Jackson County Non-Ethics On Jay Leno!
On Monday night, the Tonight Show mocked Mike Sanders' version of Jackson County "ethics" code, which has been carefully drafted to avoid covering the Jackson County Legislature. The thing is, it's really not funny. It's scandalous that our legislators are conspiring to exempt themselves from oversight.
Labels: Ethics, jackson county
posted by Dan at 12/04/2008 06:44:00 PM
15 Comments:
And now County Legislator Scott Burnett, who is a bundle of conflicts of interest, has acted to shield more offices of County Government from ethics rules. That man is a creep and a crook.
The proposed code does include all electeds, they were quoting a stroy from the Independence Examiner which got it wrong. Walk down the hall and talk to one of your law partners, they will set you stright.
The proposed code does include all electeds, they were quoting a stroy from the Independence Examiner which got it wrong. Walk down the hall and talk to one of your law partners, they will set you stright.
No matter how many times you claim that, Anonymous, you're wrong. The Code drafted by the committee would have covered the Legislature, but Sanders and the Legislature have exempted themselves from the Ethics Commission. Instead, they falsely act as though the State Ethics commission would protect us, even though it would not apply the new code to the legislators.
Scott's a good guy who has done a lot for the community. In this instance, he's horribly mistaken, but it's foolish and unfair to say such nasty things about him.
Imagine if we were ever mocked by somebody funny!
No Dan, YOU are wrong. It applies to all electeds as well. How about this, if I am correct and the new code passes late next week including electeds, then you print a retraction/apoplogy to the County. If you are correct, I will donate a max check to the cause /politician of your chosing (up to $1,250)? I will mail it to your office for your delivery. A deal?
BTW Dan, are you claiming that the electeds exempted themsleves from the code's application, or that the State Ethics Commission wont enforce it's provisions? If it's the latter, then why did the Commission investigate Scott Burnett for alleged violations of the County Charter and code? Even though he was exonerated, the Commission investigated charter/code violations.
Will the Legislature be under the oversight of the County Ethics Commission, or will they falsely claim that the State Ethics Commission will be their oversight? Because, otherwise, they are effectively exempting themselves from the ethics commission. It's not the Missouri Ethics Commission's job to enforce the Jackson County Ethics Code, so any Ethics Code that denies local enforcement for the legislature is no code at all.
If I'm wrong and the Legislature is about to empower the Ethics Commission to apply the Code to the Legislature, then I will certainly and happily post a correction/retraction/apology. Believe it or not, I do my best to be accurate and truthful at all times on this blog, so you don't have to bribe me to get me to do that.
Which brings me to a final, tangentially-related point. If you or any other readers are feeling flush as the year comes to a close, please consider sending a check to a worthy nonprofit. A lot of the big donors are cutting back, and a lot of good organizations doing important work are going to struggle to serve their constituents. When nonprofits suffer, the people they serve suffer.
OK, so you agree that the code is written to incluide electeds, your claim is that the ethics commission, as the enforcement arm, won't enforce the code? Problem with your analysis is that they are the enforcement arm for many governments all accross the state, and also investigated scott burnett for violation of County law (thus, recent history fully refutes your point). Your analysis is incorrect, and your assertion that it is written to specifically EXEMPT electeds is very misleading. It is written to inculde them, you just incorrectly argue it wont be enforced. Big difference.
Touche.
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