Matt Bevin doesn’t see “any reason” why he should have to make his tax returns public.
Let me count the ways.
Just for example,
let’s say he is in a business partnership with someone, as reflected in
those returns; is elected, and that person starts getting state
contracts. Without knowing his tax returns, reporters---and
the public---would not be aware of a real conflict of interest.
Or say any candidate
for governor owns some property….it later turns out the state buys it
for a highway. Conflict of interest? Sure. (Has it happened? Yes.)
Just two examples of
why reporters, acting for all citizens, invade the privacy of
candidates for office and insist their financial returns be made public
BEFORE the election.
And it shouldn’t be
limited to candidates for governor. Republicans are challenging Andy
Beshear to make public his clients list before the election for
attorney-general. The same concerns over conflict of
interest expressed for the governor could well apply here. He, in his
official role, could favor a previous client or fail to act to protect a
previous client. You get the point.
And, in my mind, the
same approach applies to candidates for judgeships. I dislike their
accepting political contributions from lawyers or firms appearing before
them. Same for contributions for attorney-general
candidates.
Hopefully the noise
raised about Democrat Beshear and Republican Westerfield this time around will
lead to new and better rules for their positions, and the judges, by
the time of the 2019 elections. One can hope,
even in a state where the “politics are the damndest!”
I'm just sayin'...
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