HDGV
HIGH
DEFINITION
GOVERNMENT
Government has a responsibility to function OPENLY, HONESTLY, EFFICIENTLY and with INTEGRITY
Transparency and Accountability are under attack in Public Service. The conduct of public officials is important when entrusted to oversee the public’s affairs. Like today’s evolving video technology, we need to upgrade Georgia to High Definition Government.
We need more clarity not less. We need a much sharper focus on ethics. Hypocrisy should not be tolerated.
RAISING THE BAR
- Over the last several years, there has been a serious erosion of the public’s trust in government, at every level, national, state, and local, because of an incredible number of cases of corruption and serious ethical and moral breaches.
- This past Legislative Session in Georgia illustrated how Government should not operate and highlighted another contributing factor to the public’s waning confidence. Hiding government activities by saying one thing to the public and then, “winking and nodding” to potential contributors, while cutting, veiled, back-room “Public-Private-Partnerships” as promoted in SB 31 (Georgia Power Nuclear Plants “pay before you use” bill), and SB 200 (The Governor’s power grab to bypass the DOT Board) are wrong!
- Undermining the Balance-of-Power structured in our Constitution by stealthily snatching it is wrong!
- To paraphrase that profoundly intelligent philosopher, Charlie Daniels;
“Hell’s broke loose in Georgia
and the Devil is dealing the cards.”
STRONGER ETHICS DO NOT REQUIRE LEGISLATION
- As a Public Official, even if the Legislature refuses to strengthen the Ethics Laws, you are free to
“JUST SAY NO!”
- You have the right to set your own, higher, standard of conduct. You have the right not to accept “goodies”, not to engage in secret agreements, not to manipulate and deceive the public, and not to limit yourself to minimal disclosure requirements.
So, another politician talking ‘bout INTEGRITY….blah, blah, blah…
PROVE
IT !
Ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall set you free.
John 8:32
3-PART PLAN
- COMPREHENSIVE ETHICS LAW REVISIONS
- PERSONAL PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE
- AND a………….P O P QUIZ !
1. Ethics Law Revisions
- Amend the Ethics in Government Act by removing the partisan political appointments of The State Ethics Commission members by the Governor, the Senate Committee on Assignments, and the Speaker, and transfer the appointment authority to the Georgia Supreme Court. We must remove politics from Ethics enforcement.
- Transfer appointment authority of the State Elections Board from the Legislature and Political Parties to the Supreme Court. It is crucial to ensure that the integrity of election administration and oversight be conducted without any partisan or political manipulation.
- Restore and clarify the Ethics Commission’s authority to investigate and fine inappropriate Legislative conduct. Back in 2005, the Commission’s role in this area was gutted by H.B. 48 and the establishment of the Joint Legislative Ethics Committee. Talk about letting the “fox guard the henhouse”. H.B. 48 was modeled after the way Congress is structured. The result is no oversight as to conflicts of interests, suppressed opportunity for public complaint, and no stiff enforcement.
- Restore the unbridled rulemaking authority to the State Ethics Commission that was stealthily gutted this year by the legislature in SB 168.
- Completely eliminate all ex parte communications between State Ethics Commission Board members and parties with pending or upcoming matters.
- Make the Inspector General totally independent of the Governor’s office. Transfer appointment authority to the Supreme Court.
- Establish an independent funding source for the State Ethics Commission annual budget. This would remove any political influence of the budget process from the Ethics oversight process. One such potential revenue source for this could be candidate qualifying fees. Another could be fines for Ethics violations.
2. Pledge of Allegiance
Stronger ethics can be achieved without legislation by making the following pledge:
- Accept no gifts or gratuities (no flights, meals, ballgames, etc.).
- Disclose annually all personal/family sources of income.
- All Statewide Elected Officials will NOT run any private business during their term of office. If a private business is owned, avoid any potential conflict of interest by placing your financial interests in a blind trust, and contracting with others to manage the business.
- Disclose annual tax return.
- Fully disclose weekly public schedule.
- Comply fully and timely with Open Records Requests and provide on-line documentation of their nature and date of compliance.
- All meetings will be open to the public.
- AND…………………………………
3. P O P QUIZ
PUBLIC-OFFICIAL POLYGRAPH Examination
- I challenge any of my opponents in this race for Secretary of State to do what I have done and am presenting to the media today.
- In order to establish a foundation of strong character, and provide the public a degree of confidence and trust in who they are electing, agree to take a polygraph examination and answer a fundamental Set Of Standards about your professional or personal life.
