Does Wichita mayor’s trip abroad fall under city’s ethics policy? Here’s what we found out

In our Reality Check stories, Wichita Eagle journalists dig deeper into questions over facts, consequences and accountability. Story idea? tips@wichitaeagle.com.

Wichita Mayor Lily Wu’s trip to Switzerland — paid for by the Swiss government — falls in a gray area of a 2021 City Council ethics policy that sought to limit gifts to elected and appointed city officials.

The travel costs, which include flights, hotel stays and dinners, are expected to far exceed the $150 gift limit council members can accept from a single source during a calendar year.

But Wu says the all-expenses-paid trip isn’t a gift.

“A gift is defined as one given by a person or group, ‘when those who are conferring the gift have an interest in the City or an interest that may be affected by the performance or non-performance of that official,’” Wu said in a statement, quoting the city’s ethics policy.

Kathy Sexton, ethics officer for the Wichita Ethics Advisory Board, said the ethics policy does not provide a clear-cut answer. It is silent on accepting free trips abroad from foreign governments. And whether the trip is considered a gift largely depends on Switzerland’s motives.

“What it (the policy) talks about is defining gift as tangible or intangible goods or services,” Sexton said. “So the word ‘service,’ in my view, would include travel. That’s obviously a service. But I think the bigger issue here is who’s giving it and whether they have interest in this city.”

A spokesperson for the Swiss embassy said the neutral European country’s motive for inviting Wu and other U.S. female mayors is to improve the perception of Switzerland and to exchange ideas about running a city.

“The trip offers a unique opportunity to position Switzerland’s highly innovative, sustainable and forward-looking approach to urban development and governance in Swiss cities to an audience of high-level political leaders from the United States,” Marcellus Rolle, head of communications and public diplomacy for the Embassy of Switzerland in the United States, said in a statement to The Eagle.

“The motivation of the trip is to highlight Switzerland as a diplomatic advocate for principles of equality and inclusive democratic processes,” he said.

Wu’s seven-day trip will be filled with informational presentations on topics ranging from women and gender parity in Swiss politics to housing affordability, social cohesion and digital governance.

Rolle called inviting local government officials from the U.S. a “public diplomacy tool.”

“Under the theme Shaping Urban Landscapes for a Sustainable Future, the program will allow for exchanges on infrastructure, economic resilience, public safety, and sustainability, among other topics,” Rolle said. “Inviting foreign delegations is an important public diplomacy tool and allows Switzerland to convey key themes and messages of its communication abroad in a targeted manner to opinion leaders from politics, administration, and industry.”

Wu’s trip to Switzerland won’t be the first time a Wichita mayor or city council member has traveled abroad. Former Mayor Carl Brewer traveled to Mexico, several African countries and China multiple times on what he considered foreign trade missions. Former Mayor Jeff Longwell went to France to visit Wichita’s sister city Orleans and for an air show in Paris. And Wu’s predecessor, Brandon Whipple, visited France and England for air shows.

But it’s the first known instance of a foreign government footing the bill.

Wu and Rolle declined to disclose the cost of the trip.

The ethics policy, passed in 2021, limited gifts for elected city officials for the first time in Wichita’s history.

The policy also directs city officials to avoid even the appearance of improper influence and “refrain from ever receiving, soliciting or accepting gifts, gratuities, hospitality, favors or anything of value . . . valued over $150 from a specific donor over a one-year period ending on December 31, which is intended or has the appearance or effect of influencing the performance of the official duties of an official.”

Wu said that section of the ethics policy doesn’t apply to the weeklong Switzerland trip because it won’t influence her duties as mayor.

“I’m honored to accept the invitation to attend the 2024 Delegation on of U.S. Women Mayors ‘Shaping Urban Landscapes for a Sustainable Future’ program in Switzerland, which is not intended to nor will it influence my performance as mayor,” Wu said. “In the interest of full transparency, I disclosed this travel and asked for approval from the council, which passed 6-0 with 1 abstention (me) at Tuesday’s public meeting.”

Wu said the trip is educational in nature.

“I do hope to learn how other mayors and governments are addressing common issues such as homelessness and transit,” Wu said.

Housing and public transportation are vastly different in Wichita and the highly developed and densely populated cities Wu plans to visit — Zurich, Basel, Bern, Lausanne and Geneva.

Recent homeless population data suggests Wichita, with a population below half a million people, has nearly as many homeless people as Switzerland, total population around 9 million.

Switzerland is one of the wealthiest countries in the world, yet home ownership is unobtainable for most people due to the high cost. Most people in Switzerland rent for life, according to a recent New York Times article that looked to Switzerland as a model for “post-ownership society.”

Likewise, most Swiss urbanites do not own cars or trucks, instead relying on bicycles, motorcycles, mopeds and a dense network of public transportation — including light rail, buses, cable-cars, and bike- and car-share programs.

Wu’s trip is scheduled to start April 20.

In the meantime, Sexton said the Ethics Advisory Board is working on changes to the ethics policy that she says will make it easier to interpret.

“We’re working on a re-write of this policy again, more for clarifying and making it easier to follow,” Sexton said. “The gift provision is one of those areas we’re working on rewriting. I think we’ll be in front of the council with it in the next couple of months or so.”

She said it might not be a bad idea to consider adding a section that prohibits city officials from accepting gifts or travel expenses from foreign adversaries.

“Certainly a foreign country is not a foreign country is not a foreign country,” Sexton said. “I mean, there are some on the U.S. government’s no-no list and some that are serious allies and others in the middle where we always think of Switzerland as being.”