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Educating the Public About the Limited Role of an Ethics Commission
Thursday, May 28th, 2009
Robert Wechsler
See update below
What is a local government ethics commission's role when a government official has done something illegal or unethical that has nothing to do with the official's work in government? That's the question facing the Knox County (TN) Ethics Committee, according to an article in yesterday's Knoxville News-Sentinel.
The county law director has confessed to taking thousands of dollars from his then law firm to pay off a tax lien on his home. He is paying the money back.
County commissioners are up in arms about what happened, with many calling for his resignation. But the ethics committee has no idea what to do, and tabled the issue to their June meeting.
One EC member felt that the state Board of Professional Responsibility was better suited to deal with this matter, and she was right. The EC chair questioned what the EC could do that was not being done. He too was right. The acting county attorney said the EC had two courses of action: dealing with a complaint if one were filed, or investigating on its own initiative. He was wrong.
A look at the comments to this article makes it clear what the EC should have done: educate the public about its limited but important role in the community: dealing with conflicts between private and public interest. Instead, the EC is being attacked for not acting quickly to rid the county of an unethical official.
One comment reads, "Why do they call it 'Ethics Committee'?" The EC needs to tell the people of Knox County why it's called the Ethics Committee and why it has no role in this affair.
Update (6/10/09): According to an article on volunteertv.com, the ethics committee unanimously asked the county law director to resign. So much for educating the public about the fact that ethics commissions do not have jurisdiction over private conduct or over conduct prior to an official's government service.
Robert Wechsler
Director of Research-Retired, City Ethics
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What is a local government ethics commission's role when a government official has done something illegal or unethical that has nothing to do with the official's work in government? That's the question facing the Knox County (TN) Ethics Committee, according to an article in yesterday's Knoxville News-Sentinel.
The county law director has confessed to taking thousands of dollars from his then law firm to pay off a tax lien on his home. He is paying the money back.
County commissioners are up in arms about what happened, with many calling for his resignation. But the ethics committee has no idea what to do, and tabled the issue to their June meeting.
One EC member felt that the state Board of Professional Responsibility was better suited to deal with this matter, and she was right. The EC chair questioned what the EC could do that was not being done. He too was right. The acting county attorney said the EC had two courses of action: dealing with a complaint if one were filed, or investigating on its own initiative. He was wrong.
A look at the comments to this article makes it clear what the EC should have done: educate the public about its limited but important role in the community: dealing with conflicts between private and public interest. Instead, the EC is being attacked for not acting quickly to rid the county of an unethical official.
One comment reads, "Why do they call it 'Ethics Committee'?" The EC needs to tell the people of Knox County why it's called the Ethics Committee and why it has no role in this affair.
Update (6/10/09): According to an article on volunteertv.com, the ethics committee unanimously asked the county law director to resign. So much for educating the public about the fact that ethics commissions do not have jurisdiction over private conduct or over conduct prior to an official's government service.
Robert Wechsler
Director of Research-Retired, City Ethics
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