The Chief-of-Staff’s Daughter

6.9 The Chief-of-Staff’s Daughter

Controversies: 3.15, 5.16 Key Words: mayor, nepotism, merit Case Complexity → Moderate CD: 4.17 President Obama’s Executive Order

Th e mayor of Edisonville, a midwestern community of 50,000, was reelected on a campaign pledge to make the city more responsive to its citizens. During the cam-

paign, one irate citizen described how difficult it was to obtain city budget data. “I just found the city bureaucracy to be a labyrinth, a maze, to work through.” As a member of council, you agree—“a lot of people don’t know who to call. I think it just shows we’re not as user-friendly as we might be.”

“What should we do?” you ask. A colleague pipes up: “Why not appoint an ombudsman—a person who can troubleshoot citizen problems and perhaps get things done faster and more effectively.” The idea is brought to the mayor, who thinks it is terrific. “Let’s do it! There’s money in the current year’s budget to cover the position; all that we need to do is to write the job description.”

A few weeks later the job description is posted in the city’s personnel job directory. Seven finalists are interviewed; all are well qualified. Among the finalists is the mayor’s chief-of-staff’s daughter, June. Her work experience includes nearly three years as a constituent services representative for Governor Hur. The mayor reviews the list of finalists and appoints his chief-of-staff’s daughter.

Discussion Questions

1. Is this an act of cronyism?

2. Is it an act of nepotism? June does not report directly to her dad, the chief- of-staff, but reports to the director of the Citizen Information Center. The

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mayor did have to sign a waiver of Municipal Code Section 6.78.432 which bars the city from employing a supervisor’s immediate family members in the supervisor’s department.

3. Should you speak to the mayor about this decision? Make an issue out of it at the next council meeting?

Case Assessment

Posted on the ETHTALK listserv by Tom Babcock:

I would pose the case study question another way: Should a well- qualified candidate for a city position be passed over solely because her father was the mayor’s chief-of-staff? Isn’t there inherent unfairness in denying employment solely because of parentage? This type of classism may have been common in Europe in the sixteenth through nineteenth centuries—and imported to the United States along with English col- onists—but I’ve always believed under American forms of governance it was individual accomplishment, qualification, and ability that count, not lineage. Also, what is the loss to the city? Do we stand to lose some of the best and brightest because they have some connection to the political power structure?

Case in point: A few years ago I found myself in several MPA classes with the daughter of a member of our city council. She was an outstanding student, a true valuable resource for any city. Through the proper person- nel process she became an intern for the city, then moved to a permanent position. Although ours is a charter mayor/council form of governance with a strong manager, the informal influence of council members cannot

be ignored, and is a fact of life. Under the strictest interpretation of ethics guidelines, a member of the council has, collectively with other members,

a supervisory role over the city manager and his subordinates. Thus, every department is under their control. Should that have prevented a council member’s daughter from receiving an internship; from staff employment?

Fortunately, in this case, it did not. Although this employee’s mother has since left the council, she remains a valuable asset to the city. She continues to be an asset. She has moved up in the bureaucracy entirely on her own merit.

Mark Monson, Deputy Director for Administration, Department of Health Professions, State of Virginia:

Th e sole purpose of the new position is to help make the bureaucracy of city government more responsive to the citizens. In order to be suc- cessful, the new ombudsman has to have the full support and ready ear

208 ◾ Ethics Moments in Government: Cases and Controversies

of the mayor—and everyone has to know that he or she has them both. For this to work, the mayor has to hire someone with whom he is com- pletely comfortable. In this case, it is the daughter of the chief-of-staff.

But the bottom line will always be results. If the daughter doesn’t get the job done, the fact that she’s his chief-of-staff’s daughter will put added pressure on the mayor to replace her. Plus, the fact that she’s the daughter of the mayor’s chief-of-staff will increase the pressure on her

to succeed. Let’s remember that we’re not talking about a building inspector or a police officer. This position is a highly charged political position. The rules and requirements for such a position can legitimately be very different.