Worley Scolded By Ethics Commission
Well, as we predicted, the complaint against Senator Ed Worley was dismissed, but not without a stern lecture!!
"The law provides no penalty for the appearance of impropriety, but if it did, the respondent could well be penalized on the facts before us," the commission wrote in its order. "In the future, the respondent must be more careful in conducting his private business in ways in which he might appear to be using his public office. He has assured the commission that he will."
Despite the lecture, Worley remained oblivious to our disgust with his profiting from funding that he voted for:
"The perception was created by (the Herald-Leader)," said Worley, who owns construction and development companies. "We were totally comfortable that we had done nothing improper or unethical."
No, Ed. The perception is created when you personally benefit from legislation you participate in making. It has nothing to do with you operating within inadequate ethics rules. It has nothing to do with what your political opponents say. It has nothing to do with the media.
There is no way to present that situation to make taxpayers feel good about it, because we all know that it's just another part of the Good-Ol'-Boy system separating the taxpayers from their earnings for the benefit of a connected few.
