Who Watches The Watchmen?

When the State Ethics Commission dismisses allegations that are clearly unethical, you can’t help but wonder, who is keeping an eye on them?

The State Ethics Commission has dismissed illegal gratuity allegations against a Big Dig contractor accused of giving Red Sox tickets to a state inspector involved with four of the firm’s projects.

The commission ruled that Boston’s P.J. Riley & Co. did not violate a state conflict of interest law when executive vice president Thomas Riley allegedly gave pairs of tickets to three Sox games to Taylor Roth, a senior inspector at the state Board of Examiners of Plumbers and Gasfitters. Roth allegedly got the tickets in 2004-06, the same time that he was permitting and inspecting gas and plumbing work by the firm.

Sorry, this just doesn’t pass the stink test.

Mass GOP Files Ethics Complaint Against Speaker DiMasi

The Massachusetts GOP filed a complaint with the State Ethics commission today¬†in response to yesterday’s Boston Globe story which detailed how Speaker Sal DiMasi “may have helped fast-track legislation on behalf of a friend who extended him a $250,000 line of credit at a low rate.”

Rob Willington, Executive Director of the Mass GOP, released the following statement:

“Once again Speaker DiMasi has shown that when it comes to the Democrat party, ethics are optional. I won’t hold my breath waiting for the Democrats to do anything about it, because they have shown a complete unwillingness to do the right thing, even when blatant violations are staring them in the face. The voters will remember their arrogance this November, and Republicans will be there to remind them.”

A copy of the letter to the ethics commission is posted in the extended entry.

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Ethics Head Resigns

The Boston Herald reports on the resignation of the head of the state Ethics Commission.

The executive director of the state Ethics Commission, an agency that has been criticized for being too slow and too soft on some politicians, has announced he will step down at the end of the month.

Peter Sturges, 59, submitted his resignation letter to the five-member panel of commissioners on Friday.

A consultant hired three years ago to review the commission’s operations issued a report in October 2005 that said the agency moved too slowly and called for changes in the way complaints are reviewed and investigated.

The agency has also faced criticism for being soft on politicians, particularly legislators, who set the commission’s budget. The state Republican Party also reproached the commission earlier this year for not pursuing an investigation of Democratic Gov. Deval Patrick for a telephone call to a Citigroup official on behalf of subprime mortgage lender on whose board of directors he once served.

The 2005 report found no instances of favoritism.

Perhaps the new Executive Director will look into a little quid pro quo action courtesy of our Governor.

Ethics Commission Stonewalls Politics

The State Ethics Commission has effectively stonewalled political debate in favor of discord.

The State Ethics Commission has tightened its rules on political activity by public officials, barring them from writing stump speeches, answering campaign questions, or holding news conferences on political topics inside the State House or other state office buildings.

The advisory released last Thursday dramatically expanded the Ethics Commission’s restrictions on the use of public resources for political purposes. ”Elected officials should take appropriate steps to keep separate official and political activities and to ensure that political and campaign activities take place outside of their public offices,” the commission wrote.

For years, the commission has said the state conflict-of-interest law prohibits public officials from using public resources to gain an ”unwarranted privilege.” But previously, the commission cited fewer and more generic restrictions, barring use of office supplies and the state seal for political activities. It did not explicitly prohibit politically centered news conferences or political speeches.

This will have dramatic effects on both parties, particularly unfavorable to the Lt. Governor Kerry Healey. Of course, the Democrats are pleased with the decision. Philip Johnston, chairman of the Massachusetts Democratic Party said, “I’m delighted. We feel completely vindicated.” Johnston and the Democratic Party of Massachusetts have been filing complaints for two years with Ethics Commission, whining about alleged violations by Governor Romney. What surprises me here is that they are as confident as ever that they will take back the Corner Office, and they’ve just eliminated a possible job perk for their presumed victor–unless the know they will never take it back, in which case, they are silencing the perpetual Republican incumbency.

This decision by the Ethics Commission will do more harm than good. From now on, if a Beacon Hill pol announces a new policy, or a stance on legislation, or anything, the debate will not be about the content of the speech or announcement, it will be a debate on whether or not said candidate was delivering a campaign speech or a legitimate job duty.

Many see this decision as troublesome.

Several consultants, including two former gubernatorial press secretaries, said the advisory could significantly change the way public officials deal with the media. It is not uncommon for the governor or lieutenant governor to answer a broad range of questions, including political ones, at State House press conferences. But, under the new rules, once political questions dominate the news conference, it must be stopped. ”The press officer should conclude the interview by referring the media representative to the campaign for further discussion,” the advisory says.

”If the Ethics Commission intends to stop all political lines of questioning for elected officials inside the State House, that’s ridiculous and impractical,” said Rob Gray, a Republican consultant and press secretary to former governors William F. Weld and A. Paul Cellucci. ”These are elected officials. That in and of itself means there is a crossover between policy and politics. Stifling reporters’ questions only lets elected officials off the hook. What’s an elected official going to say when a reporter asks a political question — ‘Hey everybody get your coats and meet me at the corner of Beacon and Park streets and I’ll answer the question.’ It’s silly.”

This decision by the Ethics Commission is bad news for state politics. The Democrats may be happy today, but let’s say they do take back the Corner Office, what then? My guess is they won’t be so happy about this decision when (and if) it ever becomes their turn to enjoy the spoils of victory. Shall we take bets on how long it will be before the Democrats to attempt to get the power to politic from State buildings, if they ever take back the Corner Office?

UMass Suspends Gubernatorial Polling, Launches Probe

Via Fox12 WPRI Eyewitness News out of Providence/Bedford:

The University of Massachusetts has suspended polling on the governor’s race by its research center following a report that two pollsters were doing private political surveys on the side.

U-Mass president Jack Wilson has also ordered an investigation into the practices of the center.

The Boston Globe reported yesterday that Louis DiNatale, the center’s director, has moonlighted for years as a paid political consultant. That included persuading independent gubernatorial candidate Christy Mihos to hire DiNatale’s chief aide at U-Mass-Lowell to conduct a private poll.

The controversy has caught the attention of the House chairman of the Legislature’s Committee on Higher Education. Representative Kevin Murphy has asked the State Ethics Commission and the state Auditor to conduct an immediate review of the polling center.