Albuquerque Mayor Martin Chavez; MIA on the APS Ethics Scandal

Is there a scandal? I submit that there is based on the following facts. The leadership of the APS has repeatedly refused to hold itself honestly accountable to the same standard of ethical conduct that it enforces upon students. Further, the leadership of the APS pays lawyers to litigate unethically to save board members and senior administrators from the principled resolution of allegations of ethical and criminal misconduct; including felony criminal misconduct.

These facts represent an ethics scandal. These facts have never been refuted; by anyone.

Martin Chavez is aware of these facts. He also claims to be a founding supporter of Character Counts in Albuquerque. The Pillars of Character Counts represent the widely recognized, accepted and respected code of ethics that students are required to model and promote. It is the code of ethics to which every single board member and the superintendent have repeatedly refused to be held honestly accountable.

The scandal exists only because the local media, primarily the Albuquerque Journal and Tribune, refuse to investigate or report upon it. All Mayor Chavez has to do to end the scandal is to call public attention to it. He has that power and that responsibility.

If Mayor Chavez truly believes in Character Counts, then by its tenets, he is required to stand up for what he believes in; to stand up and be counted for honest accountability to a meaningful standard of conduct.

Perhaps he has been told by the leadership of the APS, that if he challenges them to accept honest accountability to the Pillars of Character Counts, they will challenge him to do the same. Perhaps that is why the people who run the Journal and Tribune will not stand up to be counted. Perhaps that is the reason that Character Counts founding father, Senator Pete Domenici will not stand up. Maybe when this stink is boiled down to its essence, the essential truth is that accountability to a higher standard of conduct is not for adults; it is only for children.

Through out history, accountability, honest accountability, to a higher standard of conduct has always been the expectation for the next generation of adults; not the current generation. We tell our kids about George Washington and the cherry tree to inspire them to embrace a higher standard; not ourselves.

Somebody who casts a shadow longer than I, must stand up to be counted. If not, the senior role models for 98,000 of our sons and daughters, and the stewards of hundreds of millions of tax dollars will continue to dodge accountability to any standard higher that the law. They will continue to dodge accountability even to the law; the lowest standard of acceptable conduct.

That situation is unacceptable. It is not in the interests of taxpayers, parents, teachers or students.