Part of me is a bit saddened by the fact that we need to have clearly-defined policies about what constitutes good conduct for elected officials. The other part of me thinks “It’s about time!” with a touch of amazement that it has taken so long.

And then we get hit with a pandemic, and there’s a whole new level of focus on elected officials and how they show leadership and good conduct in a crisis.

In BC, new standards and guides are being created to support codes of conduct for elected officials in local government, and a code of ethics for local government professionals. In the spring edition of Exchange, there is overview of the Model Code of Conduct and Companion Guide developed by a Working Group on Responsible Conduct that involved staff from the Union of BC Municipalities (UBCM), the LGMA and the Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing. There are also two excellent examples of how local governments have successfully adopted a code of conduct for their elected officials, along with some tips and resources on how to establish these types of policies.

At the same time, it’s equally important to look toward the local government profession to see how we can elevate the bar for ethical standards. Towards this goal, the LGMA has developed a Code
of Ethics for local government professionals. In Keeping the Public Trust, we learn more about the context for why signing the Code of Ethics is now a requirement for LGMA members and how it will be implemented, including training and enforcement.

Policy decisions aside, this is really all about supporting good governance through responsible leadership and professional conduct. So when we suddenly found ourselves dealing with COVID-19 and a pandemic impacting countries around the globe, I began watching everything through this governance and leadership lens.

As well, as someone who specializes in crisis communication, I find myself assessing how elected officials and various subject matter experts comport themselves, and how their messaging and communication reflects on their leadership, authority and ability to instill trust.

The results out there are mixed, but I’m happy to note that in B.C., I think things have been handled quite well. In fact, in most of Canada, elected officials have been stepping aside to allow the health experts to deliver messages, and I have not seen many instances of politics interfering with communication. I have also, for the most part, noticed that local governments and businesses are being careful in their messaging and actions to flag that they are taking direction from health officials.

Flip to our neighbours in the south and we see a very different approach, where the most senior politician undermines health authorities based on a “hunch” and jumps randomly to multiple, conflicting messages leaving an escalated level of fear and an underlying lack of trust. The elected officials are out in front of cameras most of the time, rather than the health experts. While there have been some good examples, too much of the communication shows a lack of leadership and a serious breakdown in terms of local, state and national cooperation. It’s fascinating…for me anyway.

Overall, I think these crazy days we’re experiencing point to how important it is to have leaders who can be trusted, who demonstrate responsible conduct and who adhere to high standards of good governance. All of those attributes need to be established well before the crisis strikes, and then they become essential for guiding communities through to recovery.

My thanks and sincere appreciation go to all of the people who are working long days to keep our communities safe and our core services in place.

With the pandemic, there’s a whole new level of focus on elected officials and how they show leadership and good conduct in a crisis.