Earlier this month, a coalition
of Orange County residents did what politicians have refused to do – they took
steps toward establishing an ethics commission in Orange County.
For the next several months
families in our community will spend much of their free time collecting
signatures to place an ethics commission on the ballot for a vote of the
people.
Two recent grand jury reports
have clearly established the need for an ethics commission, providing clear
evidence of a culture of corruption that has spanned decades and has led not
only to massive waste and graft, but has also enabled lives to be destroyed
with virtually nonexistent consequences.
Some recent examples continue
to raise concerns.
Two years ago, the FBI
confirmed the establishment of a Government Corruption Task Force in O.C. to
investigate reports of political corruption. When no criminal charges are
discovered, there exists no county mechanism to sort out ethical issues that
arise.
Former Santa Ana City
Councilman and rising Republican Party star Carlos Bustamante was working as an
executive in O.C. when he allegedly sexually assaulted several female
employees. When someone had the courage to complain, the county assigned his
subordinate to investigate. Not surprisingly, the “investigation” was botched,
and Bustamante allegedly continued his predatory behavior. It was only after
charges were filed by the district attorney and the Orange County grand jury
investigated that the county took the allegations seriously.
Money regularly changes hands
between corporations, lobbyists and politicians responsible for awarding
contracts with little to no oversight. For example, an Orange County Employees
Association analysis found the previous Board of Supervisors took more than
$180,000 in campaign contributions from Xerox Corporation, its lobbyists and
affiliated groups, and then awarded the company more than $132 million in information
technology contracts. Now, the contracts are behind schedule, in danger of
being over budget, and Xerox has routinely failed to deliver the services they
promised.
Just last week, news emerged
about Newport Beach City Councilman Scott Peotter receiving campaign
contributions from a local business and its owners in an amount allegedly over
legal limits. According to reports, when the City Clerk advised Peotter of the
violation, he said he disagreed but would return the contributions anyway. Yet
according to the Daily Pilot, there has been no record of contributions being
returned on Peotter’s campaign finance reports.
The grand jury outlined a
better way than blind trust alone to restore our community’s faith in
government. They called for the establishment of a county-wide ethics
commission.
Unfortunately, our county’s
leaders have refused. Instead, they have responded by trying to distract us
with a scheme to bring in the State’s Fair Political Practices Commission
(which would only spot-check campaign contribution documents) instead of a far
more effective local commission. They’ve also contrived a pseudo-transparency
measure called COIN aimed at avoiding state law in their contract negotiations
with workers.
None of these “solutions”
address the real issues outlined by the grand jury, but an ethics commission
could.
So how about we join together
and do what the politicians won’t – establish an ethics commission in Orange
County.
April
24, 2015
The
Orange County Register
Opinion
By Jennifer Muir, Assistant General Manager,
Orange County Employees Association
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