Leaders and the public’s trust
My sophomore at college wants to go into policing. He got an interview with the police chief of his college town, got a haircut, put on a tie, figured out the bus schedule and met with the chief. He called me afterwards excited about their conversation and how they talked everything from football to colleges to policing. He sent a thank you note and waited. He called. He waited. He would work for free. Not too much later, he sent me a text about the headline news on how the chief crashed a city car after getting drunk at a strip club. At the time, all I could think of was, where have our heroes gone?
We put our trust in our public officials and we expect them to honor that trust. I felt bad that my son had to see the poor judgment of someone who should have been setting a good example. I now think my son’s knowledge of this person’s actions is an important lesson learned. My son now knows firsthand that some people who hold high positions of public trust do not respect their office and do not deserve to have it.
Taking an oath to serve is a commitment to others, a commitment to the office and, most importantly a commitment to uphold the public’s trust. In return, the public asks for honesty in interactions, transparency in the process, and fairness in decisions.
My experience on the campaign trail has also brought the issue of honesty to the forefront. Two seated elected representatives in seats of significant authority are running against each other. I expect the dialogue to be a comparison of the well-established records of both. This is fair game and gives voters a way to measure the accomplishments of each. What is lacking, however, is an accurate accounting of my record by my opponent. For example, my opponent is attacking me for cutting funding for crossing guards, yet this funding was cut years before I was ever in elected office. Outright fabrications along with efforts to deliberately mislead voters about my record is a significant issue, not just because people will think what my opponent is saying about my record is true, but more importantly that my opponent would say it.
I believe that as leaders, we are held to a higher standard, and should be. We mentor those who succeed us, we are representatives of government and our actions reflect on more than just ourselves, they also reflect on our institutions. We lead by example and expect our government officials to be fair and uphold the law. We also expect them to abide by the law, and campaign laws are no different from any other kind of law. When the law requires disclosure and you fail to report a gift, when the law requires limits on contributions and you exceed the limits, and when you sign an oath on how you will participate in the election and then have others do for you what you agreed you wouldn’t do--it shows a lack of respect for the law. In a recent letter by my opponent’s attorney (who was defending breaking the County’s election law), it was suggested that the law is unconstitutional. My son learned on his path to Eagle Scout to obey the laws of his community and country. If he thinks these rules and laws are unfair, a Scout is told to try to have them changed in an orderly manner rather than disobeying them.
It is fortunate when we have people we can trust to represent our interests. While we may not see eye to eye with them on everything, knowing they are honest brokers and knowing what they tell you is truthful provides us a foundation for trust. Yet, as my son learned, while we may respect people in high office, sometimes those in high office do not share that respect for us, or for their position.