This Memorial Day weekend, Americans across the
nation joined together to pay respects to their
fallen military warriors. Warriors who made the
ultimate sacrifice to preserve the peace and freedoms
we all enjoy today.
Families, friends, travelers, fellow veterans,
the very young and very old and all those in between,
gathered together to honor these great Americans
who gave so much on behalf of the country they
so loved.
And, as if that were not enough, the nation will
come together once again on November 11, Veterans
Day, to express her profound appreciation to all
veterans for their faithful service to country.
As this year's Memorial Day observances drew
to a close, I tried to recall other groups or
individuals that have earned similar respect and
honor, albeit perhaps without necessarily being
designated a federal holiday. Police officers,
firemen and teachers quickly came to mind. Notable
civil rights and religious leaders as well.
There are others, I am sure.
But, conspicuously absent from my list, anyway,
seemed to be America's elected leaders.
With the exception of Washington's birthday,
a federal holiday celebrated in February, I struggled
to recall any other outpouring of interest in
honoring America's political leaders. Given their
significant impact on the welfare of the nation
and the rest of the world, that's a shame.
In these last few decades, have not our elected
officials made accomplishments deserving of honor?
Is there nothing about them deserving of honor?
Have they not given unabashedly of themselves
for the sake of others, expecting nothing in return?
Have they not always put public interests ahead
of their own? Have they not, time and time again,
shown great integrity, common sense and service
to others?
Have they not rightly earned a place at the table
of honor? Jerrol LeBaron, executive director of
Honor in Office doesn't think so. And, he's probably
not alone. Too bad. Too bad for America. Too bad
for California.
A former construction worker and entrepreneur,
LeBaron's on a mission to bring "integrity, honor,
honesty and common sense back into government."
And he plans to do it the old fashioned way by
using the California initiative process.
According to LeBaron, "No matter the party or
other affiliations, if the person in office is
not honest, hardworking and result oriented for
the people's best interest, it doesn't matter
who is in office or what their affiliations are.
This person can't be trusted."
He goes on to say, "The laws this person supports
and passes will be those that serve his or her
personal and vested interests, not the people's."
So, what's LeBaron's plan you ask? How does he
hope to restore honor and integrity to our political
process which he feels is so badly lacking? Well,
he's embarked on a well devised strategy to do
just that. And, he's starting with the California
Legislature.
LeBaron's non-partisan committee is working hard
to qualify his Honor in Office initiative for
the June 2010 primary ballot. If he gets his way,
LeBaron wants to see some very specific language
added to California law that's intended to restore
honor to our Legislature.
If approved by voters, new statutory language
would require California legislators to do a couple
things most of us probably assume they're already
doing or, at least, should be doing.
Legislators would be required to certify in writing
under penalty of perjury they have read the bill
they are about to vote on and understand its contents.
A vote in favor of passage of a bill would not
be counted unless such a certification had been
executed. Legislators would also have to certify
in writing they are in full compliance with the
law and constitution and have not fallen prey
to improper influence peddling, bribery and vote
trading, all considered illegal under Section
86 of the California Penal Code. Specifically,
Section 86 says the following: "Every Member of
either house of the Legislature...
who asks, receives, or agrees to receive, any
bribe, upon any understanding that his or her
official vote, opinion, judgment, or action shall
be influenced thereby...or offers or promises
to give, any official vote in consideration that
another Member of the Legislature shall give this
vote either upon the same or another question...
is punishable by imprisonment in the state prison
for two, three, or four years and, in cases in
which no bribe has been actually received, by
a restitution fine."
If he hopes to get his proposition on the June
2010 primary ballot, LeBaron will need to collect
some 700,000 qualified signatures starting July
20. They're due to the Secretary of State's office
by Nov. 15, giving him about 120 days to get the
job done.
You can learn more about the Honor in Office
initiative and how you can help by going to their
website at www.honorinoffice.org.
As for me, the Honor in Office initiative appears
to be a good, logical first step towards returning
honor, integrity, honesty and common sense back
to government. I'll be keeping a close eye on
this initiative as the official ballot language
is finalized. Unless something of significance
changes, I expect to be supporting this particular
ballot measure and maybe even collecting signatures.
Perhaps one day in the future we'll feel obliged
to publicly honor our elected leaders more than
we do today.
Unfortunately, I'm afraid that day won't come
any time soon.
But, one can only hope and persevere.
--------- Col. Pete Stiglich, retired, served
26 years in the US Air Force and lives in Cottonwood.
Write to him at peterstiglich@yahoo.com.
