Bullheadedness in the Face of Ethics Advice
Bullheadedness is unprofessional, at least in most professions. By
"bullheadedness," I mean doing what you want no matter whether a
professional tells you not to do it or whether your boss tells you not
to do it, even if they tell you why and they are clearly right.<br>
<br>
One of the professions where bullheadedness is somewhat acceptable is
politics. Take the Louisville council, for example. According to <a href="http://www.courier-journal.com/article/20101229/NEWS01/312290105/Insigh…; target="”_blank”">an
article
last week in the <i>Courier-Journal</i></a>, the council is about to
vote on a 15-year renewal of a cable franchise agreement, a pretty big
deal. And the cable company goes and offers council members free
tickets and access to a luxury suite for a University of
Kentucky-University of Louisville basketball game at the KFC Yum!
Center (it ended up being Louisville's second loss of the season).<br>
<br>
The chair of the <a href="http://www.louisvilleky.gov/Ethics/" target="”_blank”">city ethics commission</a>
told
the council that "it would certainly raise the question as to why the
gift was offered or accepted." According to the article, he "discouraged
council members from accepting the tickets, even at face value, saying
that the ticket only accounts for access to the game and not for
'hosting.' That question, he said, should be considered by the full
ethics commission."<br>
<br>
In addition, the council president "told his colleagues in an e-mail
that accepting [the tickets] would be 'unwise' because it would be
'impossible to avoid the public perception of inappropriate influence.'"<br>
<br>
So, the ethics commission chair and the council president discourage
council members from accepting the tickets, and provide good reasons
for this, and there is no good argument for
accepting them. Accepting them, therefore, would define
"bullheadedness."<br>
<br>
And yet two members said they would accept the tickets (eight
declined). One defended his action by saying that he would give the
tickets away to friends and family, as if it mattered whether he
personally attended. He said he would pay the $35 face value, as if
attending the luxury suite, with its special location, not to
mention free food and drinks, is worth nothing at all (and any ticket
can be hard to buy at face value for a big basketball game).<br>
<br>
But the award for bullheadedness goes to councilman <a href="http://www.louisvilleky.gov/MetroCouncil/Members/21/" target="”_blank”">Dan Johnson</a>,
who
said, “Whatever I do, that's my business." He added that he doesn't
believe there's a conflict of interest accepting the tickets, despite
what he's been told. “Do you really think we're going to vote against
the Insight contract? I don't think that's even a question.” He is a realist,
perhaps, but not an ethicist or a professional who takes pride in doing
things right.<br>
<br>
Here is a man who has neither a basic understanding of government
ethics, nor the sense to listen to people who do. He doesn't know what
he doesn't know, and that's enough for him.<br>
<br>
As I've said many times, government ethics is a matter of acting
professionally and responsibly. Bullheaded people such as Johnson are
not capable of this. They lack the necessary respect for others and the
ability to take into consideration the public's point of view. If an
official cannot see things from any point of view but his own, and
cannot listen to those who can, then the enforcement process is the
only way to handle his conflicts responsibly.<br>
<br>
<b>Ethics Officers</b><br>
An ethics commission chair should not be giving
informal advice that carries no official weight. It allows the
bullheaded individual to tell himself that the advice is meaningless.<br>
<br>
Better that an
ethics officer be appointed to give informal advice that carries weight. The other (and the most common)
alternative, depending exclusively on formal
ethics commission advice, means that advice can never be given on a
timely basis, when it is usually needed. I hope that what occurred will
cause the Louisville council to allow the ethics commission to hire at
least a
part-time, paid-by-the-hour ethics officer to provide timely informal
advice. This could be the commission's legal
counsel, who already has such a contract, at least according to <a href="http://www.louisvilleky.gov/NR/rdonlyres/AFB048E0-577D-4580-99FF-E397E3…; target="”_blank”">the
ethics code</a>.<br>
<br>
<b>Ethics Commission Initiative</b><br>
Another thing this matter should cause the council to consider is the
ethics commission's current inability to investigate without a formal
complaint. Here is a perfect case where there is no need for a
complaint, because the facts are public, the ethics commission has
already been involved, and it's primarily in the interest of political
enemies to file a complaint. Better that the complaint be drafted by
the commission itself.<br>
<br>
Robert Wechsler<br>
Director of Research-Retired, City Ethics<br>
<br>
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