Inside Politics - April 2006

Politicians’ Ethical Dilemmas

Who’s Really to Blame?

by Michael Sullivan

It’s getting so you can’t read a newspaper or turn on a television newscast without seeing a story about a politician involved in an ethical dilemma or a conflict of interest charge. From Clark County commissioners to the county recorder to school board trustees, our elected officials seem to be long on ambition and short on moral fiber.

Are we being besieged with a new crop of unethical politicians, or has the media just become super-sensitized to the special deals that elected officials have been taking advantage of for years? The answer, it appears, is a little of both.

Stories about corrupt politicians are nothing new. From the earliest days of our democracy to Nixon’s Watergate to Reagan’s Iran-Contra, abuses of power have always made headlines. But even for Nevada, this recent rash of problems seems atypical.

That’s not to say we haven’t had our share of politicians accused of betraying the public trust. Erin Kenny, Frank Hawkins, Lance Malone and Floyd Lamb come to mind. But their transgressions occurred years apart, and were more related to the individuals than widespread corruption.

One thing that appears to be more than coincidental about recent events is that in the past 10 years, Nevada has seen unprecedented changes in the make-up of its governmental bodies. Incumbent county commissioners, city councilmen and state Assemblymen and Senators have been ousted by newcomers. Several long-time public servants lost their jobs to newly elected officials who took advantage of public unrest over increased growth and gridlock traffic in their successful campaigns.

Many of these first-term officials have limited or no experience with government or public service. Some have no knowledge of business or the private sector. Yet, they are leading entities with budgets larger than most corporations. And, unlike their predecessors, these people are not content to let those who have gone to school to study public management – the members of their staff – do their jobs.

What role does the media have to play in all of this? Well, for several years members of the press have made a very big deal over what they termed "career politicians," people who had been elected for several consecutive terms. Nationwide, this furor has led to the success of a rash of successful term-limit propositions.

In addition, the heightened reporting of the personal lives of politicians or candidates for elective office has caused many worthwhile people to decide not to seek public service. Who would want a profession where the best you can hope for is that your sexual preferences, personal relationships and favorite grooming habits will be on display for the world to see?

That’s not to say that the Nevada media’s most recent revelations into the business dealings of local politicians haven’t been insightful. County commissioners taking cash in exchange for votes is something the public needs to know.

But perhaps if more attention was paid to a candidate’s actual qualifications for the job and less importance put on their personal lives, we wouldn’t have the kind of politicians who make ethical mistakes.

There are still some earnest elected officials out there who are doing the job for the right reasons – to make the community they call home a better place to live. The questions are, how long will they survive, and will whim or reliable criteria be used to evaluate the effectiveness of their tenure when their current term of office expires? Perhaps the better question is, given the whimsical way we allow the issue de jour to determine what happens in the voting booth, who will be next in line to replace them?

Michael Sullivan
Michael Sullivan is president of Knight Consulting, a Southern Nevada government affairs firm.