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What started off years ago as just a trickle of unaddressed accusations of cronyism has now become a stream of allegations of improprieties.
Assertions that the possibility of a 'quid pro quo' and an 'attorney for hire' atmosphere has been allowed to exist in Yorktown's local government has lead to a lawsuit recently being filed in Westchester's Supreme Court as well as a separate inquiry being commenced by the New York Bar Association.
Our Councilmen have been criticized for spending public dollars on legal fees to defend alleged private misbehavior. Our public servants need to be held to a much higher standard. A weak-kneed partisan Board of Ethics can be too easily weaponized into unjustly attacking political rivals like in the case of Councilman Vishnu Patel or at the other extreme, providing the political party in power with cover by purposely over-looking and not pursuing legitimate ethical complaints. Creating a transparent Board of Ethics comprised of entirely independent and non-partisan members will go a long way toward establishing ethical standards, instituting accountability and curbing the potential for abuse.
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