Hell Yes

McAllen adopts an ethics ordinance that requires public officials to disclose conflicts of interest and abstain from voting on those matters. The McAllen City Commission also says officials have to disclose travel, lodging and meals from anyone doing business with the city.

This will go a long way toward eliminating conflicts of interest like we see in the McAllen school board, but one commissioner tells The Monitor the ordinance doesn't go far enough:

"On a scale of one to 10, I’d probably rate it a five, as a minimum ordinance, but it’s going to take time to get it better," Commissioner Marcus Barrera said. "I think it needs to go farther, but the problem is that every time in the past when we’ve brought it up, it’s always been debated to the point where we just never pass anything."

However, Mayor Richard Cortez tells the daily newspaper that the new rules might discourage some people from serving on municipal boards:

"A lot of people are very private people," he said. "If I’m asked to serve the city, and then as a requirement of serving the city would have to make certain financial disclosures, then some people may elect to say, 'You know what? It’s just not worth it for me to do that. I want to continue to be a private citizen'."

But as another politician once said: "If you can't stand the heat, get out of the kitchen." Sure, some people just want to serve their community and give back to the city. But far too many are only in it for what they can get out of it.

This new policy is a good start at cutting down on the cronyism.