A Coronado city council candidate wants the city manager and city attorney to investigate Mayor John Duncan for alleged ethics violations.

Laura Wilkinson-Sinton laid out the allegations in a letter to the editor published Thursday in the Coronado Times. She accused Duncan of using his mayoral title in paid endorsement letters for council candidates and of displaying the official city seal alongside a declared candidate's name at the Fourth of July parade.

In the letter, Wilkinson-Sinton wrote that Duncan used the phrase "As Mayor, I know what the job requires" in a paid endorsement of council candidate Ricky Hoyt. She wrote that he praised Councilmember Kelly Purvis "from my perspective as Mayor" in a separate endorsement letter. Both letters included disclaimers calling the endorsements personal and not official city positions, according to Wilkinson-Sinton.

She argued the disclaimers do not undo the invocation of the mayor's office. She cited Administrative Procedure 102, the city's Code of Ethics, which she said prohibits officials from using the prestige of their position to support a candidate by indicating that a statement is made in an official capacity.

Wilkinson-Sinton acknowledged a limitation in that code. She wrote that, according to the city manager, the procedure applies only to employees under the city manager's control. It has no enforcement mechanism covering the mayor or council.

"A part-time lifeguard must meet this standard, but the mayor does not," Wilkinson-Sinton wrote.

The letter raised a separate concern about the city's Fourth of July parade. Wilkinson-Sinton wrote that the mayor rode in car number 13, the slot assigned to the mayor and council, with a placard reading "Mayor John Duncan" and "Peggy Duncan" beneath it. The official city seal was printed below both names, she wrote. Peggy Duncan had announced her candidacy for the Coronado Unified School Board in March, according to the letter.

Coronado Municipal Code section 1.02.070 makes it unlawful to use the city's official insignia "for any purpose other than for City purposes or for the purposes of any officer, board or department of the City, without the express consent of the City Manager." Each violation can be punished under the city's penalty provisions.

Wilkinson-Sinton wrote that she is asking the city manager and city attorney to state publicly whether they gave consent for the seal's use on the parade placard and on what basis.

No response from Mayor Duncan, the city manager or the city attorney appears in public records as of publication. Wilkinson-Sinton is a candidate in the current council race, according to city records, a detail her letter did not disclose. Councilmember Downey is not seeking re-election, according to the letter.

It is unclear when the city manager or city attorney might respond to Wilkinson-Sinton's request.