Partisan Misuse of Office to Pass "Ethics Reforms" in Alabama

Quick. What's the biggest government ethics problem?

Did you say deducting union membership dues from government paychecks? If you didn't, you are clearly not an Republican Alabama state senator.

When you think of double-dipping, do you think of a mayor also acting as a state representative, or someone holding a government job while getting a government pension? If you do, you are clearly not an Republican Alabama official. They appear more concerned about teachers holding elected office, a problem that keeps us up late at night.

Why all this concern about teacher corruption? Because teacher unions are major supporters of that other party, the one that lost the election this year.

According to an Associated Press article yesterday, the first bill passed by the new Republican majority in the Alabama Senate was the payroll deduction bill. That's not ethics, that's kicking your opponent when he's down. I try not to even mention elected officials' party affiliation, because I don't think it matters. But here it's about partisan misuse of office to pass fake "ethics reforms," which undermines government ethics.

Many of the ethics reforms on the table are good ones. But there is no excuse for dressing up petty-account settling as ethics reform. The House should vote against this bill to show that there is some sense of pride among the new majority Republicans in Alabama.

Robert Wechsler
Director of Research, City Ethics

203-230-2548