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OPINIONS
Editorial: More financial disclosure needed for state candidates
West Virginia ranks near the bottom on a lot of lists, and many reflect difficult problems that are hard to address -- poverty and health issues, for example.
But the state also ranks low on ethics and disclosure standards for elected officials, and there is no reason that cannot change.
The Center for Public Integrity, a nonprofit watchdog group, ranked the Mountain State 45th in this year's survey of standards put forth for legislators. As with the group's surveys in 1999 and 2006, West Virginia got a grade of "F." Kentucky got a "C" and Ohio a "D."
In particular, the report gives West Virginia low marks on disclosure about how candidates make their living. While the state's disclosure form does ask candidates about their employment and sources of income, the survey noted that candidates do not have to disclose job titles, job descriptions or range of income. The state also requires limited information about investments, clients and real estate holdings.
West Virginia and Ohio also are among only nine states that require no information about the business interests of the candidate's spouse.
The good news is that the West Virginia Ethics Commission is beginning to talk about requiring some disclosure about the work and investments of a candidate's spouse, The State Journal reported last week. However, any new requirement would have to be approved by the General Assembly.
This might not be a popular idea with legislators, but it is an important step to take. In today's world, it is difficult to fully understand a candidate's financial relationships without information about his or her spouse's employment and investments.
West Virginia also should join the majority of states that make these financial disclosure forms more readily available to citizens. Thirty-two states, including Ohio, currently make this information available electronically or online in some format. But in West Virginia, they are only available for inspection at the Ethics Commission's office in Charleston.
Although many elected officials work selflessly for the public, history shows that some candidates are out for their own financial gain. More adequate financial disclosure will give voters a better idea of who stands to gain from public office and how.
