[Music]
Government ethics encompasses three
general categories. The first is policy,
the second is process, and the third is
politics. Policy really involves ethical
decision-making about substantive
government matters.
The second, process, is the unique sets of
duties and obligations that a person
assumes when they enter public service.
And finally politics is the personal
pursuit of running for office. In the
policy area the considerations are in
substantive decision-making. For example
in the budgeting process, this is an area
which really might reflect a city's
values. For example what if cuts have to
be made? What programs get cut? What
programs get funded? That is an ethical
decision. Government ethics in the
process context is really what
people think of when they think of
government ethics. It refers to the
unique set of duties and obligations
that a person assumes when they enter
public service. We the people are
sovereign and we delegate authority to
public servants to act on our behalf, and
because we do that we trust them to act
for the common good, we trust them to be
good stewards of the public treasury and
public resources. And out of that there
are certain duties that arise. For
example, we have the duty of loyalty. This
duty really is conflicts of interest. The
public servant has the duty to put the
public's interest before his own
personal interest or her own personal
interest. Duty of fairness - this means
that a public service servant has a duty
of impartiality. They have to treat all
constituents equally. They can't favor
those of their party or those that voted
for them or those that donated to their
campaign. They have a duty of care. That
means they have to act competently, they
have to obey all the laws, they have to
be good stewards of the public treasury.
There's a duty of accountability that
means that they have a duty to be
transparent. This is where the open
meeting laws and public records laws
come from. It’s a codification of this
concept that they have to act in the
light and not in the dark. In the
political context, it involves the personal
pursuit of running for office. Our
political process is based on the
ethical ideal of creating an informed
electorate, so ethical campaigns are ones
that fulfill this function. Campaigns
that meet this ethical obligation are
ones that create political messaging
that is fair, that is truthful, that is
relevant. They are campaigns that
disclose any obligations or promises
made, so that voters can truly decide or
know to whom a candidate is beholden and
that can form their decision making.
Ethical campaigns are ones where the
candidate manages donor expectations and
they don't lead the donor to believe
that a contribution will somehow
influence political decisions down the
road. And finally, candidates have an
ethical obligation to reduce the vitriol,
to engage in public debate, not to hide
from the press, to be available, to have
town hall meetings, to make known what
their positions are, either on their
website or through their spokespeople.
The problem with vitriol in political
discussion is that it poisons later
legislative relationships and that can
lead to political polarity down
the road.