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Educating Public Officials on Ethics

The ignorance – or at least the claimed lack of awareness – of ethics laws among public officials never ceases to amaze us.

From failure to obey state open meetings laws to outright misuses of public money, outrageous behavior by local government officials is all too common in West Virginia.

In an effort to counter that, the state Ethics Commission is offering a one-hour training session on the law, to be held next week in Charleston. It is open to government officials and employees, as well as the public.

Perhaps the workshop will do some good, even if it is unlikely to prevent truly unscrupulous officials from abusing taxpayers’ trust.

Ethics Commission officials may want to consider taking their show on the road. Similar workshops held throughout the state would appeal to some part-time officials – those most in need of education on ethics laws.

If the Charleston session indicates interest, the commission should consider others.

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