Ethics and the One-Party State: A Mission Not Yet Accepted

The reluctance of the North Dakota State legislature to accept the recommendations of the newly formed ethics commission should not be a surprise except to the most naive among us. Organizations historically have not been known to reform themselves. Elected officials having hubris is about as surprising as ducks having webbed feet.

The relaxed conflict of interest rules of the legislature have a long history. Primarily, they are related to the history of the legislature being a citizen’s legislature—which indeed it is. It meets every two years and is an avocation rather than a profession to nearly all of its members. Additionally, due to North Dakota’s generous Open Records laws, perceived or actual ethics issues are readily knowable to the voters in the next election.

This, however, has been complicated over the last few decades as North Dakota has for all practical purposes become a one-party state. Rather than having contested elections, it is now a foregone conclusion that if one is nominated at the district party level as a Republican, that person will be elected to the legislature. Barring a primary election contest here and there, a small cabal of individuals in legislative districts have been delegated much power by default. Whether one blames that upon the Democrats, sloth, fear, or whatever is one’s privilege. The results are what they are. At the end of the day, the argument for oversight of the legislature by an ethics commission is more than defensible.

Although it has been decades since I did my civic duty as a North Dakota State Senator, I suspect the reasons for some running are still the same or at the least quite similar. Some are the agents of special interest groups. Some are the agents of their employers. Some hope to use the legislature as a stepping stone to higher office. Some hope to use the legislature as a stepping stone to becoming a highly compensated lobbyist. Some hope to use the legislature as a stepping stone to a government job that is better than what they presently have in the private sector. Some are like Jake and Elwood in the Blues Brothers movie: they are on a mission from God. Some are either retired or farmers without livestock and are looking for something to do. And yes, some are just trying to make the world a better place.

Legislators, like all of us, are far from perfect. Many may have confused their election certificates for being certificates of competence. Watchdogs like an ethics commission and a media that is not asleep at the wheel are more important than ever in a one-party state. One is reminded of the classic quotation of St. Augustine: “Lord, give me chastity and continence, but not yet!”