Code of Ethics Revisions

[Bustopher Jones]

Today's Record-Journal reported that Council Chairman Mike Brodinsky proposed a significantly rewritten Code of Ethics to a joint meeting of the Board of Ethics and the Town Council. Further, he initiated this proposal entirely on his own, with no input whatsoever from any other sources (including the Board of Ethics itself, which traditionally had taken the lead role in compiling and recommending such changes). Mr. Brodinsky's proposals received (to be kind) lukewarm responses, and deservedly so.

One wonders what Mr. Brodinsky's motivation might be. For some unknown reason, he has made the complete overhaul (or perhaps dismantling) of the enforcement of ethics in Wallingford his personal crusade. Certainly, attorneys have played a key and honorable role in ethics issues in the past; most notable is Richard Gee, who was an effective and respected Chairman of the Board of Ethics. But the idea that the Code of Ethics should be mangled by a Council Chairman who has never participated as a member of the Board of Ethics is one that I personally find troubling.

[oldnickel]

The ethics board in Wallingford is a JOKE!!!!!
Most of the time the committee does not have enough members to even convene ( a clear violation of the charter but no one cares). Then you run into the very real possibility that the mayor will nominate or a member of the Town council will vote for ethics board member that will hear a case currently in progress. Finally, decisions from this board have been suspect for quite some time, based more on politics.

This whole system needs to be revised to take the political element out of it. Good for Brodinsky!!! Of course the current board members were not that receptive, I do not expect them to be.

[Bustopher Jones]

While the current state of the Board of Ethics is in disrepair, it is important to note that this is not an issue of the fundamental infrastructure, but rather a matter of executive neglect. For many years, the Board of Ethics was a vibrant, viable force in Wallingford; it has only been recently under the Dickinson administration that we have seen its decline. And with regard to the issue of politics, past Boards have been made up of persons with political backgrounds, as well as those outside the political arena. Interestingly, those with political backgrounds seemed to rise to the occasion, recognizing their responsibilities and setting aside their biases to render fair and impartial decisions. Mr. Brodinsky's approach is tantamount to "throwing out the baby with the bath water"; the problem is not the Code of Ethics (which, incidentally, has been used as a model by other communities, and therefore must have some degree of merit), but rather the recognition by the Board of its role and responsibilities.

Bottom line: Mr. Brodinsky seems to operate in a vacuum, deceived by the belief that he alone can arrive at better solutions that might be realized by soliciting and considering the input of others. Such arrogance is indeed frightening. The Town Council would be better served to establish a committee that includes (amongst others) past Charipersons of the Board of Ethics to review and recommend updates to the Code of Ethics.