A Call for Ethics in Government

No one is so isolated or protected from the world that he or she is not affected by the actions of government. Laws are made which compel or prohibit action. Regulations are adopted which determine how business may or may not be conducted, how education shall be provided, how health care shall be delivered. The "general welfare" of the people is the top priority of government.

The decisions made daily by elected and appointed public officials are of great significance as they affect our public lives and our private lives. It is crucial, therefore, that the decisions of government be made in an environment which is resistant to the entreaties of private interests seeking private advantage. The decisions, indeed, the whole machinery of government, must be at once open, honest, and free from conflicts of interest of any type.

The present array of scandals at every level of government gives us cause for alarm. The twin corrupting influences of power and greed have demonstrated again their ability to pervert the process of government and to render the image of a "public servant" as a maniacal hoax.

As leaders within a religious tradition that is based on divine law first revealed millennia ago, we speak with a deep concern for the moral and the ethical values in society. We are concerned because leadership within the political sphere appears to have lost its identity with servanthood. Our common Traditions teach that the one who would be leader must be the servant of all. To be a servant of the public was — and still ought to be — a high calling. Many have come to see public office as a means of self-enrichment through the increase of influence, material resources and egotistical glorification. It is a tragedy and an outrage repeated again in our time.

Our nation was founded to assure justice and equity upheld by law. It is necessary, therefore, that there be laws to regulate the lawmakers. This is a difficult task as the ones to be governed are the ones who must decide how to govern themselves. For this task, we offer the following observations:

Public trust in the integrity of government is destroyed when private interests can work in secret to obtain special treatment for themselves. Every person, no less than every public official, is a part of a social fabric and is influenced by his friends and associates. Presumably, the values and qualities nourished through these associations leads voters to choose one candidate over another. However, public officials have an obligation to make their associations known. Personal disclosure of assets, investments, income, employment and memberships can contribute to the public's ability to choose wisely among competing candidates.

• Therefore, we favor a comprehensive, public disclosure of these data by every elected or politically-appointed government official, by every candidate for public office, and by every person involved in the leadership of political parties where electoral decisions are influenced.

Public trust in the integrity of government is destroyed when private interests can purchase the services of government officials. No one would question the impropriety of bribery or extortion. Yet hiring an official, "legally," to represent a client's private interest before another agency of government is a conflict of interest which can be as wrong as outright graft. The personnel of that "other agency" are pressed, in effect, to decide in favor of the client who has hired a government official or face the prospects of internecine reprisals. This is no less a concern when the client's representative comes with a letterhead merely bearing the name of a public official.

• Therefore, we favor an absolute prohibition against the representation of private clients before any government agency or tribunal by any official who deals with the public's business. This includes elected and appointed officers of government, leaders of political parties, and the law firms of which they are members.

Public trust in the integrity of government is destroyed when the public tax dollar is spent in such a way as to promote the reelection of the office holder. Staff members of government agencies are expected to provide service for the benefit of the public which pays their salary through taxes. Paying persons, in whole or in part, to engage in the tasks of a political campaign as if they were performing the services of their public employment is wrong.

• Therefore, we favor an absolute prohibition against any public employee performing campaign duties. If a particular employee has skills valued by the candidate for office, that employee should be eligible for an unpaid leave of absence from his/her public employment for the duration of the campaign.

Finally, we conclude that the public's best interests will be served by an open and comprehensive examination of every branch and level of government in this State by the Commission on Government Integrity. We call upon the Governor and the Legislature to assure that the Commission will be able to proceed without limitation or interference from whatever quarter.