A letter from City Attorney-elect Pete Holmes has reassured the city council that he will represent their interests and respect attorney-client privilege, council members say.

Prior to last week's election, council members had expressed concern about statements Holmes had made to the effect that he planned to represent the entire city, not just city government, and proposed moving attorneys out of the city attorney's office and into the legislative department (or hiring their own attorneys). However, Holmes wrote a letter late last month assuring the council that "there is no conflict in my belief that the City Attorney acts in the best interests of all citizens when counseling and zealously defending fellow public servants in the good-faith exercise of our duties.”

"Cooler heads prevailed," says city council member Tim Burgess, who initially supported moving the attorneys. Burgess is referring chiefly to council president Richard Conlin, who initially supported the move.  Burgess says Holmes' letter "took the energy out of the issue for now. He put in writing what he meant by his comments that the people are his clients, which is certainly true, but at the same time he recognized that he has an attorney-client relationship with the city council." Conlin confirms that the council has dropped its plans to move the attorneys into their department.