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"Sunshine" Is the Best Disinfectant
When the late Supreme Court Justice Louis Brandeis stated, “Sunlight is the best disinfectant,” he was of course referring to the development of public polices, not opining on health practices. This week celebrates “Sunshine Week” – the national effort to ensure that American democracy conducts its business openly. Brandeis’s sentiments are the cornerstone of the federal government’s Freedom of Information Act as well as versions of it at the state level. Simply put, it was Brandeis’s view that an open government is a more accountable, and less easily corrupted, government. Americans support open government, but their enthusiasm is often eroded by politicians’ claims that openness can help the nation’s enemies. Clearly one good example is the effort by the Bush Administration to conduct its activities in secret and then justifying such secrecy as due to the threat posed by terrorists. While there can be no doubt that the nation should debate just how open society should be, there can also be no doubt that there is simply no way to be an informed citizen unless you have access to important governmental information. An ignorant citizenry is easily manipulated by powerful special interests that seek to manipulate public opinion based on emotional, poll-tested, reactions, since there is no real way for voters to check the facts. Secrecy also creates a breeding ground for corruption; openness is an important part of ensuring that governmental officials are acting in the best interests of the public. But openness is not enough either. Someone must be empowered to take a stand against wrongdoers. A good example of the need for this combination is the latest political corruption scandal in New York State. Last week one of the state’s leading Republicans, Peter McGowan the Supervisor of the Town of Islip on Long Island, pled guilty to charges of political corruption. As part of his plea, McGowan admitted to taking kickbacks on five separate occasions from 2000 through 2004. Boiled down to its essential elements, McGowan was falsely inflating his campaign bills and then deposited the excess money in his own personal bank account. Those kickbacks included big money – one check was for $20,000, another for $10,000 and other amounts totaling $52,000 in all. According to the Suffolk County District Attorney, McGowan was demanding that vendors pay the higher amount or they wouldn’t get any more campaign work. In addition, McGowan was convicted of misspending campaign funds including $30,000 on a vacation to Ireland and numerous vacations to Florida. In addition, the Long Island newspaper Newsday found that McGowan had spent campaign money on other personal items – such as a lease for a Mercedes Benz. As part of the plea, McGowan will return nearly $1.2 million in contributions to his donors. Why would such a powerful, and wealthy, politician do such a thing? Clearly, he did not think that the kickbacks would ever be discovered, but his misuse of campaign finance funds was hidden in plain sight – in his campaign finance disclosures. Yet, McGowan had no fear of the enforcer, the State Board of Elections. According to the Suffolk County DA, “The way the law is written now, if an expense in any way, by any stretch of the imagination can be related to a campaign, the Board of Elections allows it.” It took investigations by Newsday and the Suffolk County DA’s office to bring McGowan to justice. There was no enforcement effort by the Board of Elections. In keeping with “Sunshine Week,” New Yorkers should demand that state government operate in the open, that its records be easily accessible, and that tough ethical standards be enforced. One good place to start would be for the Governor to react to the Long Island scandal by offering legislation that cracks down on the misuse of campaign finance funds – both illegally and legally – and creates a new entity to enforce those standards. Let the sunshine in and make sure that someone is watching. That’s all for now. I’ll be keeping an eye on the Capitol and will talk to you again next week. |
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