Better oversight of lawmakers might have stopped Kwame Kilpatrick

Thanks to the federal racketeering indictment handed down last week, it is now known that former Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick’s abuse of public office began at least 10 years ago when as a state representative he got the legislature to appropriate $800,000 to non-profits that were supposed to help children and seniors but instead covered personal expenses for him and his wife Carlita.

Dome magazine’s Jack Lessenberry points out that increased scrutiny during his time at as legislator might have stopped Kilpatrick before he had a chance to perpetrate larger financial crimes on the city of Detroit.

One simple way Michigan might reduce the chances that politicians will use their offices to enrich themselves — or at least make it easier to catch them if they do — is to require legislators to file regular financial disclosure statements. Michigan is one of only three states that don’t require this.

“There is a very strong linkage between disclosure requirements, improved performance, and improved ethical behavior, all of which lead to an increased level of accountability, “Gov.-elect Rick Synder states on his transition website.

Snyder has proposed a series of ethics reforms, but so far financial disclosoure for public officials is not among them.