A Debate About the EC Selection Process
According to <a href="http://www.rockdalecitizen.com/news/2014/nov/11/stalemate-continues-ove…; target="”_blank”">an
article yesterday in the Rockdale <i>Citizen</a>,</i>
Rockdale County, GA's county commission is having a debate on how to
select its three-member ethics board and its alternates.
Unfortunately, it's a debate that is being waged with no reference
to best practices and almost no outside professional input. It's as
if a debate about a construction project were to include little input
from or reference to the work of engineers or planners. I point this out not because it is
atypical, but because it is all too typical.<br>
<br>
Currently, the three members of the county's ethics board are
selected as follows, according to <a href="http://www.rockdalecitizen.com/news/2014/jul/22/boc-delays-ethics-ordin…; target="”_blank”">a
July 22 article in the same newspaper</a>:<blockquote>
One member selected by the County Board of Commissioners (BOC)<br>
One member selected by the Rockdale County Bar Association<br>
One county employee selected by the Rockdale Coalition of Homeowners
and Civic Associations</blockquote>
But this selection process does not appear to have worked. In 2008,
only one ethics board member was selected. And the selection process seems to have stopped right there.<br>
<br>
In 2009, the current chair of the BOC appointed members of a
citizens committee to make recommendations for improvements to the
county's ethics program. It recommended that the bar association
continue to select one ethics board member, with the other two to be appointed
respectively by the county's Republican and Democratic party
committees.<br>
<br>
The chair supports this approach, saying that it is not his, but
rather a citizens committee's. But considering that it is highly unusual for party committees to select ethics board members, one wonders where the committee came up with this idea, which alternatives it considers, and which publications and individuals it consulted.<br>
<br>
Another commissioner says, “I don’t think
we need to engage a political party with governing a board from an
ethics standpoint. We’ve got enough politics involved in day-to-day
operations as it is.” This is right. Political parties should not be
involved with a government ethics program, not only because this
politicizes it, but also because its candidates are the very people
who will come before the board, making their selected members
conflicted. There is nothing worse than a conflict of interest at
the heart of a program dealing with conflicts of interest.<br>
<br>
Another commissioner points out that the citizens committee was
appointed by the chair, not by the commission as a whole, implying
that it reflects the chair's views, rather than the chair reflecting
the citizens' views. Whether true or not, this is how it appears.<br>
<br>
The two commissioners prefer the following selection process:
one member selected by each of the Conyers-Rockdale Chamber of
Commerce, the Rockdale County Bar Association, and the Board of
Commissioners. They supported their argument with information from
the Association of County Commissioners of Georgia and <a href="http://www.cviog.uga.edu/" target="”_blank”">the Carl Vinson Institute of
Government</a> at the University of Georgia. At least they consulted someone.<br>
<br>
The commissioners also say that it is wrong to have a county
employee on an ethics board. But they don't say that it is also
wrong to have a board member selected by the BOC, over which the
board has jurisdiction. And, although it is good to have community
organizations select ethics board members (see <a href="http://www.cityethics.org/node/770" target="”_blank”">my blog post on this</a>),
a chamber of commerce is an important lobbying group and political
player and, therefore, is not the best community organization for
this purpose.<br>
<br>
But at least Rockdale County is having this discussion. Hopefully,
the BOC members will more carefully consider the selection processes
that have been raised and the best practice for ethics board
selection, as stated in my book <a href="http://www.cityethics.org/files/lgep1-0%20-%20Robert%20Wechsler.htm" target="”_blank”"><i>Local Government Ethics Programs</i></a>: The involvement in an ethics program of no one under its jurisdiction, including the selection of ethics commission members by community organizations rather than by local government officials.<br>
<br>
Robert Wechsler<br>
Director of Research-Retired, City Ethics<br>
<br>
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