Ethics, Front and Center...
Two of today’s headlines at the New Orleans Channel were focused on ethics in state government, while another related to a charge of unethical behavior against city officials.
In a story titled "Crime Commission Opens Hot Line in Baton Rouge," NOC reports on the Metropolitan Crime Commission expanding its territory in the war on corruption, setting up a corruption tips hot line in support of the FBI corruption squad recently assigned to Baton Rouge.
"What we're trying to do is make the public in Baton Rouge aware of what the public in New Orleans has known for 53 years -- that we don't have to take it anymore," said crime commission director Rafael Goyeneche. "From 8:30 this morning until mid-morning today, we've had about a dozen to 15 phone calls out of the Baton Rouge area alone."
Goyeneche said the hotline is all about making Louisiana a better place to live or to relocate. "Often, businesses outside of Louisiana say they don't want to come to Louisiana because of the 'corruption tax,'" Goyeneche said. "Well, the crime commission is one way of repealing that tax."
Another story asserted that Governor Kathleen Blanco is “under pressure” to appoint ethics board members, facing an early March deadline to appoint three members to the eleven-member Louisiana Board of Ethics.
Blanco says she's looking for people with a lot of integrity and common sense about how people should behave and how it applies to the law. Apparently such people are hard to find in Louisiana.
The New Orleans story relates to a discrimination lawsuit involving Mayor Ray Nagin and four of his top aides. The Mayor’s office said yesterday that the city has no intention of settling the case out of court.
The lawsuit was filed by former Chief Administrative Officer Kimberly Williamson Butler, who now is the Orleans Parish clerk of court. Butler claims she was subjected to a hostile work environment while serving under Nagin, mainly because she was female.
Do these stories collectively say anything about Louisiana’s efforts to raise the ethical bar for public officials? Let us know your view.
In a story titled "Crime Commission Opens Hot Line in Baton Rouge," NOC reports on the Metropolitan Crime Commission expanding its territory in the war on corruption, setting up a corruption tips hot line in support of the FBI corruption squad recently assigned to Baton Rouge.
"What we're trying to do is make the public in Baton Rouge aware of what the public in New Orleans has known for 53 years -- that we don't have to take it anymore," said crime commission director Rafael Goyeneche. "From 8:30 this morning until mid-morning today, we've had about a dozen to 15 phone calls out of the Baton Rouge area alone."
Goyeneche said the hotline is all about making Louisiana a better place to live or to relocate. "Often, businesses outside of Louisiana say they don't want to come to Louisiana because of the 'corruption tax,'" Goyeneche said. "Well, the crime commission is one way of repealing that tax."
Another story asserted that Governor Kathleen Blanco is “under pressure” to appoint ethics board members, facing an early March deadline to appoint three members to the eleven-member Louisiana Board of Ethics.
Blanco says she's looking for people with a lot of integrity and common sense about how people should behave and how it applies to the law. Apparently such people are hard to find in Louisiana.
The New Orleans story relates to a discrimination lawsuit involving Mayor Ray Nagin and four of his top aides. The Mayor’s office said yesterday that the city has no intention of settling the case out of court.
The lawsuit was filed by former Chief Administrative Officer Kimberly Williamson Butler, who now is the Orleans Parish clerk of court. Butler claims she was subjected to a hostile work environment while serving under Nagin, mainly because she was female.
Do these stories collectively say anything about Louisiana’s efforts to raise the ethical bar for public officials? Let us know your view.
posted by John V at 9:00 PM
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