City Council President Bernard C. "Jack" Young will recuse himself from the bottle tax vote because his cousin works for a beverage distributor? ("Councilman leans against bottle tax," June 17.) He's got to be kidding. Does he owe a duty to his cousin's employer or to the citizens that elected him to office? I say the latter, and he should do his duty. Or is this just a screen so he doesn't have to vote?

Jim Astrachan, Baltimore