LOU GOMEZ: Higher bar needed on ethics issues
| Monday, Nov 02 2009 11:02 AM
Last Updated Monday, Nov 02 2009 12:04 PM
Recently, I attended ethics training as required by Assembly Bill 1234.
Signed into law in 2005, AB1234 requires, among other things, that local agency officials attend at least two hours of ethics training once every two years if they receive some sort of compensation for their post. Local agency officials include city council members and planning commissioners, as well as other members of commissions, committees or boards.
The key word here is "local."
That includes all of us local yokels (I serve on the Kern County Grand Jury) who for the most part are pretty ethical.
State and federal lawmakers undergo some level of ethics trainings as well. But how often varies (on average, once a year or every two years) and not states make it mandatory.
Sure, politicians may be just as ethical as regular Joe citizen, and when they cross unethical lines, it sticks out like a sore thumb. And this year, it seems to be a banner year of unethical deeds and greed, making me wonder if the current levels of ethics training is enough.
Take, for example, former Republican Assemblyman Michael from Orange County, Mike "Hot Mike" Duvall.
Duvall served as vice chairman of the Committee on Utilities and Commerce but resigned as a state lawmaker after a hot mic picked up his comments to a colleague, in which the married "family values" champion bragged in graphic details about his affairs with two women, one of who was a lobbyist for Sempra Energy.
Then there's former Democratic Senate President Pro Tem Don Perata.
Perata came under fire, among other things, when he hired college pal and professional fundraiser Timothy Staples for "consulting" services in mid-2000. At the same time, Staples received thousands of dollars in campaigns supported by Perata. Earlier this year, the U.S. Attorney's office announced that Perata wouldn't face criminal corruption charges, clearing the way for him to vie for the Oakland mayoral seat.
Or consider Rep. Jerry Lewis, the California Republican of Redlands. He and his BFF, former politician-turned-lobbyist Bill Lowery, were obviously a part of a blatant scheme to trade earmarks for campaign cash.
Consider, too, the current multifaceted mess involving former Democratic Assembly Speaker Fabian Nunez.
He was caught spending vast amounts of campaign donations on luxury jaunts around the world. The resulting spotlight also revealed Nunez had a highly dubious housing arrangement with a fundraiser, and that his wife was on the payroll of a group trying to influence high-stakes health legislation. Of course, the Fair Political Practices Commission recently ruled that he did not misuse campaign funds. But the question does beg: Was he really working for the voters who put him in that seat or was he just blown away by all the fine wine and dining and the donors who made it happen?
And what about Democratic Congresswoman Maxine Waters of California?
A House ethics committee just announced that it would establish a subcommittee to investigate Waters who is under the microscope for her connection with a bank that received bailout money. - in which, by the way, her husband has stock in and once served on their board.
Waters, a senior member of the House Financial Services Committee, maintains she did nothing wrong.
Then, take the case of former nine-term New Orleans Democratic congressman William Jefferson.
He was convicted this summer on 11 of 16 corruption charges against him in a case that included the discovery of $90,000 in his freezer that he had planned to deliver as a bribe to help with a telecommunications deal in Nigeria, according to media reports. A federal court jury convicted Jefferson on four bribery counts, three counts of money laundering, three counts of wire fraud and one count of racketeering. He was acquitted on five other counts including wire fraud and obstruction of justice.
The common denominator in these cases - and believe me, there's plenty more - is that politicians feel invulnerable.
But we might be to blame.
We elect them and put them in office then we fail to hold them accountable. Enough is enough.
For the good of the people, the status quo must go.
Lou Gomez is a Hispanic columnist who contributes regularly to The Californian. These are Lou Gomez's opinions and do not necessarily reflect those of The Californian. E-mail him at lgomez@ bakersfield.com.
