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My Personal Code of Ethics in Public Service

  1. Trustworthiness: My role is first and foremost to serve the community.
     
  2. Fairness: I am impartial and do not favor those who have helped me or are in a position to do so.
     
  3. Responsibility: I work to improve the quality of life in the community and to promote the best interests of the public.
     
  4. Respect: I gain value from diverse opinions and work to build consensus.
     
  5. Compassion: I am attuned to, and care about, the needs and concerns of the public, officials and staff.
     
  6. Loyalty: The public’s interests rise above personal and political loyalties.

     

Ethics Reform

As a member of the social work profession, professional ethics are central to my core values. Service, social justice, dignity and worth of the person, importance of human relationships, integrity and competence are the foundation of my commitment to public service.

I believe that our city’s ethics and elections codes should reflect all appropriate local, state and federal laws and regulations. Yet, the City of San Jose should identify and implement best practices found in many municipal ethics programs including all or part of the following:

  • Hire a fulltime Ethics Officer to implement an ethics plan, to coordinate training and to offer quick and informal advice;
     
  • Implement a Sunshine Ordinance that will inspire a knowledgeable citizenry;
     
  • Create a Whistle-Blower Hotline to encourage reporting of ethics violations;
     
  • Update our Ethics Code to highlight values and obligations expected of city employees and appointed and elected city officials;
     
  • Broaden the scope of our Elections Commission to ensure greater enforcement and to generate new proposals strengthening our Ethics Program;
     
  • Require that all elected officials, department heads and members of our city’s boards and commissions participate in an ethics education program to include at least four hours of ethics training with annual updates; and
     
  • Promote a values-based Code of Ethics on the home page of our city website and on official city publications and reports, where appropriate.

As a professional social worker with a passion for values-based ethics, I will advocate for an update of our city’s ethics program so that our residents can once again have confidence in the integrity of our city government.