Oakland League of Women Voters co-Vice President Judy Cox received chuckles from her politically astute audience Wednesday when she introduced two institutions honored at the league's annual luncheon. Both specialize in keeping Oakland clean but in different ways.

In the case of the Lake Merritt Institute, it means cleaning the trash out of Lake Merritt. It's a simple idea that turns out to be more complicated than meets the eye. The Public Ethics Commission tries to keep Oakland an ethical body politic instead of a trashy swamp.

The ethics commission is a complicated idea that turns out to be simple -- the goals are a lot like those rules we learned in kindergarten, or were supposed to. Both organizations do a good job, but by their very nature the problems will never end. Human beings will continue to dump trash that ends up in Lake Merritt, and some politicians will act unethically, believing they will never get caught.

Doing heavy lifting for Oakland is the Public Ethics Commission, established by a ballot measure as a way to keep the City Council clean by watching what it does and doesn't do -- like filing timely campaign statements and keeping government an open process with no back-room deals. Campaign statements and other state-required disclosure forms legally must be filed, but if they are not, the commission can depend on citizens to make a formal complaint.

Violation of the state's open government law, the Brown Act, and the Oakland Sunshine Ordinance are also examined when individuals stumble or deliberately evade public view.

Until now the commission has focused almost entirely on enforcement of the law, but Dan Purnell, executive director of the commission, said in the coming months the panel will turn its attention to the development of "a culture of ethics."

The idea was discussed at a retreat of the commission, whose members agreed to develop a citywide Code of Ethics that may include "inspirational goals and/or specific legislation to guide the conduct of city officials and employees." Including employees will add to the existing Code of Conduct that the City Council adopted several years ago.

Pursuing this new tack could make service on the commission more productive for members who spend most of their meetings listening to complaints from a few regulars who attend, or reacting to staff recommendations on what they can and should do about the complaints.

An even bigger problem is how to deal with the occasional complaint against a council member that turns out to be valid. The issue may beg for aggressive action. But the rules call for the commission to refer such issues to the city council. Not surprisingly, in the history of the commission, none has ever had a full hearing before the council.

The commission refers apparent violations of state laws to the state Fair Political Practices Commission, where they disappear forever.

Despite these structural barriers, members of the Public Ethics Commission do a remarkably ethical job themselves trying to keep Oakland clean.

Then there's the heroic work of the Lake Merritt Institute with Dr. Richard Bailey, a marine biologist, who tries to keep that beautiful jewel clean and sparkling. Upon receiving his award, Bailey credited more than 100 volunteers who regularly clean the lake of trash that passes through gutters and storm drains and ultimately lands in the lake.

Perhaps as an incentive to recruit more volunteers, Bailey told the roomful of league supporters that all kinds of good and bad things are found in the trash.

One woman volunteer found a diamond, said Bailey, who spared us hearing about the yucky stuff they find.

Bailey is concerned about the lake's future because Measure DD authorized major renovation of the lake and its immediate environs but did not include funds for maintenance of lake facilities. This means Bailey will have to depend heavily on volunteers to maintain various lake facilities that may be included in the improvements.

The Oakland Tribune: Cityside
Leanne McLaughlin, Managing Editor
(510) 208-6447
(510) 208-6477 Fax
lmclaughlin@angnewspapers.com Email

Oakland Tribune: General Contact Information
401 13th Street
Oakland, California 94612
(510) 208-6330 Switchboard
(510) 293-2709 Online Content
www.oaklandtribune.com