Two-time mayoral candidate and election reformer in the State House Chris Caruso is urging residents to attend and support Monday’s public hearing in City Hall focused on the Charter Revision Commission’s proposed changes to the City Charter, for voter approval, including a strengthened Ethics Commission.
From Caruso:
This Monday (July 21) the City of Bridgeport will find itself at a critical crossroads and its citizens will decide through their voices and eventual votes, which road they choose to travel. Will it be to support a proposal to create the very first Office of Municipal Ethics and a revamped, independent and strengthened Ethics Commission with teeth or keep following the same old road of NO accountability?
This Monday at 6 pm at Bridgeport City Hall, 45 Lyon Terrace, the City Council is holding a public hearing to vet the proposals of the recently created Charter Revision Commission.
In my opinion, the most important and critical of those proposals which will have the most profound effect on Bridgeport’s future, is the Office of Municipal Ethics and a revamped, independent and strengthened Ethics Commission with teeth. For all those residents who yearn and have fought for good government and strongly believe that any municipal elected official, City employee or those who conduct business with the City must be held accountable for unethical behavior, then be at the public hearing because there’s no time like NOW.
In 1985, then Mayor Tom Bucci introduced a City ordinance which created the current Ethics Commission. It was the first time in Bridgeport’s history that such a Commission was created. Mayor Bucci is to be commended for taking a bold campaign promise and making it the Law. At the time, as a member of the City Council, I had the pleasure of voting for the Ordinance. But, since 1985, forty years later, there has been little to no changes made to the original Ordinance. Why, you ask? The answer and lack of action by some politicans is obvious. They don’t want any meaningful changes and are complicit by their silence. For those politicans, its better that conflicts of interest or other ethical lapses exist with no oversight or consequences.
Frankly, the proposal for a Office of Municipal Ethics and a revamped, independent and strengthened Ethics Commission with teeth is a gift to the People of Bridgeport from their fellow citizens serving as volunteers on the Charter Revision Commission who voted unanamiously to advance the proposal to the City Council.
By design, under the proposal the Ethics Commission will be bi-partisan with no one political party comprising the majority of the five member Commission, and the Office of Municipal Ethics will support the important work of the Commission and by a majority vote, the Commission will be able to hire its Director. The Ethics Commission will have the authority to censure, reprimand and levy fines on those individuals found guilty of violating the Code of Ethics. The Commission will also have the authority to refer to the State Attorney’s Office any cases as warranted for criminal investigation and possible prosecution.
Of course, there will be some that will roll out the usual argument that the City doesn’t have the funds for an Office of Municipal Ethics, but the simple question to ask is, how much of the taxpayer’s money is being spent annually due to corruption or outright criminal activity? The answer will show that the cost for an Office of Municipal Ethics will significantly pale in comparison and such an Office will actually protect and save the taxpayer’s money. There’s no time like NOW!
Based on my service and experience as the former House Chair of the Legislature’s Government, Administration and Elections Committee, the proposal advanced by the Charter Revision Commission is the strongest Municipal Ethics reform in the State of Connecticut and the People of Bridgeport deserve it… there’s no time like NOW!
Please make time to attend the public hearing, speak up for accountability and help your fellow citizens to restore public integrity and confidence in our beloved City… because there’s no time like NOW.
Chris Caruso is on the mend. Rehabilitation around health issues gets more difficult as one grows older. But attained knowledge and seasoned WISDOM can be expected from sources with history and integrity.
If multiple folks across elected and appointed officialdom have been called on the carpet for infractions, misdemeanors, or felonies, does that provide an example of corruption in the culture?
If you have an Ethics Commission but they have to operate without authorization for full investigations, supporting resources, and necessary independence, can they be termed authentically fully effective?
Do leaders pursuing their official tasks with high ethical expectations and standards avoid corrupt behavior more readily than with weak standards?
Read Chapter 2 of proposed OFFICE OF MUNICIPAL ETHICS and THE ETHICS COMMISSION specifically. Do you think we can AFFORD this addition to our City, or will we find a way to fund, and enter a different and better mindset as citizens who can trust leadership to focus on the common good? Time will tell.