Leadership needed for real ethics reform

Ethics. In the world of politics and government, it's a hot topic.

Anyone running for office knows all about the great sound bites that come from pontificating about the need for ethics reform or from decrying the lack of ethics among those already in government. More sadly, often when meaningful leadership is needed most on the issue, the silence can be deafening.

Two members of the borough assembly, for example, are currently embroiled in ethics-related public relations nightmares. Despite the fact that it is an election year and four candidates are trying to win the public's trust for their mayoral campaigns, neither the administration, the assembly nor a single mayor hopeful has addressed the issue in any substantive manner.

At the state level, in the recent past, Alaskans have watched two political appointees - Republican Party chair and former Alaska Oil and Gas Conservation Commission member Randy Ruedrich, and former attorney general Gregg Renkes - abuse the public trust and resign in a cloud of controversy over clearly unethical behavior. Among the elected set, much public hand-wringing and pseudo-serious moralizing about the need for stricter ethics laws followed each incident.

Yet more than two years later, nothing has changed. The only proposed ethics legislation that was allowed to move forward by the legislative majority actually sought to make it more difficult and personally dangerous to bring an ethics charge against an elected official.

On a related note, Gov. Murkowski signed into law this month new legislation that removes the public seat from the AOGCC - the seat Sarah Palin occupied on the commission when she blew the whistle on Ruedrich's shady behavior. The law, sponsored by Valley Rep. Vic Kohring, was tainted further by the refusal of the majority to include in it restrictions against a party operative like Ruedrich from holding a position on the commission again.

In recent years, majority lawmakers systematically have weakened voter-mandated campaign finance reform, refused to speak out against members' clear conflicts of interest, and sought to undermine disclosure laws and the one body that monitors and enforces them - the Alaska Public Offices Commission.

On Thursday, candidate for governor John Binkley called a press conference to unveil his plan for ethics reform. This should be cause for celebration, but the context leaves much room for doubt. Binkley, after all, has welcomed the financial and political support of Ruedrich and the rest of the business-as-usual gang.

While the Fairbanks businessman and former legislator appears to be a well-intentioned candidate with the best interests of Alaskans at heart, it is hard to see the move as little more than political opportunism. His ethics reform proposal comes only after supporters of two fellow Republican contenders - Palin and Murkowski - have begun to duke it out over alleged ethical shortcomings.

So where does that leave politics-weary voters who hunger for real change?

The ballot box is a powerful tool, and the first round of reckoning - the Aug. 22 primary - is less than four weeks away. Alaskans simply can hope someone will do the right thing, or they can demand it.

Elected officials - and those who seek election - should be asked tough and very specific questions. Their answers should reveal a lot, including the measure of electoral accountability to which they should be held.