Ethics violations

The Oregonian carries another report today on possibly increasing proposed fines for legislators accepting gifts on their Maui trips paid by lobbyists. By as much as (gasp!) $580! Except it doesn’t even sound like the legislators themselves are being fined, just asked to repay the cost of golf outings. The lobbyists who failed to report are being fined – a whopping $4,100! Wow, that’ll put a hole in their budget.

There was also coverage recently of Mayor Potter accepting front row courtside seats for the Blazer home opener, then listing their value (after initially not reporting the event at all) at $34. The Mayor’s allies said he was supporting the team by being very visible at the game, and the value of the seats shouldn’t count as it was part of his duties as Mayor.

To me, the ethics of lobbying gifts is very simple: elected officials, and even appointed officials and candidates for elected office, should not accept anything from anyone. Period. People in positions where offense might be given for refusing gifts should accept them only if they are material items that can be donated to the city or citizens. Otherwise, their response should be, “thank you very much, but it’s important for public trust for me to pay my own way.” If attending an event rises to the level of an official duty, it should be paid for out of the city’s budget and the elected official should be ready to justify the item on the next expense report. This should include everything from trips and Blazer tickets, through lunch at the City Club, down to parking fees and coffee. The Zero Benefit rule should be without regard for who is offering to give, since none of us knows when something may come up in the future that changes a person’s status from friend to lobbyist.

When I want to show support for a cause I believe in, often part of the way I do so is by contributing financially. Our state legislators aren’t paid much, but poverty is not a sufficient reason to accept subsidies from entities with special interests in future legislative decisions. I know many people who pay to attend fundraiser events despite living on tight budgets – and fans who pay for sports games even when making ends meet is hard. Our City Council members make good money and can afford to pay for dinners, events, and goods/services they choose to patronize in the community.