How False Rumors Can Undermine a City's Ethical Environment

If you had no knowledge of government ethics, and you were asked what, on a day-to-day, moment-to-moment basis, was the most frequent form of unethical behavior in municipal government, you might say 'passing rumors along.' That's the meat and the potatoes of every organization's conversations, and it's only the most self-controlled of us who don't partake in producing, consuming, and passing along rumors, at least occasionally.

We know rumor mongering is wrong, even as we do it. But rarely does it have devastating consequences (we assure ourselves, if we think about it at all). On the other hand, most minor unethical behavior has less than devastating consequences most of the time, and it's very hard to know its effect either in any one instance or in the aggregate.

In Newark, New Jersey, according to an article in the July 3 issue of the New York Times, rumor mongering is having a devastating effect on the reputation of the new young mayor, Cory Booker.

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First of all, if you haven't seen the documentary Street Fight, about the 2002 Newark mayoral election that Cory Booker lost, go right out and rent it. The documentary is pro-Booker, but it's an excellent look at municipal politics, including a range of different sorts of unethical behavior.

The second time around, Booker overcame the many obstacles placed in his path by the old-style mayor, Sharpe James, and his supporters. Now, both those supporters and a few of Booker's former supporters are trying to bring Booker down via a recall referendum.

Their favorite means toward this end is rumor. They're making use of Internet chat rooms, anonymous mailings, and all the ordinary means of passing rumors, from barber shops to after church.

Having seen the film, I recognize some of the rumors. It appears that even old retreads can be brought to life. The worst is that Booker isn't really black (he's light, but both his parents are black). There were even rumors back when that he was Jewish, but these aren't mentioned in the article. Other rumors include that he lives in the suburbs (he grew up in the suburbs, but after graduating from Yale Law School, he moved into one of the projects in Newark); that he's going to replace black crossing guards with lower-wage immigrants; and that he is a multimillionaire friendly with and to developers.

The article discusses many reasons for the success of this rumor mill. Booker hired some staff members who were his friends at Stanford and Yale, passing over locals who felt the jobs should be theirs. Booker laid off lots of municipal employees in a city whose local government is the largest employer and where unemployment is high. African-Americans in Newark are obsessed with being at the mercy of the wealthy suburbs nearby. And the people who ran Newark for decades resent a newcomer taking over, especially one so highly educated, self-confident, and light.

But their ability to use rumor as a principal weapon shows how important this minor form of unethical behavior is. No one can pass a law against it, but it is important for responsible people in the community, not just politicians and their supporters, to speak out publicly against false rumors. When those attacked are forced to respond, it's a victory for the rumor mill and the city's ethical environment is undermined.