"It's a matter of personal integrity," Vaughn said. "You either have what it takes to hold office or you don't. . . . It's an issue of personal character. If the allegations are true, then no, he should not hold public office."Does Vaughn actually believe he is more ethical than Lincoln Plowman? As soon as the Republicans gained control of the council, Vaughn, whose mentor is Carl Brizzi, traded on his status as a councilor for a high-paying job as a lobbyist with Barnes & Thornburg, a law firm that is paid big bucks for legal work by the Ballard administration at the same time the law firm lobbies for a variety of interests before city-county agencies. He refuses to recuse himself from matters that clearly benefit his law firm and its clients and actually takes a direct role in steering initiatives through the council that impact his law firm or its clients. I agree with Vaughn it's an issue of personal character, but he must have a pretty twisted concept of what it means to be ethical.
Vaughn said Plowman's alleged actions reflect only on himself.
"Unethical people will commit unethical acts," he said, "and ethical people will abide by the rules."
Friday, September 17, 2010
Quote Of The Day
Today's Indianapolis Star gets reaction from City-County Councilors to the indictment of former City-County Councilor Lincoln Plowman on bribery and extortion charges. I just can't resist sharing the reaction of CCC President Ryan Vaughn:
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3 comments:
Ethics and Indiana do not go in the same dictionary
Yeah I read that this morning and it gave me a good chuckle. Plowman only tried to put a few grand in his pocket. Nothing near the amount of money all the insiders in the Ballard administration have cost the taxpayers.
I'm ashamed Vaughn is my councilman. After all the city went through when the Democrats were the majority, Monroe Grays's concrete and all, it's no more ethical with the Republicans in power? Not by my book- with the council majority leader working for the big elephant in the room on so many of these deals: Barnes & Thornburg.
Like the national (suppossedly "conservative") Republicans, spending more than the Democrats, it just gives license to greater abuse of the tax payers by the next party in power. It's like dealing with little kids, "THEY did it. It must be okay...." My 14 year-old has a better sense of ethics.
Any wonder why 88% of Republicans, 74% of Independents, and 44% of Democrats in a poll cited in a Forbes article this week cited a national need to "reduce Federal government".
If we can't trust the "public servants" we've elected in local government, do you think that sentiment is far behind?
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