Skip to main content
Markkula Center for Applied Ethics

Stories

Arizona Politicians Violate Financial Reporting Laws With Impunity as State Agencies Bicker

John Pelissero, senior scholar in government ethics, quoted by The Arizona Republic.

An investigation by The Arizona Republic found candidates and elected officials across the political spectrum misreport required details about jobs, assets and income. But the lack of any kind of official review process means the vast majority are never challenged.exempt themselves from it," Pelissero said.

The public has a right to know where candidates and officials are getting their money, and authorities should enforce laws on candidates who don't accurately report, said John Pelissero, a senior scholar in government ethics at the Markkula Center for Applied Ethics at Santa Clara University.

"If you have a law on the books and you are not enforcing it, that erodes trust in government." he said. "If the state is not enforcing it, that is an affront to the rule of law."

"Those who make policy shouldn't exempt themselves from it," Pelissero said.

John Pelissero, senior scholar in government ethics, quoted by The Arizona Republic. (Paywall)

Ethics
media, government