We all exercise poor judgment, some more often than others. But most of us are not in the public spotlight, where misbehavior and lawlessness have become fodder for the local newspaper, blogs and, most embarrassingly, YouTube.
If the average citizen has one too many beers after a round of golf and is later arrested for drunk driving, no one except friends and relatives would know or care about it. But what about, say, the general manager of a transit system? Or one of the department heads?
It's likely that the local newspaper and/or TV station would take notice if a public administrator showed up on the police blotter. The question is, where do you draw the line between personal and professional behavior?
You don't have to look very far for examples of public officials who've gotten whipsawed in the media for personal indiscretions. Consider Eliot Spitzer or, more distantly, Bill Clinton. Or how about Sam Adams, the mayor of Portland, Ore., who denied having a sexual relationship with an 18-year-old intern during his recent campaign, only to recant after winning the election.
Where do you think the line should be drawn? That is, at one point should a transit GM's off-work behavior become an issue of job performance and possible disciplinary action?
Click here to provide your response. Or you can post your response here on this blog.
Thanks.
Steve
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