Interesting Conflicts

By: Mr. Wilson on April 2, 2008

It's good to see Councilman John Spatz working on alternative conflict of interest legislation in the wake of the City Council's decision to keep voters from deciding if city employees should be forbidden from holding contracts with the city. Unfortunately, any conversation related to the issue at this point is likely to involve little more than partisan bickering. You can largely thank the Republican City Council members and Democrat Vic Covalt for that. Ethics shouldn't be a partisan issue. But how can you have any sort of intellectual debate about a contentious topic like this when the sides only define each other (and themselves) by party? The two sides are being petty and childish around a serious issue:

Asked whether he had talked to Covalt about his alternative, Spatz said he can’t think of another person in the city he’d be less likely to discuss the issue with, noting that Covalt is running for chairman of the state Democratic Party. ... In response to Spatz’s implication that Covalt is just playing politics, Covalt said Spatz is doing the same: “He’s as much a Republican as I’m a Democrat.”

Ugh. What does party affiliation have to do with ethics and conflicts of interest? Nothing. Grow up, gents, and draw the dividing lines -- which, I suspect, aren't nearly as insurmountable as the two sides think -- based on principle, not party.

Comments

See what your friends and neighbors have to say about this.

Mr. T

April 2, 2008 at 3:16PM

It boggles the mind why this has become such a point of contention. Ethics regulations that prohibit our elected representatives from having conflicts of interest are nearly universal nowadays (as they should be), why is it such a tough sell here in Lincoln?

Gene

April 2, 2008 at 3:29PM

I knew it! Mr. T is anti-business!!!

Gene

April 2, 2008 at 3:30PM

And he refuses to wear a flag lapel pin.

Dave K

April 3, 2008 at 3:43AM

Ethics wouldn’t be a partisan issue if the Democrats had voted with the Republicans.

Mr. T

April 3, 2008 at 11:18PM

I hate baseball too.

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