GOOD GOVERNANCE STATEMENT
The concept of “governance” is not new. It is as old as human civilization. At its foundation, “governance” means the process of decision-making; the process by which decisions are implemented, or not implemented.
When speaking of Good Governance, we focus on the following; Good Governance is:
- Participatory
- Consensus oriented
- Accountable
- Transparent
- Responsive
- Effective and efficient
- Equitable and inclusive
And importantly, Good Governance follows the rule of law. It assures that corruption is minimized and takes into account the views of minorities ensuring that the most vulnerable in society have a voice. Good Governance, at its core, is responsive to the present and future needs of society.
(https://www.unescap.org/sites/default/files/good-governance.pdf)
The Government Action Team focuses on ensuring the practice of Good Governance for Manatee County. This committee is a strong advocate for public participation and closely monitors government practices for ethics through observation of public meetings of the Board of County Commissioners. The committee documents the practice of governance for Manatee County by bringing attention to the behaviors of our commissioners, those that meet expectations as well as those that do not. The committee also encourages public participation.
OBSERVER CORPS
Ensuring the practice of good governance for Manatee County is done via a corps of dedicated members who observe and report on public meetings of the Board of County Commissioners.
As publicly elected officials, County Commissioners have an inherent responsibility to all constituents of Manatee County, not just those who voted for them. They are required to conduct their business for the County in the sunshine, meaning in full view of the public. County Commissioners are expected to act ethically and transparently though such behavior is particularly important when issues are controversial with oppositional points of view. It is critical that the public feel confident their voice and concerns are being not only heard, but considered, prior to any decision being made.
The observers issue email reports on regular, budget and some special Board of County Commissioner meetings. As a guide to their observations, League members use the good governance guidelines on this link. These email reports have items of interest and governance/sunshine observations. To receive these reports, go to https://lwvmanatee.org/ and enter your name and email address in “Get Our Emails”.
The worst disease in the world today is corruption. And there is a cure: transparency. ” Bono
ANTI-CORRUPTION MOVEMENT
The goal of the Anti-corruption movement is to pass powerful state and local laws that fix our broken elections and put an end to political bribery. This strategy is central to dismantling the root causes of inequities in our democracy, ending political corruption, extremism and gridlock. The movement includes independents, progressives, and conservatives building on America’s long tradition of pursuing federal reform through the states.
Since 2014, over 100 transformative anti-corruption laws have been passed in cities and states across America, including anti-gerrymandering, ranked choice voting, sweeping ethics and transparency laws.
