This week Roanoke City Councilman David Trinkle withdrew a redevelopment project from consideration for $2.4 million in federal stimulus bonds after his colleagues expressed worries about a perceived conflict of interest.

Trinkle moved to do everything right in avoiding a legal conflict of interest: He stayed out of council discussions about the bonds -- which it has to vote to approve -- and stayed within proper channels during the application process.

But despite the recommended approval by a committee of city officials and a third-party financial consultant, Trinkle pulled his project shortly after the first sign of discomfort by other council members.

Conflicts of interest -- both real and perceived -- are not uncommon in Roanoke or in other Virginia localities. Council members regularly abstain from voting or even discussing certain issues: In May, Trinkle removed himself from a discussion over whether to allow encroachments onto public land by Fork in the City, a restaurant that he owns.

In the 2008 municipal elections, seven of the 10 candidates running for office had situations that could be construed as potential conflicts of interest under certain scenarios. Councilwoman Anita Price, who was elected last year, has to abstain from certain votes because of her job in Roanoke schools.

The tradition, as it were, goes back to Roanoke's earliest days. Henry Trout and Peyton Terry -- two of the city's most prominent citizens in the late 19th century -- served on council while carrying on a myriad of business interests, some of which intertwined with government matters.

"It happens all the time," said Mark Flynn, director of legal services for the Virginia Municipal League.

Conventional wisdom has it that Roanoke is small enough that conflicts are bound to happen with any person who is civically involved and qualified to run for the council. In fact, the Virginia General Assembly has made allowances for exceptions to the conflict-of-interest laws in small towns -- but they apply only to municipalities with 10,000 residents or fewer.

And Flynn and Virginia political analyst Bob Holsworth say that conflicts aren't just common in small cities, but in large ones as well.

Flynn said, "It's quite often business folks who think, 'I'd like to serve the public. I'd like to do some give-back. I've been successful and I'd like to participate in helping run the city or town.' You get that motivation, so it is those people who get on council from time to time, and then end up having business interests."

Developers -- such as Trinkle and fellow Councilman Court Rosen -- tend to run up against potential conflicts even more, said Holsworth, because their work often involves government approvals and sometimes financing.

"If it doesn't happen with development issues, it'll happen with other issues because government has fairly extensive reach," Holsworth said. "All folks find at one time or another their industry or occupation involved with government at some time."

In an e-mail outlining the reasons for withdrawing his project, Trinkle wrote that his public service easily outweighed the private gain he would receive from the stimulus bonds.

"The last thing I would want is for my participation in this process to undermine the important work facing council or the trust of our citizens," Trinkle wrote.

During his campaign for city council, Rosen pledged not to conduct any business within Roanoke that would require government approval. But he said the sacrifice is worth it.

"When I look at public office, I look at it as something worth making the short-term sacrifice in my business and in other areas of my life because of the long-term challenges we face: Our schools, economic development," Rosen said.

"The long-term possibilities to me outweigh the short-term sacrifices I have to make in my own businesses."

But beyond a dedication to public service, there's a far more immediate and visceral motivation for elected officials to avoid any perception they might have a conflict of interest: politics.

"One of the truisms of politics is that in politics you are what people think you are," Flynn said. "If an opponent is able to paint a picture -- it doesn't matter if it's accurate -- but if he can paint a picture this guy is doing something inappropriate, then in politics you are what people think you are."

Trinkle made the decision to withdraw his project only six months before his seat is up for re-election. Holsworth said politics can play into the situation, too.

"In this particular instance, while it's fairly clear there was no legal conflict, the fear it could be utilized by a potential opponent against the incumbent led him to withdraw from a business deal that could have been beneficial to him," Holsworth said. "Political figures are obviously attentive to how people perceive things, just as a business is attentive to how customers perceive things."