair Political Practices Commission.

“It happens a lot, especially in small communities where you do see people [on city committees] who work in the community have a greater likelihood of having some relationship with the business or company,” he said.