Stewart’s Blog: Elected Officials Working for Non-Profits is a Bad Idea

Recent developments on the local jobs front shows elected officials gaining employment -while holding elected office – with non-profit organizations.

In these jobs, the elected officials are being asked to raise money and keep their board members and financial donors satisfied.

This is a really bad idea. And here’s why.

Do you remember the Clinton Foundation?

In a report published in August 2016 by CBS, a news organization not known to be enemies of the Clinton’s, said that “Officials have long acknowledged they’d (Clinton Foundation) need to curb their donor policy if Hillary Clinton becomes president, and though they announced those changes last week, there are still questions about potential conflicts of interest it could present for a Clinton White house.”

The report also stated that though “former President Bill Clinton defended the charity’s work…, in a recent letter to donors even he admitted there are ‘legitimate concerns about potential conflicts of interest’ if his wife becomes president. ”

In addition, Doug White, who advises nonprofits and philanthropists on ethics, says the issue is “the intermingling of politics or government and the nonprofit world.”

“Even if she doesn’t exercise it, the fact that she could creates a potential conflict of interest,” he said.

And now the same problem has arrived in Tallahassee.

The Tallahassee Democrat recently reported about the hiring of Leon County Commissioner Nick Maddox by the Leon County Schools Foundation. Maddox said his job is to raise money.

But wait a minute. What if someone who has business before the County Commission writes a $5,000 check at Mr. Maddox’s request for the Foundation, is this a conflict?

How about a Foundation Board member seeking a favorable vote on an issue – a conflict?

We recently reported about a non-profit group with a board full of state lobbyists hiring a House member as their President. Lobbyists setting the salary of a House member -is this even legal? If so, look for more non-profits hiring elected officials.

In the end this is nothing more but the continuation of self-dealing among those elites who do not know the difference between self service and public service.

And so it goes.

  non-profits, Stewart’s Blog