Reader Says Mayor Has Conflict Of Interest

Dear Editor,

When I first moved to Noblesville some 18 years ago I got on the wrong side of our then-mayor over his practice of funding the campaigns of his favorite city councilors. I thought it was a bad idea to have people who are supposed to represent their constituents beholden to another elected official, especially one that they are supposed to be keeping in check. It’s not illegal, but its also not good practice. At the very least it presents a conflict of interest. At worst it leads to cronyism, stifles new ideas and makes one wonder who the councilor is really representing.

So I was disappointed to learn that the apple didn’t fall too far from the tree, as the current mayor, a protégé of the past mayor, is continuing the same practice. Mayor Chris Jensen is raising funds to help get Dave Johnson elected to the council.

Dave Johnson is a decent guy. I met him on the campaign trail when he ran in the past. He seems competent, genuinely interested in public affairs, and apparently he really wants the job. But it’s hard to understand why he can’t see how this arrangement can compromise his judgment. The council controls the budget. If he has to choose between the mayor and his constituents on an issue do you really think he will ignore the guy who helped get him elected and put his constituents first? Do his constituents think so?

I guess its possible that he agrees with the mayor on all issues so there’s no conflict, and that, if true, is a problem itself.

Cronyism has had Noblesville mired in mediocrity for more than a generation now. We desperately need some new ideas and new approaches, but all we get is the same old thing. There are many reasons for that but having incumbents picking the very people who are supposed to be checking and balancing them doesn’t help. It was a bad idea 18 years ago and it’s a bad idea now.

Mike Corbett

Noblesville