Carroll gives several other examples of how nepotism and friendship works, including:
Lt. Governor Brian Schatz's brother, Stephen, was appointed to head up the Office of Strategic Reform and the "Race to the Top" program. The position was not competively filled, so, how do we know we have the right person? Even though it received one of
a few federal grants, so far the program is not working. For example, it has not been redesigned to fit acceptable criteria including teacher evaluations based on students' progress. Check out edweek.org for more information.
UPDATE 12/26/11 - We just received documents from the state regarding competition for Schatz's position (see attached).
State Representative John Mizuno's wife was hired to run his state office. Although the state senate has laws against nepotism in its offices, our state representatives have proposed, but not passed similar ethics laws. So, Mizuno is not doing anything wrong, but it sure appears to be unethical to the public.
Calvin Say, Chairman of our state representives and one of those responsible for the lack of ethic laws, has filed amendments to his financial disclosure statement.
Other examples are also provided. Since our legislators can't seem to regulate themselves, let's talk to them about passing laws they can follow.
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