Here’s an example of a state lawmaker going out of his way to avoid the appearance of impropriety, and doing something pretty darn generous in the process.
House Minority Leader Tom Taylor, R-Farmington, has donated 1.5 acres of land to
Taylor and his sisters have owned five acres of land next to the county’s
The day has arrived. County officials were planning to turn an old detention facility in nearby Aztec into a meth treatment facility with the help of a $2.9 million grant from the state, but the jail was deemed unfit. As officials searched for a new location, they decided the best option would be adding on to the DWI center, the newspaper reported.
That meant they’d need land owned by
So he convinced his sisters to agree to donate it.
I don’t think it would have been inappropriate for
But they should have to follow the same rules and regulations as others. As far as I can tell, Cervantes has done that.
The line is crossed when a public official creates an appearance that he or she is seeking or receiving special treatment because of his or her official position. That’s what Sen. Mary Jane Garcia did recently when, a few weeks after her bar was cited for serving an intoxicated person, she called officials from
Especially since her case was still pending, she created the appearance that she was threatening, at a meeting she called in her official capacity, those who were responsible for disciplining her bar.
As long as
Some other lawmakers could learn a few things from the House minority leader.