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Hey, New Jersey, what took you so long?
By Lauren | August 10, 2009
When word broke last month about the massive corruption sting in New Jersey, it seemed almost too colorful to be true. City mayors and state assemblymen grubbing for campaign contributions, rabbis laundering money, knockoff designer handbags and trafficking in human organs, for pity’s sake? If you made the movie, nobody would believe it.
There must be some truth to it though because, according to The Hudson Reporter, Jersey City Mayor Jerramiah Healy announced yesterday that the city is retaining a law firm to audit and analyze its development process to ensure fairness and transparency. The mayor also intends to sign an executive order requiring all city directors and employees who participate in the development process to take ethics training in the next month, and plans to have the city’s lawyers analyze campaign contribution laws around the country and talk with various civic interest groups about possible improvements. In other words, Mayor Healy has decided to take ethics in government seriously.
So, what are all the other mayors in New Jersey waiting for?
Mandatory ethics training for city employees is a good idea, period, and it’s disappointing that more of the state’s political leaders haven’t yet gotten on board. (Even Mayor Healy took weeks to announce his plan, but let’s not carp - better late than never, after all.) The whole sorry story has provided a barnload of fodder for critics who argue that New Jersey is irredeemably corrupt, and an active response is in order. You can’t expect businesses to take ethics seriously if the people in government who oversee them don’t. Mayor Healy has made an admirable first move - now it’s time for the other politicians in New Jersey to step up and match him.
To read The Hudson Reporter story, go to http://www.hudsonreporter.com/pages/full_stories_home/push?article–Jersey+City+responds+to+FBI+sting-+will+audit+development+process-+require+ethics+training-+study+election+contribs-%20&id=3134834–Jersey+City+responds+to+FBI+sting-+will+audit+development+process-+require+ethics+training-+study+election+contribs-&instance=up_to_the_minute_lead_story_left_column.
Topics: Business Ethics, Social Ethics, ethics |