Bernalillo County passes ethics reform.

Ethics reform usually amounts to identifying a handful of the most egregious and indefensible examples of ethical misconduct, and then making them illegal.

The legislation, carried by
Commissioner Mary Hart-Stebbins,
is certainly a step in the right direction.

There are a couple of aspects in
particular that are noteworthy;
the legislation provides
whistleblower protection and,
ethics complaints will be
investigated by an independent
third party.

Missing from the bill, any attention at all to the fundamental ethic; truth telling.

There is nothing in the bill that requires a county commissioner or county employee to answer legitimate questions about the public interests or about their public service.

This means that you can ask a politician or public servant a legitimate question, and they can tell you, no comment.

Clearly, we have not reached the summit.