Lancaster District Judge Kelly Ballentine will find out later this month whether the state Judicial Conduct Board will force her to vacate her post for fixing three of her own parking tickets.
As one who metes out punishment to others for failure to pay parking tickets and other fines, it's not hard to see the hypocrisy of her actions.
We expect public officials at all levels to exercise the kind of ethical judgment that sets them apart from the rest of society.
So why does Gov. Tom Corbett seemingly have a blind spot when it comes to accepting gifts?
The Philadelphia Daily News reported that Corbett and his wife, Susan, accepted $11,343 worth of gifts in 2010, when Corbett was running for office, and in 2011, his first year as governor.
Some of the gifts appear to violate the Governor's Code of Conduct, an executive order signed in 1980 by then-Gov. Dick Thornburgh designed to weed out corruption or the appearance of impropriety that haunted Gov. Milton J. Shapp's administration.
The Code asserts that "No employee, appointee or official in the executive branch of the commonwealth may solicit or accept for personal use of himself or another, a gift, gratuity, favor, entertainment, loan or other thing of monetary value from a person who" is seeking business from, or regulated by, the commonwealth.
Yet, Corbett, as governor-elect, accepted tickets for the 2011 outdoor Winter Classic hockey game in Pittsburgh from University of Pittsburgh Medical Center vice president and lobbyist Robert Kennedy. In October of that year, as governor, he stepped in to help resolve a dispute between UPMC and Highmark insurance. The two entities, which settled their previous dispute, are now engaged in another turf war in Western Pennsylvania.
As governor in 2011, Corbett and his wife went on a Rhode Island yachting vacation with business executive John Moran, whose fracking waste-recycling business was under investigation by the state Department of Environmental Protection.
That same year, Corbett went on a private flight to Pittsburgh with Frank Schoeneman, an executive with a chain of beauty schools. Last year, Corbett signed a law making it easier for students at cosmetology schools to obtain licenses.
A Corbett spokesperson said the governor makes his decisions based on what he believes is best for all Pennsylvania. She also noted that the governor has complied with the letter of the law to report these gifts.
True, but these donors also are buying access to a man who has the ability to mold legislation that aids their businesses.
Obviously, there are some caveats —\!q personal items often are given to governors and their spouses as mementos for attending events or for hosting dignitaries. Those, too, are spelled out in the Code.
Employees of state agencies, it bares noting, are strictly forbidden to accept any gifts.
When it comes to accepting gifts from people whose businesses are under investigation or linked to legislation, one would think that Corbett's legal and/or political instincts would kick in. As a former Pennsylvania attorney general, Corbett should recognize that the mere appearance of a conflict of interest constitutes a conflict of interest.
There appear to be no provisions to enforce the Governor's Code of Conduct if, in fact, it was violated.
But having accepted these gifts as he did underscores a peculiar political ineptness on the part of a governor whose ratings continue to plunge one year before the next gubernatorial election.
