San Benito County Supervisors again are mulling over an ethics
commission to regulate campaign behavior. Although there seems to
be some reluctance to proceed on this issue, the events of the last
year make it abundantly clear that some ethical standard of conduct
must be set for politicians and political campaigns.
San Benito County Supervisors again are mulling over an ethics commission to regulate campaign behavior. Although there seems to be some reluctance to proceed on this issue, the events of the last year make it abundantly clear that some ethical standard of conduct must be set for politicians and political campaigns.
The battle over Measure G and the District 5 supervisor seat and the ensuing political struggles – lawsuits and endless mudslinging – were about as ugly and destructive as small-town politics gets. The fallout – attempts to recall the District Attorney and Supervisor Jaime De La Cruz – is still being felt more than a year later.
Something must be done to restore the luster to our tarnished system of local government. A two-pronged approach creating an ethics commission that monitors campaigns and establishing ethics classes for elected politicians would be a good start.
An ethics commission can provide a formal process to ensure campaigns are financed and run according to the law – clarifying the rules for all candidates, and giving people a process to redress their grievances if they think there is something fishy about a campaign.
Exactly who performs that service, however, should be looked at. To date, the supervisors are considering establishing an county commission to handle the job. But the county already has a group that would serve the cause well: the civil grand jury.
The civil grand jury – a separate entity from the criminal grand jury – is composed of 19 county residents who are appointed annually by the courts. It has five committees, which investigate county and city government, special districts and school districts. Currently, civil grand jury investigations result in recommendations for improvements to save taxpayers’ dollars and to improve services. But revamping the civil grand jury to include an ethics committee that investigates campaign behavior would fall nicely into its stated goal of protecting the public’s interest. And, it would diffuse any concern about political vendettas seeping into a county ethics commission.
In addition, supervisors should ask Gavilan College to create an ethics class for politicians. They should then craft an ethics pledge with very specific conduct criteria that would include a promise by candidates running for any countywide office to take the ethics class upon being elected. Although candidates could refuse to sign the pledge, their action would certainly create serious public relations problems. Furthermore, if adopted, this newspaper will only consider for editorial endorsement candidates who sign the pledge.
Our county government’s reputation has been severely damaged by the events of the last year. There is a need to restore the people’s faith in their elected politicians. This Board of Supervisors should lead by example and set in motion a move toward higher ethical standards and accountability for those seeking office.
