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Dear Editor:

John Lender’s “Questions Raised About Powerful Legislator’s New Job At State-Assisted Organization” in the Hartford Courant also raises the question of how effective CT’s Office of State Ethics really is. I suspect that it serves more as a rubber stamp and provider of “political cover” for elected officials than as a true watchdog or enforcement agent. How many times has that office ruled in the affirmative, that a conflict of interest does exist, in response to a ruling request from a state official? My guess is the number is zero or in the singled digits. Will the Office of State Ethics truly stand behind its ruling on the Beth Bye question in this time of austerity? Would Sen. Bye really support withdrawing state funding for her employer to help fix our budget crisis? I doubt it. This situation reminded me of another state, Hawaii, where conflict of interests reviews are a joke, as brought to our attention on John Oliver’s Last Week Tonight. Check out a video clip on Hawaii’s conflict of interest reviews here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Atxr8faVDkc

Ryan Langan
West Hartford