Ed Gillespie’s ‘FAITH In Government’ Plan Offers Bold Ethics Solutions

On Thursday, gubernatorial candidate Ed Gillespie released his FAITH in Government plan for all Virginians. It is the first ethics plan to come from a 2017 gubernatorial candidate. The full plan is provided on his website, but it is necessary to highlight the key points of his agenda.

FAIRNESS
All Virginians deserve fair and open access to government. Ed wants to level the playing field and close loopholes that give insiders unfair access.

PROHIBIT ‘BAIT AND SWITCH’ CAMPAIGN FINANCE PRACTICES.
As governor, Ed Gillespie will introduce legislation to prohibit candidates from using the money raised for one office to run for a different office. When people contribute to a campaign account, they fairly assume their hard-earned money will be spent for the purposes they gave it. Further, allowing sitting office holders to raise funds into their existing campaign account and then transfer the contribution into a different account for another office is an unfair advantage over unelected citizens running against them, who have to raise money for their campaign from scratch. This advantage makes it harder for people who do not already hold public office to run for office.

EXTEND THE ‘REVOLVING DOOR’ LOBBYING BAN THROUGH THE END OF THE ADMINISTRATION.
As governor, Ed will extend the length of time administration officials must wait before lobbying their prior office. Gillespie administration appointees will be prohibited from lobbying the office in which they served for two years or the remainder of the administration, whichever is longer.

BAN LOBBYISTS FROM LOBBYING BOARDS AND COMMISSIONS ON WHICH THEY SERVE AND THE AGENCIES THAT OVERSEE THEM.
Registered lobbyists should be barred from lobbying any agency that oversees or administers a Board or Commission on which they serve

ACCOUNTABILITY
Too often, government seems to forget that it works for “We the People.” Ed’s plan will give citizens a greater say in how their government operates and more chances to hold elected leaders accountable for their actions.

HOST QUARTERLY OFFICE HOURS.
As governor, Ed Gillespie and his cabinet will host quarterly office hours to hear directly from Virginians. Ed will hold meetings in different regions of the Commonwealth so all Virginians with concerns about our state government will have access to their governor and senior members of a Gillespie Administration.

REQUIRE ALL PUBLIC BODIES TO SOLICIT PUBLIC COMMENT.
Not all public bodies are required to receive and solicit public comment at their meetings. Some hold public comment only after the board has voted or completed action on agenda items. All agencies and public bodies will be required to solicit public comment during meetings of public bodies prior to taking action. He will also issue an executive order to immediately require this of executive branch boards. This policy will apply to Boards of Visitors of our institutions of higher education.

INTEGRITY
Ed Gillespie will reform campaign finance laws to ensure that Virginians can have faith in the integrity of our process.

BAN PERSONAL USE OF CAMPAIGN FUNDS.
Prohibiting any personal use of campaign funds by candidates is a commonsense measure to assure integrity in the use of campaign donations. Because the current system permits use of campaign funds for various worthwhile purposes, such as supplementation of office budgets and constituent services, Ed will work with the General Assembly to provide an appropriate definition of what constitutes a prohibited “personal use.”

EXTEND THE FUNDRAISING BLACKOUT PERIOD TO INCLUDE VETO SESSION AND SPECIAL SESSIONS.
Current law prohibits political fundraising during the legislative session but permits it during in-session days during reconvened (known as ‘Veto Session’) and special sessions. Ed Gillespie will introduce legislation to extend the current fundraising “blackout” period to include all days when the full House and Senate is assembled in Richmond and voting on the floor of the House and Senate

TRANSPARENCY
Ed’s plan will increase transparency throughout state government so that Virginians will have equal and easy access to information that affects our daily lives.

PARTNER WITH TRANSPARENCY ORGANIZATIONS.
As governor, Ed Gillespie will partner with the Virginia Public Access Project (VPAP), the Virginia Coalition for Open Government and similar transparency organizations to ensure state government is producing data and information in the most effective, transparent, and technically appropriate form to allow for seamless transition between state government and third-party data systems. Ed Gillespie will sign an executive order to direct state government to explore strategies for increasing transparency to allow non-profit watchdog organizations, like VPAP and the Virginia Coalition for Open Government, to focus on their mission of accessible and informative information.

