Government Best Practices in Governance Initiative to tackle Public Corruption

The El Paso, Texas region has been affected by a public corruption scandal over the last several years that has its basis in an investigation launched by the U.S. Attorney’s offices for the Western District of Texas to probe the allegations of “pay to play” involving contractors, business services, and investment advisors, plying political contributions to key political leaders at the County Government level and in the independent school district boards in order to gain access to and secure awards for various public works projects and services.

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Additionally, there is a dimension to the investigation that began with probing the operations of a non-profit entity which was a major supplier of uniforms and other military apparel, including gas related protection gear, under a little known law adopted in the mid 1930s under the Franklin Roosevelt administration. This law was geared to promote the active employment of blind individuals for manufacturing or other types of work/services on a basis that blind individuals would have difficulties in being hired for employment by employers in the mainstream economy. The law is known as the Wagner-O’Day Act, and it was passed in 1938. The law was updated and revised in 1971 through its U.S. Senate sponsor, former Senator Jacob Javits of New York, (the act is known today as the Javits-Wagner-O’Day Act (41 U.S.C. 46-48e), expanding its scope to include severe physical disabilities beyond blindness.

There are several administrative dimensions to this law, but in the case of the El Paso based non-profit, it was alleged that the non-profit was not hiring sufficient disabled individuals to establish a workforce of not less than 70% as meeting the definitional standard for being physically disabled, thereby violating the provisions of the law for the sole source procurement that the statute directs under the objectives of the law to provide meaningful employment and work to such a classification of employee. (The criminality is alleged on the basis of knowingly doing this and misrepresenting to the U.S. government and the governing agency the compliance with the provisions of the statute.)

This condition resulted in a federal investigation to determine whether this failure to abide the legal standard was purposeful and therefore criminal. It related to a procurement process between industry and government, and the FBI began the investigation on this basis and eventually expanded it to cover various procurement practices in the region involving predominantly the County of El Paso and the independent school districts.

The situations involved the awarding of contracts by these governmental entities to private business enterprises, but the selection of the business enterprises, it is alleged, was driven by political contributions that on the face are legal but in their effect and use crossed a line of legality, acting, instead, as “bribes” because there is alleged to be a correlation between the timing of the payment for such contributions and the award of certain contracts. In the words of the allegations, a “quid pro quo” for the contribution in the form of directed awards of contractual services, even under the guise of competitive procurement processes.

The manner of payments, in a surreptitious manner, also suggested something improper as alleged by the prosecution/enforcement authorities pursuing the cases.

Fundamentally, though, the dragnet of corruption allegations placed a damper on the perception and view that the El Paso region was living up to non-corrupt in awarding government contracts and abiding by professional standards of business conduct, and, as such, was poised to advance economically because of its ability to do so. This series of allegations involving at least 19 elected officials, business individuals, and governmental entities, appeared to affirm that the business of government was for sale to the bidder with the greatest influence and, for that reason, the business community determined that this type of conduct and perception had to be eliminated, if for no other reason than economic development and sustainability required it.

From this clarion call, evolved the idea of tackling the issues behind political corruption and doing so with an engaged group of former political, business and community leadership to define an agenda for a public discussion concerning the effects and the resolutions related to these matters and the abuse of trust that they represent.

The initial research confirms that an initiative with this type of scope and effort is unprecedented and its emphasis on the citizen engagement takes us back to our basic governance standards for government process and action. It also revisits the idea that the government is a process that serves the citizenry but at the authorization of the citizenry and no other; it is a characteristic that makes the U.S. system of policy development and governance unique. However, if the citizen does not watch it; engage it; and participate within it, the opportunity for corruption is strong and the concentration of power a reality. The Founders believed in checks and balance to affirm the limits of government power and to dissipate the general predisposition to concentrate political power. The answer to the dilemma of corrupt influences and practices lies within that type of structure that continues to evolve and grow with the society.

The efforts to date have been to define the possible issues that underscore the basis for corruption and the possible resolutions to that state. Additionally, a challenge has been in the recognition that politics and corruption, though accommodated to some degree, need not be. It some ways, it is the consummate practical civics lesson at work; and, in the same way, it invites the cynicism that the ideals of such a civic lesson teach.

The next major step is to engage the public in a series of public meetings to initiate the dialogue about whether this is an issue that people believe is real, and, if real, whether they believe they can solve it, or even should solve it, or simply accept it as part of the process. The choice will determine whether economic balance and growth will actually thrive, or whether the insularity created by power appointments and control will ultimately dictate the future of the region and its real economic prospects. These dialogues are scheduled to begin in September, 2009.