After 25 years, Miami-Dade’s Ethics Commission remains a guardian of the public trust | Opinion

“When you see something that is not right, not fair, not just, you have to speak up. You have to say something; you have to do something.”

The late U.S. Rep. John Lewis

Twenty-five years ago, the voters of Miami-Dade County spoke up and did something. They used the power of their vote to amend the county’s home rule charter to create the Miami-Dade Commission on Ethics and Public Trust.

Their vote was based on the basic truth that government should serve the governed, not the governing. They believed that local government employees and government officials had a special duty to abide by a standard of ethics in order to maintain the trust of those they serve. The Ethics Commission was created to serve as the guardian of the public trust.

As a result of the referendum, the County Commission enacted the Miami-Dade Conflict of Interest and Code of Ethics Ordinance and other ethics laws that every local government official and government employee must abide by in Miami-Dade County. The Code establishes a minimum standard of ethical conduct and behavior, and its provisions promote transparency in government and protect against cronyism and self-dealing.

The Ethics Commission is tasked with bolstering public confidence in the administration of government by informing the public and private sectors about the county’s ethics laws and seeking strict compliance with them. For more than two decades, the agency has stayed true to its mission by conducting trainings, providing opinions and enforcing the Ethics Code.

The Ethics Commission has handled more than 900 formal complaints, conducted more than a thousand self-initiated investigations and worked with the Miami-Dade State Attorney’s Office (SAO) and other law-enforcement agencies on joint investigations that led to the arrest and prosecution of elected officials and government employees. Most recently, as a result of a joint investigation, a Medley councilwoman was arrested and charged with organized scheme to defraud and grand theft, both felonies.

The Ethics Commission’s enforcement function is one of the features that makes our agency unique. A visiting foreign dignitary told us that most countries and other jurisdictions have a lot of “nice” sounding ethics laws on the books, but there is frequently no mechanism to enforce them.

This is not lost on me as the newly appointed Advocate at the Ethics Commission because, like many other first-generation citizens of this community, I was born in a country rife with corruption. Having witnessed the devastating impact that corruption had on Sierra Leone, the country of my birth, and how ethics violations create distrust in government, I am passionate about our work at the Ethics Commission because I understand what is at stake.

In my role as Advocate, I lead the Ethics Commission’s enforcement function which is tasked with conducting investigations of possible violations of county and municipal ethics laws. I also have the responsibility for filing complaints, making probable cause recommendations, and litigating cases before the Ethics Commission.

The decision to initiate an ethics investigation or the filing of an ethics complaint is not a decision taken lightly, because I understand the impact that being wrongfully accused of an ethics violation has on an elected official or government employee. In fact, my family fled Sierra Leone as a result of one of several military coups disguised as efforts to rid the nation of corruption. I understand that political influence and bias have no place in ethics investigations and prosecutions.

It is no mistake that the Ethics Commission is an independent agency with advisory and quasi-judicial powers. In fact, Ethics Commissioners are neither appointed nor can they be removed by the County Commission or Miami-Dade mayor.

In my leadership role as the agency’s Advocate, I will ensure that Ethics Commission investigations continue to be impartial, unbiased, thorough and objective. Every person accused of an ethics violation will be treated with fairness and respect. We will continue to work tirelessly to bolster public trust in government by holding wrongdoers accountable while ensuring fairness, integrity and transparency in our government processes.

However, we cannot do our work in a vacuum. We need your help.

You can report misconduct anonymously on the Ethics Hotline at 786-314-9560 or send an email to ethics@miamidade.gov. You can also file a formal complaint by visiting our website: ethics.miamidade.gov.

We ask the residents of Miami-Dade to again, speak up when they see something that is not right, fair or just in local government.

Radia Turay was recently appointed Advocate for the Miami-Dade County Commission on Ethics and Public Trust.

This story was originally published November 19, 2021 at 1:39 PM.