Raise your hand if you know that the Durango has a code of conduct and a code of ethics. Now, raise your hand if you know that the city also has a board of ethics.
I see very few hands going up.
Believe it or not, we have both, a rare occurrence for a city the size of Durango. It all came about in 2014, when a City Council member appeared to have business interests connected to an upcoming Council vote.
Members of the community asked why the Council member did not recuse himself on the issue. When it appeared that no mechanism existed to require or even suggest a recusal, the five-member board of ethics was established to provide an objective body with authority to rule on such eventualities
The first several years of the board’s existence were spent writing the comprehensive code of conduct and ethics, which was adopted by the City Council in 2017. It can be read in its entirety on the City’s website.
The code states that the principal aim of the document is to “evoke a commitment to maintain high ethical standards” in the conduct of city business. It goes on to explicitly list what kind of conduct should be expected from elected officials, appointed board and commission members, city employees, independent contractors and volunteers of the city.
The subjects of ethics and civility have been widely discussed on a national level in recent months as the quality of our public discourse has become more strident and divisive. Basically, issues of ethics and civility extend beyond the written laws of the land. Unspoken but understood rules are expected to govern behavior. They include basic honesty in exchanges, basic civility in conversation, basic respect for truth and basic respect for those with whom you may not agree or share common ancestry.
Rules of ethics and etiquette are meant to help individuals lead productive and satisfying lives and to establish a level of trust within society which allows for peaceful and productive intercourse.
In his recent book The Common Good, Robert Reich explains that the foundational value of the common good was the principle upon which this country was established. After all, the U.S. Constitution promises that “We the people” are seeking to “promote the common welfare.”As Reich says, the country was not founded by “me the selfish jerk seeking as much wealth and power as possible.”
To Reich, this foundational declaration established a “moral bond connecting generations.” It is that “moral bond,” our obligation to our fellow citizens to follow the unspoken rules of ethical living, which seems to be weakening.
Reich claims that we lost sight of the principle of the common good in the events and ideas of the 1980s. Specifically, he claims these events led to an “exploitation of trust” in the following ways: 1) “whatever-it-takes-to-win” politics, which seeks to maintain political power for the good of the party rather than the common good; 2) “whatever-it-takes-to-maximize-profits” business, which promotes valuing shareholder and corporate officer worth above the common good of all corporate stakeholders including employees and communities; and 3) “whatever-it-takes-to-rig-the-economy” economics, which seeks to manipulate markets in favor of small groups, resulting in the extreme disparity of wealth in the United States.
If you asked anyone on the street if they are an ethical person, they would probably respond, “Yes, of course.”
There is, however, something in the DNA of human beings which prompts us to look after our own best interest, all the while rationalizing that what is in our own best interest is also that which is good and proper for the whole.
If you asked the “whatever-it-takes-to-win” politicians if they were acting ethically, they would respond that America has never been in better shape, because of their enlightened policies.
If you asked “whatever-it-takes-to-win” business people if they were acting ethically, they would respond by pointing to a booming stock market.
If you asked “whatever-it-takes-to-rig-the-economy” traders if they were acting ethically, they would respond that their great wealth is trickling down to the benefit of all.
Because human beings tend to rationalize all their actions as being ethical, the city found it wise to create an objective board which can respond to citizens’ complaints and advise officials on questionable decisions or actions on the part of public officials.
Maybe the country should do the same.
We are a small community, made strong, I hope, by a commitment to the common good of ethical behavior as demonstrated in the city’s code of conduct and code of ethics. I urge you all to go to the city’s website, read our code and commit yourself to strengthening our community by living up to our expectations for conduct and ethics.
Katherine Burgess has resided in Durango since 2004 and currently chairs the Board of Ethics of the City of Durango. She holds a Ph.D. in the Humanities with a concentration in Ethics from the University of Texas at Dallas.
