Mayor of City with Self-Regulating Ethics Program Arrested for Bribery

Another mayor has resigned after getting caught by an FBI sting. According to an article in yesterday's Charlotte Observer, Charlotte's mayor, Patrick Cannon, has been alleged to have accepted bribes from undercover agents in return for promises to help them. His alleged crimes occurred when he was a council member and in the five months since he became mayor.

Would it have helped if Charlotte had had a good, independent ethics program, with training, independent advice, and disclosure? Possibly. It certainly would have helped if Cannon and his fellow council members had considered it important to have a good, independent ethics program. If these issues were openly discussed and if gifts, not to mention bribes, were not only prohibited, but frowned on and enforced, it is more likely that Cannon would have resisted temptation.

Instead, like the county in which it sits, and like the U.S. Congress, Charlotte's council self-regulates on conflicts of interest. The decision to do this, when no one outside of Congress considers this a best practice, is a decision is to give short shrift to ethics. Will the arrest of their long-time colleague change council members' attitude? Will they see a good ethics program not only as good for their community, but even good for themselves?

Robert Wechsler
Director of Research-Retired, City Ethics

---