Ethics in government is about putting people first — governing in a way that serves the interests of the general public, not big contributors or other special interests.

We must avoid "Pay to Play" situations in which campaign contributions influence the decisions of government officials. As a start, county elected officials, as well as high-level appointees, should be barred from accepting contributions from companies with which the county does business, or from the owners or executives of such companies.

Another impediment to good government is what we call the "revolving door." This is when government officials or employees do favors for private companies and in return are given lucrative jobs with those companies after leaving government. Strict rules should be put in place to prevent this.