Introduction
Misuse of public funds due to personal and greedy intentions at the expense of the society that has entrusted you as a public administrator or a representative is a move that contradicts administration ethics. The ethical conduct of public officials is an important subject that has raised attention. Unauthorized activities, undetected practices, and politicization of funding decisions, among other allegations where trusted public officials tend to lob improperly, and misuse of funds is a common thing that needs to end (Alschuler, 2022). Duncan Hunter, a California Republican, is a victim of misuse of public funds through corruption and personal gains. Whereas a public official or administrator is entitled to be trustworthy, transparent, and avoid any forms of corruption, Duncan Hunter fails these tests.
Inappropriate Actions by Duncan Hunter
Duncan Hunter has been a Republican United States of America Representative of San Diego county for approximately 30 years. Hunter was indicted due to unethical misconduct in August 2018 and was accused of misusing more than $200,000 (Basinger, 2022). The reports say that the hundred dollars were spent funding family travel to Hawaii and Italy, campaign funds, school tuition, dancing competitions, video games for his children, jewelry, and groceries. In addition, Duncan Hunter spent some of the money on extramarital affairs. In order to justify himself and conceal the illegal spending of public funds by listing and including the money in the federal records, it was used as donations for military expenses. After his indictment, he claimed to be a victim of a political witch hunt where a year later, after his arrest, he pleaded guilty to a charge amounting to $150,000 in campaign money that he conspired with his wife (Basinger, 2022). According to the prosecutors, improper spending of the funds included a birthday gathering for his daughter in a luxurious hotel in California and outing activities with friends in Washington.
Violations of Ethical Principles in Public Administration
Duncan Hunter violated some fundamental principles through which public administration is founded. The fundamental principles are instrumental in shaping and guiding public representatives, office bearers, and political personnel such as congress seats and Republican representatives. They are important as they instill values and standards within the state, the public, and the government. These principles include; political supremacy, public accountability, tenets of democracy, fairness, and reasonableness, balanced decisions, thoroughness, probity, efficiency, and effectiveness, among others.
Firstly, Duncan Hunter failed to follow the virtue of political supremacy by not being cognizant of his official duties. Despite the legislature having authority over political office bearers and their official sphere of work, the Republican representative misappropriated the public funds for personal gains. This principle implies that no public institution has the mandate to change the nature of how the legislature functions. Duncan Hunter’s violation was financial mismanagement; he spent public funds without the legislature’s approval.
Secondly, any public administrator should display a sense of responsibility in their efforts to perform their duties. It means that political office bearers or public officials should conduct themselves above reproach to give account to the public. Analogously, these personnel need financial accountability and responsibility to submit genuine and honest annual financial reports and statements to the legislature. Duncan Hunter was contrary to this principle when he dishonestly filed federal financial reports after misspending public funds by claiming to have spent the money on military expenses.
Thirdly, in a democratic country, tenets of democracy provide a framework through which public officials are barred from abusing the powers entrusted to them by the public by furthering their interests. Further, the tenets of democracy require that public authorities’ activities be practiced in broad light, and at no point, should there be veils of secrecy. Concerning financial affairs, for instance, the budget should be debated in the presence of the public (Miller, 2018). In addition, no public official is entitled to prejudice the public’s rights and freedoms by endangering and excluding their welfare. The provisions of the rule of law should prevail. Together with his family, the Republican representative went against the provisions of the tenets of democracy, and he failed to practice transparency in public funds.
It is a requirement for public representatives to practice fairness and reasonableness. It is their mandate to promote fairness and reasonableness to the people that have entrusted them. Duncan Hunter spent plenty of money on his daughter’s birthday party, whose venue was not ordinary. Rather, it was a posh hotel, and taking a group of his friends to Washington at a French bistro just for the outing was not fair and reasonable. Using public funds for personal interests is unfair and unjust to the public.
All steps and decisions a public administrator takes are balanced if only it becomes accountable fully to all the aspects of any matter. Being accountable for any decision made is important because it may impact the general public either directly or indirectly. One aspect of a balanced decision is that it is mindful of equal treatment under the rule of law. For instance, it is the mandate of a public official such as a Republican representative to state and outline the budget considering political, economic, and social conditions in all aspects of revenue and expenditure. Duncan Hunter made some decisions that needed to be balanced, as he was not accountable for the public fund’s expenditure. He went ahead to make fake and accurate federal reports of the finances.
Thoroughness and Probity are codes of ethics that any public official should follow. Thoroughness implies that quality of service and a high standard of work should be maintained and rendered to the public. Concerning this code of conduct, under no circumstances a public official should condone the waste of public funds and resources. High ethical conduct is necessary for good governance and proper financial management, especially in the Public Finance sector (Cortese, 2022). Naturally, public servants are expected to shun wasteful and fruitless spending of funds. The Republican Congress failed to adhere to this code of ethics by failing to use public funds thoroughly but instead spent it for personal gains, family activities, and friends’ leisure.
On the other hand, political officers and officials must have clear motives while performing all their duties. This means that no official is expected to take advantage of their authority to gain or secure any form of inadmissible or preferential favors for themselves or a person of interest; instead, they should maintain a clear conscience and be ready to withstand any public scrutiny that may be called for. Duncan Hunter and his wife failed the test of public scrutiny and were guilty of misusing public funds.
Conclusion
All officials of public administration should maintain high standards of code of ethics and outlined codes of ethics should accompany administrative responsibility. The elements that define administrative responsibility among public officials include authority, accountability, neutrality, openness, and virtue. Maintaining the proper codes of ethics in a public organization leads to a smooth administration and wins the public’s trust. Duncan Hunter failed in following the ethics expected of a public administrator when he utilized public funds for personal expenses.
References
Alschuler, A. W. (2022). The corruption of the pardon power. University of St. Thomas Law Journal, 18, 1. Web.
Basinger, S. J. (2022). Follow the money: Modern cases of congressional corruption. In M. J. Pomante II, Scandal and corruption in Congress, pp. 127–148. Emerald Publishing Limited.
Cortese, J. (2022). Public corruption in the United States: Analysis of a destructive phenomenon. Taylor & Francis.
Miller, C. (2018). A right to prove innocence after pleading guilty. SSRN Electronic Journal. Web.