LIVESTREAM ALL AGENCY, BOARD & COMMISSION MEETINGS.
Any agency with a General Fund biennial budget of more than $1 billion will begin live streaming board meetings on Day One of the Gillespie Administration. Ed will also sign an executive order requiring the Secretary of Technology to develop protocols for livestreaming all remaining executive branch board, and commission meetings within the first 100 days of the administration and to make recordings of meetings available online, as well.

LIVESTREAM CABINET MEETINGS.
As governor, Ed Gillespie will host at least four public meetings of the Cabinet annually and will livestream those meetings and invite public comment.

PUBLIC MEETING NOTICES, AGENDA, MINUTES AND PRESENTATIONS.
As governor, Ed Gillespie will sign an executive order that will establish statewide protocols for the publishing and organization of information in public meeting notices, agendas, minutes and presentations. The Secretary of Technology will be charged with developing a seamless technology solution and providing technical assistance to ensure all agencies are able to conform to protocols for public access of information. This will also apply to Boards of Visitors who currently produce widely varying levels of details in advance about important board actions. Further, the executive order will require public bodies to update the meeting package online if it changes between the time of posting and the meeting.

SUPPORT MORE FREQUENT DISCLOSURES FOR ELECTED AND APPOINTED OFFICIALS.
As governor, Ed Gillespie will support measures to increase the frequency of disclosures related to Conflict of Interest and campaign finance.

HONESTY
As governor, Ed Gillespie will lead a state government in a honest and ethical manner. Ed’s plan will ensure the rules are known and followed by all those associated with a Gillespie administration.

EXECUTIVE ORDER ON ETHICS – EO #1.
As governor, Ed Gillespie will sign Executive Order # 1 immediately upon taking the oath of office. EO #1 will detail the administration’s ethics policy and processes for the executive branch, including gubernatorial appointees, to comply with beginning on Day One.

EXTEND THE GIFT CAP BEYOND LOBBYISTS AND LOBBYIST PRINCIPALS.
Ed Gillespie will work to extend the gift cap beyond lobbyists and lobbyist principals. Ed will put forward legislation to apply the $100 aggregate gift cap to all individuals who give to an elected official, except family members and personal friends.

PROHIBIT GIFTS TO THE GOVERNOR AND HIS FAMILY, CABINET MEMBERS & ADMINISTRATION APPOINTEES.
As governor, Ed Gillespie will prohibit gifts of any amount to the governor, his immediate family, his cabinet appointments, his staff and board appointees. There will be an appropriate process for attendance at widely-attended events on behalf of the Commonwealth and gifts to the Commonwealth that will be transferred and properly recorded by the Library of Virginia or other appropriate agency.

This is why 6,000 Virginians and I have signed up to support Ed Gillespie and volunteer for his campaign. He has a bold vision to completely reshape Virginia government into a more effective and more accessible government. Simply put, Gillespie has a plan to fix Virginia, while his opponents do not.

Might I say that this plan is almost Trumpian? This sounds like Gillespie went to the President and asked for his playbook. The lobbying ban, no personal gifts, no campaign funds used on personal items, and no lobbying to boards that lobbyists previously served on … this plan sounds like he has taken some of the best proposals from President Trump and applied them to Richmond. I certainly hope that Mr. Gillespie can “drain the swamp” along the James River.

Some of these ideas just seem commonplace. However, Richmond’s slothful nature has not allowed for change to come to government meetings. In 2017, with the vast technology we have in America, every commission and board that makes decisions about the livelihood of Virginians should be live-streamed and stored online for citizens to watch. The government should be open and transparent, accessible to all citizens. That is the Gillespie plan.

Most importantly, it is pathetic that in 2017 candidates can still use their funds on personal items. It is ludicrous to think that a candidate should have the right to take funds they raise and buy themselves nice clothes or fancy dinners. We have all seen the VPAP reports with funds going to, say, a restaurant in Richmond. I’m glad that Mr. Gillespie has a plan to stop this madness.

Ed Gillespie should be applauded for his efforts to make government more accessible to the average Virginian. This proves that he is the reform-minded leader that we need in Richmond to “drain the swamp” on the James River.

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