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Play Puzzles and Free Games
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paperboy text opinion editorialsThis editorial first appeared in the Albuquerque Journal. It was written by editorial page staff and is unsigned as it represents the opinion of the newspaper rather than the writers
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Saturday, November 21, 2009
Revise Ethics Code
The Bernalillo County ethics board hasn't heard a complaint since 1995. It didn't even have a meeting between 1999 and this fall. Perhaps that's because there's been nothing to complain about.
Or perhaps it's because the code is so vague, outdated and unenforceable that meeting, much less complaining, has been an exercise in futility.
County Commissioner Maggie Hart Stebbins is betting on the latter. Her 12-page rewrite of the ethics rules is scheduled to be introduced Dec. 8. It deserves a thorough discussion and careful consideration.
Stebbins' proposals all appear to build on solid policies that have been adopted at other levels of government. They include banning folks who want to do business with the county from giving gifts to county employees, prohibiting elected officials and candidates from soliciting contributions from their workers, and providing protections for whistleblowers.
Revising the code so it's user-friendly and good-government oriented is "a hugely important thing to do," Stebbins says. She's right.
After that, if no complaints come in, the board can rightly skip its meetings for the next decade.
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