During this month, I attended the Broward League of Cities board of directors meetings. This meeting was mainly about the upcoming ethics ordinance being considered by the League and its members. During the meeting, the ethics task force, committed to bring about an agreeable ethics doctrine for Broward County, presented the ordinance with new revisions and enthusiasm. After the presentation, additional concerns about the ethics ordinance’s implications on the individual cities’ rules and regulations, as well as its impact upon the municipal actors of Broward County were discussed and dealt with. Then, one of the most important aspects of any democratic institution arose, voting. The league ran down a list, city by city, of mayors, councilmen and other representatives in a call for affirmation or negation of the ordinance.

Although the vote was called due to time constraints and outward pressure coming from the public and local media, many cities were unable to vote and had to abstain from voting until they could obtain their respective cities’ collective approval or disapproval. The vote ended with a majority supporting the legislation, few opposing and many abstaining.  I believe that this initially demonstrates an important characteristic of the political sphere that is often underestimated on important issues, the pressure for a timely and effective response. This shows that being in office is not just about insuring the best policy gets approved, although that is a large part of the responsibility. It demonstrates that being in office is also about representing the best interest of your constituents in a manner that provides for policy change in a swift and efficient fashion. Moreover, I see this vote as illustrating the pressure that elected officials face when trying to enact any type of change.

As the Broward League of Cities president Debby Eisinger pointed out, if the ordinance isn’t passed with haste, then the media portrays the officials as being unable to decide on ethical issues. However, as other members pointed out, sometimes with haste comes error and ambiguity. Therefore, in order to tackle the changes that our community faces and remain in office, it takes qualities of ingenuity and diligence. These qualities are represented thoroughly in our communities elected officials, and my position as student ambassador has enabled me to observe them at their finest. In regards to the ordinance itself, I believe the general effort toward stricter guidelines to be an altruistic endeavor. Nonetheless, the issue of unfunded mandates on ethic education standards will present a problem that the Broward League of Cities will have to compensate for and ultimately overcome.

By: Alex Weiner