Here&rsquo;s something for Wyandotte County&rsquo;s commissioners to remember as they take up proposed code of ethics changes tonight: Perception matters.</p><p> The changes for the Unified Government up for vote are reasonable and should have been in place years ago:</p><p>One can&rsquo;t be a commissioner and also serve as the head of a nonprofit community development corporation that is receiving public money through the Unified Government.</p><p>Another proposed change would bring nonprofits up to the same ethical standards under which for-profit businesses must abide.</p><p>Here&rsquo;s the rub. Only one current commissioner, the 3rd District&rsquo;s Ann Brandau-Murguia, will be affected. She is the executive director of the Argentine Neighborhood Development Association. Brandau-Murguia&rsquo;s district is primarily Argentine and Rosedale, neighborhoods far from the glitz of the Speedway, The Legends, or sprawling new housing stock. Meanwhile, she ran to serve a district that could greatly benefit from more, not less government attention.</p><p> And now, the Argentine group is seeking a cut of the $3.6 million in stimulus funds the Unified Government will get for affordable housing. </p><p> It was only a matter of time, really, before such a quandary and questions would emerge about Brandau-Murguia&rsquo;s multiple roles.</p><p>Commissioner Mark Holland, a United Methodist minister who proposed the changes, is taking unfair hits from some who contend he&rsquo;s got it out for folks in the 3rd District. Never mind that his family is from the Argentine area.</p><p>The commissioner at-large is right to think the avoidance of even the appearance of improper influence or impropriety is important &mdash; even when all is aboveboard. </p><p> &ldquo;Some of us look at ethics policies as barriers to get around; others of us look at them as values to live up to,&rdquo; he said. </p><p> One possible solution would be to grandfather in Brandau-Murguia&rsquo;s dual role as nonprofit executive director/commissioner. Then, for the sake of her own reputation, audit her organization like a hawk. So far, she has sought and received legal clearance from state and local legal officials on matters where her agency was involved.</p><p>But ultimately the arrangement is not healthy ethically. Not for the Argentine association and most certainly not for the Unified Government.</p><p> The over-arching problem is not new. Rosedale and Argentine need more elected voices and agencies supporting them.</p><p>Richard Ruiz, once head of El Centro while also a City Council member in Kansas City, Kan., played this wearing of two hats game, too.</p><p> For all her good intentions, Brandau-Murguia is one person trying to fulfill the jobs of two people. That is one person too few.