Kevin Kamenetz - You're Not Allowed to be Ethical

There was an interesting editorial in The Sun this week. And I actually agreed with it. Can you imagine that? I don't think my views have changed. I think the editorialist's views have moved closer to mine. If you haven't used up your 15 free views for this month, check out this article.

Earlier this year Baltimore County Executive Kevin Kamenetz submitted an ethics proposal to the Baltimore County to review and approve. Here are the highlights of his proposal:

There are rules for dealing with conflicts of interests. When voting on a matter in which the councilman has a financial interest or any connection, that councilman would need to recuse himself from voting. The council struck that down.

Mr. Kamenetz included rules for accepting gifts from others. This could include tickets to events, meals, or any physical items presented to the councilmen. Outside of politics, we call this bribery. In politics, it's perfectly okay. This was struck down.

The Baltimore County Council has had some problems with past members. We all remember Sam Moxley's drunk driving. And Ken Oliver's embezzling from his own campaign treasury. Why would the county council vote against new ethics standards? Because they enjoy the good ole' boy politics. Why would they vote to keep themselves honest when it's so much fun being bad?

Kevin Kamenetz - looks like you're on your own.