Covering Political Party Officers

Who is covered by an ethics code can be very important. In Baltimore, for instance, as I wrote in a recent blog entry, the city solicitor has interpreted the ethics code to require disclosure of gifts only from companies doing business with the city, not from their owners, officers, or employees.

I also wrote recently about jurisdiction over contractors paid with local government funds, but not directly by the local government.

Another important group of people are those who wield a great deal of power in local government, but who hold no position in it (or sometimes the power has nothing to do with the minor position they hold).

The most important of these power wielders are local party officials, whose power consists of recruiting, selecting, and advising those who run for office, those appointed to offices, and those hired for jobs. Without any government position, such people can control the makeup of government, the patronage system that helps keep the party in power, and even the local government's policies and actions. They are commonly known as "bosses."

And yet I don't know of a single local government ethics code that covers party officials. After all, where is their conflict? They do what's best for the party, and they don't have any obligation to consider the public interest.

But doesn't their role in selecting government officials and employees give them any obligations to the public? The stock answer is that politics is a competitive thing, and parties seek to win the competition. They only select officials and employees when they win, and so their only obligation is to the party, and that obligation is to keep winning. If they keep winning, then it's only because they're doing a good job and, therefore, they're acting in the public interest.

This comes close to one of the three lies of government ethics:  "If politicians act unethically, they will be voted out." In many local governments, there is no opposition party strong enough to take on the ruling party. Anyone who wants to get into government knows they have to join the ruling party or they will never have any say. Anyone who has business in town is afraid to speak out against the ruling party, and this includes giving campaign contributions to members of the opposition party.

The City Ethics Model Code Sect. 103(1) requires party officers to file disclosure statements. And Sect. 203(2) prohibits party officers from sitting on an ethics commission. And Sect. 100(18) makes  it a violation for anyone to "directly or indirectly, induce, encourage, or aid anyone to violate any provision of this code."

But provisions like these are rare in ethics codes. Bosses are a difficult problem to deal with. The City Ethics Model Code provision on patronage puts all the burden on officials:  "No official or employee may promise an appointment or the use of his or her influence to obtain an appointment to any position as a reward for any political activity or contribution."

Of course, political bosses do not even have to be party officers. As long as they pick party officers loyal to them, they need have no position at all. They can act in the dark, take all the money they want (as long as they pay taxes where required), and create an atmosphere of fear and intimidation, and it's all legal. Government ethics can't touch them. The only thing that can touch them is to bring them into the light, and stand up to their intimidation. Two things far more easily said than done.

Robert Wechsler
Director of Research-Retired, City Ethics

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