Where the buck stops - Op-ed by Calvin Luther Martin

Last week, Burke’s prayers were answered. Last week, District Attorney Derek Champagne forcefully stepped into the vacuum of government control over conflicts of interest between municipal officers and the wind developers. Up till then, every single NYS agency had been passing the buck about enforcing NYS General Municipal Law (GML) against (obvious) conflicts of interest.

As I say, all that abruptly ended the afternoon of April 2nd, several hours before the Burke town board meeting, when Mr. Champagne issued a stunning two-page press release notifying all municipal and county officers that, henceforth, the General Municipal Law “Code of Ethics” will be rigorously enforced. He singled out §805-a-1-c&d as The Golden Rule (my term, not his):

“No municipal officer … shall … receive, or enter into any agreement, express or implied, for compensation for services to be rendered in relation to any matter before any municipal agency of which he is an officer” §805-a-1-c.

“No municipal officer … shall … receive, or enter into any agreement, express or implied, for compensation for services to be rendered in relation to any matter before any agency of his municipality, whereby his compensation is to be dependent or contingent upon any action by such agency with respect to such matter” §805-a-1-d.

He reminded everyone that the State Attorney General advises against “even the appearance of impropriety” (my emphasis).

Between them, GML §805-a-1-c&d and the AG’s stern warning against even appearances of impropriety pack a powerful message. Mr. Champagne has called for a uniform, county-wide Code of Ethics, drafted by the County Legislature. Mindful that public ethics require constant vigilance, he has further called upon the County Legislature to establish a County Board of Ethics to advise town boards, town employees, and the legislature itself.

Let us savor this moment. This is America at its finest. When I read Mr. Champagne’s press release I imagined church bells pealing, car horns sounding and confetti. I imagined a parade of war veterans. For this is exactly what democracy is about. On 4/2/08 Mr. Champagne served notice that one of the central tenets of democracy, The Golden Rule (GML §805-a-1-c&d), from now on rules in Franklin County.

(Click to read entire essay)