Dual offices

This is an editorial I published in 2007. The situation has not changed too much today. The local Rochester newspaper, the Democrat and Chronicle, did not want to publish it and besides making me do some silly busy work, telling them about office holders in different towns to "prove" what I had already proved in the editorial withheld it until after the municipal elections in our area.

Last year Tom O’Neill from New Jersey Policy Perspectives authored a report titled One to a Customer. Which focuses on  the political practice of dual office holding, a practice all too common in New Jersey but also quite common in New York. In a survey several years ago close to 30% of New Jersey legislators held other jobs in government and when close relatives such as spouses were added on the total rose to 44%

Dual office holding occurs when one public official holds two (or more!) offices in a municipality or holds offices in different jurisdictions. Offices can be elected or appointed.  For example, someone might be a county legislator and a town district attorney. While dual office holding poses problems because of conflicts of interest and personal enrichment involved in holding more than one position, the real threat is due to a conflict of duties involved in holding dual offices. For dual offices are often incompatible offices, the duties involved in holding one office conflict with the duties involved in other offices. Incompatible offices are always illegal, but dual offices even when they are permitted pose major ethical problems for government weaken our trust in the integrity and accountability of our elected officials. That’s why 38 states have laws prohibiting  many if not all instances of dual office holding and groups like common cause oppose it. Extensive dual office holding often goes hand in hand with patronage appointments, nepotism, cronyism and unaccountable government.

O’Neill stresses the American ideal of the citizen legislator, who takes time from his own work to serve the community. As average citizens we want a government that is both accountable and responsive to our wishes, and open to all. The ideals’ of the citizen–legislator embodies  the idea that anyone with sufficient motivations interest and willingness to learn can run for public office, and then after a time return to private life.  While we appreciate disinterested public service, we dislike the idea of permanent politicians who come to represent entrenched interests Dual Office Holding, along with other forms of patronage undermine the ideal of participation in public service.

On the most basic level these practices, conflict with the idea that offices are open to everyone. When public offices are held by a few officials in a close groups then citizens are discouraged form participating in government. Dual office holding and double dipping make political office holding seem more like  a reward for loyalty and obedience than  a service to the community,  It tends to create government that is secretive, closed and unaccountable. And most of all it raises questions about the commitment and integrity of governments,  When public officials serve two  masters their ability to serve either is called into question.

Greece residents don’t have to go very far to find example of dual office holding, incompatible offices, double dipping and just plain cronyism. Our town government is a virtual lab experiment in ethically challenged government. Government in the town of Greece is closely intertwined with county government that Maggie Brooks and John Auberger have to be restrained from holding hands.

Of the four current town councilmen, only Rick Antelli is not employed by our county government. Councilman Mike Barry is clerk to the county legislator, Bob Bilsky  works in the county finance office and Jerry Helfer is Assistant County Executive. In the past  other town councilman have held positions of authority in the county as well

More troubling still Greece Town Government currently has not just one but two county legislators serving in positions of considerable authority. Jeff McCann  serves as both as a county legislator  and as deputy superintendent, while Raymond Dirado serves as Town Attorney and as county legislator. 

The increasing interconnections of levels of government authority complicate the problem of incompatible offices. Increasingly, services and even sources of revenues are shared among different levels of government. Under these conditions almost all dual offices can have elements of incompatibility.

Promoting widespread dual office holding and double dipping reflects badly on the ethical judgment of the public “servants” who accept such offices, but they also reflect very bad on the ethical  integrity of those who appoint  them or who  turn a blind eye to double dipping and condone a political culture of cronyism and patronage based on an uncritical loyalty (at least in public) to the “boss” Both Greece Supervisor Auber and County Executive Brooks need to clean up their act and their governments