Meaningful ethics reform takes early hit

Myrl Thompson/Capitol Watch

January 21, 2007

Something strange happened on the way from the forum. About the same time that Alaska legislators were taking their break for lunch from a required all-day ethics forum, a governor's press conference was just finishing up.

The most interesting part of the press briefing was the presentation of the Ethics White Paper recommending what amounts to an omnibus change in legislative and executive ethics laws. Two unlikely authors, Ethan Berkowitz, former Democratic House minority leader, and Wev Shea, former Republican U.S. Attorney for Alaska, presented the white paper after being invited to do so by Gov. Sarah Palin.

For most of us in the real world, the recommendations were a breath of fresh air and are exactly what is needed. It's also what the governor promised to do when she was campaigning.

However, not everyone here in Juneau was pleased with the proposed recommendations, especially Speaker of the House John Harris, a Valdez Republican who also represents a small portion of Mat-Su voters along the more remote stretches of the Glenn Highway. Apparently, Harris feels that after 15 years of watering down ethics laws, the Legislature deserves another crack at strengthening them.

Perhaps the Legislature didn't notice that most Alaskans are fed up with unethical behavior, lax penalties and cavalier attitudes about ethical reform. Maybe it will take even more FBI indictments to make legislators realize what most Alaskans have already figured out.

Some legislators believe incremental changes in a few areas will do the trick. But the main speaker at the legislative ethics forum, Michael Josephson, director of the Josephson Institute on Ethics, suggested otherwise. He advocated omnibus changes for the second time in two decades and specifically said incremental changes are not good enough.

When the ethical roof is leaking so badly, no amount of buckets, bowls and pans are going to fix the problem. The roof simple needs to be repaired. Not just part of the roof, but the whole roof.

The public trust in Alaska politics has to be at an all-time low. I find it difficult to believe that the leadership in the Legislature is oblivious to this fact.

What is so distasteful about full disclosure, open meetings and transparency? How can legislators tolerate vote trading and actual vote selling?

Yes, vote selling is not illegal for legislators under current law, nor is vote buying, for that matter. Conflicts of interest must be the different rates banks pay on the consulting money that legislators deposit with their respective institutions. Is there another explanation?

Kudos go out to Gov. Palin, Shea and Berkowitz for their honesty and willingness to address this pressing problem. I know first-hand that many folks on the hill here in Juneau don't want to hear the truth. Sometimes the truth hurts just a little too much. But with a little practice, it is pain that can be endured.

To the governor, I offer some free advice - and it is always worth the price. Since the House leadership has already expressed no interest in ethics advice from outside its own halls, it leaves the administration and Alaskans few options at reform of legislative ethics. Go forward with your ethics reform in the executive branch. Send forth model legislation that all Alaskans will be proud of. Set the example of how government should operate and continue to put Alaskans first.

Let the Legislature continue to wallow in the muck of its denial. Maybe enough individual legislators will see the light and reverse course. The chances are slim for real reform in that branch of government, but it is not impossible. They live in a different culture than the rest

of us.

In the end it may very well be the rest of us Alaskans that force them to change.

Thomas Jefferson once said, &#8220Every government degenerates when trusted to the rulers of the people alone. The people themselves therefore are its only safe depositories.”

There are unselfish, talented and able Alaskans who are more then willing to take the initiative themselves to fix the legislative ethics dilemma. If this current Legislature drags its feet once more, the operative word may very well be &#8220initiative.”

On a final note, there is plenty of blame to go around. We, as citizens, are part of the problem, also. We are no better than the people we elect - or, in most cases, re-elect - to office, if we don't hold them accountable for their actions or inactions. We, the people, need to expect more, demand better and trust a whole lot less.

Valley resident Myrl Thompson is a citizen lobbyist and Capitol watchdog who is in Juneau for the legislative session. His Capitol Watch guest opinion column will appear here every two weeks. To contact him or to find out about subscribing to his weekly Juneau Report, e-mail myrl@ak.net.