- Upon election, in order to establish significant accountability, agree to an annual, year end “Ethics Disclosure” polygraph examination to answer questions of ethics compliance.
- Agree to a polygraph examination if ethical or legal issues arise during your term of office.
P O P QUIZ OPTION #2
- If the first and third parts of the quiz are too difficult (or you have something to hide and don’t want to be held accountable by the citizens of Georgia) simply accept a “grandfather clause” and agree to do part two, the year-end “Ethics Disclosure” polygraph examination portion of this challenge.
SOS
- Establishing this Set of Standards, and aspiring to this level of trust and accountability, is uniquely applicable to the office of the Secretary of State because of its oversight role in assuring honest and accurate elections, regulating and investigating investment and security practices, and the licensing of over 400,000 professionals throughout Georgia.
- Because voting is among the most important citizen rights, alleviating any and all public questions or concerns about fairness, accuracy and removing all partisan shenanigans, are foremost in discharging the duties of this office. Recently, under the current Secretary, we have seen some pretty bad examples of Miss Handel's "mishandles":
1. Challenging Jim Powell’s residency in the 2008 PSC race, and then being slapped down by the Courts not once, not twice, but even a third time unanimously by the Georgia Supreme Court.
2. SB 86, requiring inappropriately harsh requirements to prove U.S. citizenship in order to register to vote, and then being rebuffed by a member of the State Election Board, who also happened to be the Legal Counsel to the Republican Party.
3. Attempting to purge certain types of voters from state voter databases by using techniques that were then challenged by the U.S. Justice Department.
4. Besides helping create a difficult and unnecessary firewall that further thwarted certain types of voter participation by requiring a photo ID, also shrugging off intense voter backlogs in certain precincts during 2008 early voting.
5. And let’s not forget, she broke the central pledge of her 2006 campaign, to immediately install a verifiable paper trail for the electronic voting machines.
Top Priorities:
- Succeed where Karen Handel has failed, by instituting a verifiable paper trail for Georgia’s electronic voting system.
- Allow Saturday voting in the early voting process.
- Establish a uniform database collections system which will ensure that all 159 counties are working from the same playbook.
- Maintain much more vigilant oversight of absentee ballots.
- Do all of this in a way that is honest, open, and accountable to the citizens of Georgia
What? Why?
Let me hit the pause button for a moment to address a few points that skeptics or cynics might raise in response to this initiative.
- What is the better alternative? Accepting only the most sincere promises for ethics and transparency from one politician after another like say, most recently, Eliot Spitzer, Rod Blagojevich, Duke Cunningham, or even our incumbent Governor who, while running for office, promised a new level of accountability and transparency, and then upon entering office, snuck through a bill that resulted in a $100,000 tax credit to his own benefit, and today refuses to answer questions about a $21,000,000 loan?
- To the cynics, try putting yourself in these shoes. If you are going to subject yourself to this standard of accountability, imagine the self-scrutiny you would perform on every personal or professional decision.
- If our law enforcement and intelligence agencies believe it is a credible method for seeking the truth, why can’t the citizens of Georgia believe it?
- If you have nothing to hide, and you want to tell the truth, what is the problem?
- This is not a declaration of moral purity. No one is perfect. Pledging to tell the truth often means acknowledging mistakes.
- Nor is this just a publicity stunt. For decades, the public’s trust has been steadily eroding. Rebuilding the “Bridge of Trust” will require this level of change.
TRUTH = TRUST
- Niccolo` Machiavelli, the guru and mentor for so many of today’s cynical and manipulative political consultants, didn’t believe that truth was the right path for politicians. In his book The Prince he wrote;
“How praiseworthy it is that a prince keeps his word and governs by candor instead of craft, everyone knows. Yet the experience of our own time shows that those princes who had little regard for their word and had the craftiness to turn men’s minds have accomplished great things and, in the end, have overcome those who governed their actions by their pledges.”
Eliminate WMDs
- Today’s political environment is structured around wedge issues designed to distract the public’s attention away from the real issues.
- The political consultants, or “Machiavelli Merchants”, create “Talking Points” and punditry that shifts the public focus, generates short-term anger or passion, and lets the real problems slip past election day.
- These Weapons of Manipulation and Deceit can be eradicated by shining light on these tricks, by keeping government operations open and transparent and by restoring a bond of trust between the people and their government.
So what is the answer?
- IF ELECTED, I SWEAR TO TELL THE TRUTH, THE WHOLE TRUTH, AND NOTHING BUT THE TRUTH…………
- SO, HELP ME GOD!