Ethics in Weber County
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eave it to politicians to take what ought to be a straightforward debate about ethics in elected office and twist it into an exercise that casts doubt regarding potential self-dealing.
The three members of the Weber County Commission last week debated an ethics pledge presented by outgoing Commissioner Camille Cain, who did not run for re-election this year. Cain obviously approves of the pledge -- which if passed would be required of all elected officers in Weber County. But Commissioners Ken Bischoff and Craig Dearden found a nit to pick: a clause within the pledge that would prohibit those elected to public office from exploiting their position for private gain during "or after" their term of office.
Bischoff was blunt about his disagreement with the words "or after": "I don't want to jeopardize opportunities five to 10 years down the road." Dearden agreed.
That effectively sums up the need for the pledge in the first place. If elected officials make their decisions knowing they cannot trade in the future based on decisions made as elected leaders -- for a variety of potential reasons, including monetary and/or professional gain -- they will be guiding the county in the interests of the people. Their desire for personal reward, other than re-election perhaps, will be removed from consideration.
Cain's ethics pledge is designed to remove the potential for gravy-training among the county's leaders. Sadly, the public's cynicism is fueled by current and former leaders -- in various counties' governments, as well as on the state and national level -- who appear to make decisions based on what they can accomplish for their friends or business associates, or for themselves after they leave office.
Approval of this ethics pledge should have been an innocuous progress. Now the hesitancy has reinforced public skepticism. People may be asking themselves of their leaders, "What are they worried about?" In return, citizens are getting the same sort of response as they've been getting for decades from state lawmakers who try to deny access to public information and who refuse to enact tough ethics laws banning gift-giving to lawmakers: "Just trust us."
