Linda Lopez; drawing "limits on power".

If you ask Lt Gov hopeful,
State Senator Linda Lopez about
creating ethics reform with some real
teeth, she will tell you, you have to be
careful not to give it "too much power".



Which begs the obvious follow up;
how much power is too much power?


Empowering an Ethics Commission, for example,
is represented on a continuum that runs from no power at all,
to "ultimate" power (whatever that might look like).

In a video that Peter St Cyr has up on What's the Word, link,
Lopez argues that we need to draw a line that keeps
the Ethics Commission from becoming "too powerful".

Being the cynic, I will suggest that Lopez would draw the line just south of powerful enough to hold her honestly accountable against her will, for ethical misconduct. She would like to be able to dodge the bullet if she needs too. She would have accountability less powerful than her ability to escape it.

I would argue that the line needs to be drawn exactly at; powerful enough to hold the most powerful public servant accountable for their misconduct, even against their will.

If Linda Lopez has another idea about where the line should be drawn, she should drawn it, and subject her decision to critical review. She needs to tell us what "too powerful" looks like, when the subject is ending the culture of corruption and incompetence in state government.

Otherwise, it is entirely fair to assume that her intention is to never empower any one or any process with more power to hold her accountable than, she has power to self-except herself from the consequences of her misconduct.




photo Mark Bralley