The “Other” Washington Remains Ethically Challenged

When it comes to ethics in government, there’s a huge difference between Washington, D.C., and Seattle, Wash.

In Seattle, we have a city Ethics and Elections Commission that does its work independently, fairly and often quite aggressively. Seven citizens sit on the commission and they go about their work without interference. The commission guards our civic virtue.

In Washington, D.C., in sharp contrast, the U.S. House of Representatives’ Ethics Committee, after months of squabbling over its organizing rules, is just now getting down to business. The majority Republicans had changed the rules in January, some allege to protect their leader, Tom DeLay, under fire for accepting free travel from lobbyists and others with business before Congress.

In Seattle, we get it right. We set the ethical bar high for our elected officials without the loopholes, winks, and nods that are the norm in the other Washington.

Consider the case of Seattle City Councilman Jim Compton.

In 2003, Compton accepted a private jet trip to a Trail Blazers basketball game in Portland, and then, three months later, co-sponsored a council resolution advancing the business interests of Trail Blazers owner Paul Allen. In a settlement with the city’s ethics commission, Compton acknowledged violating the code of ethics, which prohibits accepting any “retainer, gift, loan, entertainment, favor, or other thing of monetary value” when it would appear to a reasonable person to have been given “with intent to give or obtain special consideration or influence.”

As a result, Compton reimbursed the $950 cost of the Trailblazers’ trip and paid a $3,000 fine to the commission. He apologized for his ethical lapse. He cooperated fully with the commission’s investigation.

In Seattle, the appearance of impropriety is treated the same as impropriety itself. No quarter is given for gifts or favors. Our elected officials are expected to practice the highest standards as they execute their duties, and rightfully so.

Compton made a mistake, and then did what honorable people do. He acknowledged it, apologized, and pledged not to take any official action on matters involving Allen or his companies for one year. He took his lumps, made amends, and moved on.

Unfortunately, that’s not how similar cases are handled across the country in the other Washington.

Last month, The Wall Street Journal reported that both Democrat and Republican members of Congress routinely accept all-expense-paid trips for themselves, their families and their staff members from corporations and business associations, including many who have business before Congress. According to The Journal’s analysis of congressional travel records, these trips in 2004 “cost more than $3 million, a 50 percent increase since 2000.”

The congressional code of ethics prohibits members from receiving meals, gifts, or expenses valued at more than $50 at any one time, up to a maximum of $100 a year from a single source, except when trips are judged to be “educational,” a gaping loophole sufficient to accommodate five-star luxury hotel suites, international resorts, and free plane rides.

Something’s wrong here.

Why is it that members of Congress, our nation’s highest legislative body, can accept gifts from entities that have business pending before them when City Council members can’t? Shouldn’t we set the same high bar of ethical behavior for our nation’s leaders, too?

Of course we should, and that’s why Republicans and Democrats in Washington, D.C., should stop politicizing the ethics committee. And it’s also why DeLay should step aside as the Republican majority leader until he can clear the air about the allegations that have been made, if he can.

Money is flowing in Washington, D.C. It is powerful. Where is the outrage? Perhaps we’ve become accustomed to the smell; it’s been around so long. Perhaps we’re like the proverbial frog in the kettle of boiling water and don’t notice how hot it is.

Since the House of Representatives has such trouble getting its act together on matters of ethics, perhaps Congress should look west and take a lesson from the local folks. Eliminate the “education” or fact-finding loophole. Pay for necessary travel with government money, not the influence-peddling money of lobbyists and special interests. Tighten up the gift rules by prohibiting them outright. Give the House Ethics Committee the power and independence it needs to do its job aggressively, fairly, and effectively.

This post was first published in The Seattle Times on May 10, 2005.