Through recent national traumas, we’ve learned the importance of the rule of law. No one should be above the law, including the Delaware General Assembly.
Thomas Jefferson warned, “Every government degenerates when trusted to the rulers of the people alone. The people themselves, therefore, are its only safe depositories.”
Lawmakers have used their power to exempt themselves from the section of the Delaware Code known as the “State Employees,’ Officers’ and Officials’ Code of Conduct” and from oversight of the Public Integrity Commission.
In 2015, the Center for Public Integrity gave Delaware an F, ranking the First State 48th in systems to deter corruption in state government, characterizing ethics enforcement in Delaware as “anemic.”
Deborah Moreau, the Delaware Public Integrity Commission’s lawyer, says “that leaves the Delaware General Assembly with something of an honor system when it comes to public ethics laws.”
Service in our General Assembly should not be just another rung on the career ladder. Lawmakers have power to pass laws and allocate funds of great benefit to themselves, their families, businesses and employers, instead of focusing on the needs of constituents.
Many organizations will want to hire powerful legislators. Reasonable limits need to be set to avoid conflicts of interest. Our ethics laws are a patchwork of fig leaves. Our legislative ethics committees are inert. Our media is filled with reports of lines openly crossed.
Following the Center for Public Integrity’s 2015 report, Sen. Bryan Townsend, D-Newark, introduced bills in 2016 and 2017 to eliminate exemption of GA members from ethics oversite. The bills didn’t even get a committee hearing.
Delaware needs an inspector general, as proposed by the Delaware Coalition for Open Government. An inspector general system offers the independence required for meaningful ethics oversight. The concept could be expanded to include a legislative inspector general as well.
Having issued reports in 2012 and 2015, the Center for Public Integrity is overdue for another. Having implemented no reforms, Delaware could rank last this time.
These reports get a lot of press. The 2015 report has been a focus of attention for both legislators and journalists. Ranking last is a blot that would remain for years. Now, Delaware has the added pressure of our favorite son winning the presidency. As the eyes of the world focus on Delaware, a 50th ethics ranking would be magnified in the media. Now is the time for reform in Delaware.
The “Delaware Way” has so permeated the First State that officials, media and citizens have become numb to it. Enduring unchallenged for so long, the “Delaware Way” has become a culture without shame.
Jack Guerin is an anti-corruption advocate with FightDECorruption.com.
