CREW (Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington) has released its list of 11 most incompetent and unethical governors in the nation. They produce an in-depth analysis of those that have “pushed their states’ best interests aside in favor of their supporters, families, political parties and bank accounts.”
CREW has put up a website for the worst governors.
CREW reviewed the job performance of all 50 of our nation’s governors to determine which are the worst. We considered whether governors had violated ethics, campaign finance and personal financial disclosure rules as well as whether they had complied with state transparency laws. It is nearly impossible to compare governors’ adherence to the laws because state rules and laws vary so widely. Each state has its own ethical rules and standards. Requirements regarding disclosure of campaign contributions and expenditures and personal finances differ significantly as do state open records laws. Some states make much more information publicly available than others.
Despite these difficulties, CREW was been able to reach some general conclusions about which governors violated agreed upon notions of competence, transparency and integrity.
Here is their list:
- Governor Haley Barbour (R-MS)
- Governor Donald Carcieri (R-RI)
- Governor Jim Gibbons (R-NV)
- Governor Bobby Jindal (R-LA)
- Governor David Paterson (D-NY)
- Governor Sonny Perdue (R-GA)
- Governor Rick Perry (R-TX)
- Governor Bill Richardson (D-NM)
- Governor Mike Rounds (R-SD)
- Governor Mark Sanford (R-SC)
- Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger (R-CA)
I have provided the link to Governor Jim Gibbons because he is the Governor of my state of Nevada.
CREW summarizes the transgressions of Gibbons as:
Charges:
- Violated campaign finance law by accepting illegal corporate donations
- Allegedly assaulted a waitress
- Overlooked ethical lapses of his appointee
- Misused state resources in pursuit of an extra-marital affair
- Endangered his state’s economy by threatening to reject federal stimulus funds
- Has been investigated for his conduct as a member of Congress
Those charges against Gibbons are analyzed and set forth in-depth here.
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