Among UI Student Government leaders, there’s discernible support for students running for City Council. The problem is — as tonight’s UISG-sponsored forum exemplifies — it verges on explicit conflicts of interest.

While discussing city issues is essential, underlying questions surrounding the forum remain. In September, UISG unanimously passed a bill endorsing the student candidates running for City Council. This facile decision lacked substantive analysis of all the at-large candidates and calls into question the neutrality of tonight’s forum. In addition, UI senior Jeff Shipley, who is running for City Council, is also UISG’s City Council liaison, another potential conflict of interest. His girlfriend, Whitney Carson, cowrote the bill endorsing the three student candidates, and she is listed as the “second contact” on the event’s information page.

It’s commendable that UISG took the initiative to host an open event to further political discourse. Discussion has been lacking since campaigning began, and it’s certainly good for residents and the at-large candidates — Iowa City residents Susan Mims and Terry Dickens, and UI students Dan Tallon and Shipley — to discuss the city’s many pressing issues. And a student-based organization hosting a nonpartisan discussion is positive for university-community relations.

Still, excuse us if we’re a bit hesitant to laud the forum, blemishes and all.

Because Shipley is a member of the student government’s executive branch, UISG clearly tried to quell conflict-of-interest concerns by having the legislative branch host and moderate the event. Executive Sen. John Rigby will be the moderator. Yet, delegating the moderator position to a member of UISG is a clear deviation from requisitely stringent standards and transparency.

Members of UISG contend they’ve sidestepped any possible conflicts of interest.

“I’m not sure how UISG having a moderator for our own event could conflict interests,” UISG President Mike Currie said.

Sen. Caitlin Ross said the event organizers could have picked a moderator outside of UISG, but it is a UISG-sponsored event.

“We picked [Rigby] purposely because we wanted to pick somebody from the legislative branch,” she said.

She said the questions will be uniform for all candidates, and the inquiries will specifically focus on student-centered issues such as safety downtown. The group members also hope to ask each candidate why they believe students have a hard time being elected to the City Council. While it’s important to ask UI-centered questions, it’s our hope that UISG also moves past the campus and asks questions about the city as a whole. These candidates are representing Iowa City, not just the UI.

This public forum conjures up memories of last April, when then-President Maison Bleam chose Bryce Carlson to moderate UISG’s election debate. Carlson had ties to one of the campaigning parties. At the time, Mike Currie and the Go Party said the role of Carlson as moderator was a clear ethical concern and conflict of interest. It’s a bit hypocritical of Currie to reject any conflict of interest in tonight’s forum when he vehemently argued against a similar circumstance last semester.

Whether the public forum for City Council candidates is successful tonight hinges on the ability of UISG to maintain a professional, unbiased discussion. If the forum goes well, then UISG should be commended for promoting discourse within the university and its community. But the circumstances of the event’s formulation and moderation make us wary. Hopefully, potential conflicts of interest don’t muck up a crucial opportunity for rational discussion of the issues.