We like integrity. We think integrity is important. We believe that integrity should be a crucial factor when public officials are doing the work of the people. And yet, in their own unique way, Clark County commissioners last week managed to turn the notion of integrity into a clownish escapade that wasted valuable time and resources.
Actually, before we go any further, allow us to amend that previous statement. In their own unique way, Commissioners David Madore and Tom Mielke managed to turn several commission meetings into a sort of governmental circus. To lump fellow Commissioner Steve Stuart with Madore and Mielke would be unfair to Stuart; he argued against and voted against the resolution.
But Madore and Mielke went ahead and passed a 13-page resolution that began life as an “integrity resolution” designed to proclaim that the C-Tran board broke faith with the community when it approved a potential light-rail funding plan in September. Containing 31 “whereas” statements, 97 references linking mostly to government websites, and links to four videos starring Madore and produced by his media company, the document was the subject of several commission meetings and more than a month of acrimony.
Along the way, Madore took it upon himself to include a definition of “integrity.” This was a curious inclusion, considering that the Clark County Human Resources Policy Manual already contains such a definition. That’s where things get messy for the commissioners, because the county’s definition specifies: “As an example, a person with integrity follows a job application rating system, even when it screens out a friend.” Given the manner in which Madore and Mielke hired state Sen. Don Benton as the county’s director of environmental services earlier this year, it’s no wonder they wished to redefine “integrity” so it was more to their liking.