HessForGovernor Government Corruption and Waste Position Paper

Corruption and Waste

We need only look to our current Governor and Attorney General who not only abdicated their responsibilities to protect the resources of Arizona’s Citizens but they have delivered to us the glaring examples of extra-Constitutional squandering in the Alternative Fuels Fiasco, the use of public funds to favor a major private entertainment venture, that I call “Fumble Field”, and scores of other examples.

I am the sole candidate in this race for governor who will maintain a ‘zero tolerance’ policy toward violations of the rights of Arizona individuals…by public officials. There will be full accountability in a Hess administration, and an open door policy to insure the appropriate vigilance in keeping with the words, “for the People”.

To borrow the words of an astute pundit, ‘Our Constitution isn’t perfect, but it’s better than what we have now’. The countless boondoggles and examples of arrogant corruption that surround this great State’s recent history make it obvious that the only way to step back up, is to clear the decks of extraneous government, to rid ourselves of the extra-constitutional departments and agencies which lack any significant value and follow the rules designed in our state charter.

Arizonans of all backgrounds are sick and tired of the growing problem of political corruption and abuse. Every day more and more examples of the abuse of power by elected and appointed officials hit the newsstands. These problems are epidemic in both the Democratic and the Republican parties.

If you or I did this, we would be subject to criminal prosecution and fines. Why should our legislators allow themselves to do something wrong? Should we be surprised that a group of people who cannot restrain themselves from spending frivolously cannot balance our state’s budget?

Both parties in our legislative and executive offices have voted to give themselves dozens of special privileges and benefits—from new trendy furniture to passing laws that do not apply to them. How different is this from the way that kings, queens, and dictators make demands of their citizens while they do what they please?

To make it harder to challenge their power, both parties have cooperated in enacting laws that make it very difficult and extremely expensive to challenge.

If the business of our state administration were anything other than politics, people would be calling for many of our legislators to be subject to anti-trust laws to prevent their monopoly from being abused ever again.

Our politicians have had no problem finding the time or spending the money to give themselves a big, fat raise. Wouldn't you love it if you only had to vote "yes" to get a huge raise whenever you wanted one? Doesn't this make it clear that members of our state government see themselves as a special, privileged class?

Libertarians believe that elected officials do not deserve and should not have any rights or privileges that are different from those of any other citizen. We support the elimination of special rights and privileges for elected or appointed government officials and a full, easily available accounting of all of their activities. As well as revision of state laws to enable all candidates for elective office to be included on election ballots.

We have to stop protecting the process of expanding government at the expense of the progress of the individual.

We have to stop asking our political representatives “what’s right” and “what’s wrong”, and start telling them what’s right and what’s wrong. And that means we each share the responsibility for keeping our state administration honest and fully accountable.

Our States’ corruption is Like A Rhinoceros in the living room; nobody has to mention it to know it’s there. But just knowing about it is not enough; we have to actually do something to change it.

This paper was written during the 2002 Arizona Gubernatorial Campaign.