Pasadena Councilman Andy Wilson sought three jobs in the last year from entities with business before the council and twice sent out his resume from his city-issued email address.

The councilman appointed to replace Mayor Terry Tornek’s former council seat applied for leadership roles at the Tournament of Roses and the Hollywood Burbank Airport, then later considered a consulting gig with a city contractor, according to emails obtained in a public records request.

“If this was a one-off deal, that would be one thing, but this is a demonstrated pattern where he is using his city council spot to advance his own personal career,” said Phil Hosp, who along with three others is challenging Wilson’s District 7 seat on March 7. “It cheapens the office and it’s a misuse of authority.”

None of the efforts resulted in employment and it does not appear Wilson received any advantage when applying to the Tournament or the airport — both long-standing partners with Pasadena — as he was passed up early in both executive searches.

At best, the roles would have required Wilson to recuse himself from any votes related to those entities. If there was too much overlap between roles, Wilson would have to step down from the council or pass on the job offer. The legal standard necessary to force such a decision is rarely reached in California.

“It’s so theoretical and hypothetical,” Wilson said of the potential conflicts. “I was on the fence over the summer thinking that I wasn’t going to run. It never occurred to me that in an election some strategist would be sifting through my emails.”

Even if it’s not legally a conflict, applying for the jobs can “create stressful, awkward situations,” said Jessica Levinson, a Loyola Law School professor and government ethics expert.

“Even if he’s the most ethical person and he wouldn’t ever vote in favor of someone who gives him a job, or against someone who doesn’t give him a job, it could make a potential employer worry that they need to give him more deference than they otherwise would,” she said. “It raises a lot of potential conflicts.”

Wilson applied for two of the jobs before announcing his campaign in late August. He consulted the Fair Political Practices Commission about a potential conflict with the part-time consulting work in October, but he says none of the jobs got far enough along to where he would have to make a decision about any conflicts, legal or otherwise. The contractor in question is running a pilot program for parking space sharing but does not currently receive any money from the city.

Wilson said he passed on the opportunity because it was not a good fit.

Hosp’s campaign website claims Wilson’s applications are the equivalent of him trying to leave the City Council as he would likely have to resign if he received the $285,000 airport job or the more than $300,000 Tournament position.

“The narrative that he’s trying to paint is what I think is misleading,” Wilson said.

The emails were independently obtained by this newspaper, and Wilson verified in an interview that he sought the positions.

Mayor Terry Tornek, who is strongly supporting Wilson in the election, says Wilson could not have continued on the council if he took over the reins at the Tournament of Roses. The city’s century-long partnership with the nonprofit would create an ethical, if not legal, conflict.

“That one to me is very clear,” Tornek said. “That’s an instance where that’s too close to home.”

The Hollywood Burbank Airport — run jointly by Pasadena, Glendale and Burbank — isn’t as obvious of a problem, said Tornek, one of nine commissioners who hired for that role.

Few airport issues come before the full City Council, he said. “I think the appearance issue might have been shaky, but that’s a bridge we never got to because he wasn’t the right guy for the job,” Tornek said.

From his city email, Wilson sent his resume and a description of his background to a former Tournament of Roses president in June, something Levinson, the ethics expert, says should never happen, but in reality likely happens more frequently than expected because of the use of multiple accounts on devices.

“Should he have used his official account? No, he shouldn’t have, but this stuff happens,” she said. He likely gained no advantage by using his official email because the former president at the Tournament was already aware of Wilson’s council position, she noted.

In a separate instance, Wilson did send his resume to an unfamiliar recruiter in a reply to an email sent to his city account, but he says both instances were a mistake.

Wilson said his cellphone previously defaulted to his city account and he has now fixed it.

“People send emails that maybe are on the wrong system, it’s going to happen, it’s not intentional,” he said.

Hosp, his opponent, said he believes Wilson’s actions are intentional.

“If you can’t separate your personal relationships from your professional duty to voters, then you shouldn’t be in the position,” Hosp said.