The FPPC had already warned Councilwoman Rosanne Foust to not use her position on the city council to try to influence a stalled project backed by an economic development association she backed. But her call for an advisory measure on an upcoming ballot may violate that warning.

Two Redwood City residents lodged complaints with the FPPC about comments made by Foust at the end of a recent council meeting.

Foust has said that she didn’t violate the FPPC warning because she was speaking as a private citizen, not as a member of the Council. She prefaced her comments at the meeting by saying she was speaking as an individual. However, she then went on to talk about the importance of putting a question on the ballot that would let the city council know if the residents want the development continue.

From the Daily News:

The state’s political watchdog agency has confirmed it will investigate two conflict-of-interest complaints against Redwood City Council Member Rosanne Foust for asking her council colleagues to place an advisory measure on the ballot to gauge voters’ interest in pursuing the now-stalled Saltworks project.

The complaints, filed separately by two Redwood City residents, both note that Foust was warned by the California Fair Political Practices Commission in 2010 to refrain from using her position as a council member to influence any action on the project, which has been endorsed by the San Mateo County Economic Development Association that she heads.

Read the full article here.