At a meeting earlier this week, Las Cruces City Councilor Gil Jones disclosed a relationship he has with the man who wants to develop 6,000 acres on the
Jones’ brother and Philip Philippou are married to sisters.
Philippou is the developer behind The Vistas at Presidio, the project that’s up for master-plan approval and, in the case of 4,200 acres, annexation at Monday’s council meeting.
Jones said he felt the relationship should be disclosed publicly but doesn’t believe it affects his ability to objectively review the project and does not require that he recuse himself from voting on it.
“It would be easy for me, every time something came up with Philip, to dart out of the room, and there are other councilors who do that,” Jones said. “I feel compelled to do what needs to be done. I feel like I can be objective.”
City rules require councilors to disclose publicly situations they believe present potential conflicts, but it’s up to them to decide whether they should recuse themselves.
Jones said he first met Philippou in college in the early 1980s. Both worked in the garden shop at the K-Mart on
Jones’ brother and his wife now live in
Jones said when making decisions in his position as councilor, he tries to follow his conscience and act as though he’s not running for office ever again.
“I really don’t think it would be right for me to bow out of this,” Jones said.
Jones, the District 5 councilor, was elected in 2005. His term runs until 2010. He’s also president of the board of the Extraterritorial Zoning Authority, the joint city-county body that governs development in the five-mile zone around