Ethics and Public Official - Essay Example

Ethics and Public Official After elections Lino Dominguez was successfully elected as the Atascosa County Commissioner. At the same time, Lino Dominguez is an employee of Atascosa County as an Assistant District Attorney. His supervisor Susan Greed has given him a go ahead to be an Assistant District Attorney. The paper conducts an analysis on the issue. Lino Dominguez can hold two positions as a County Commissioner and as an Assistant District Attorney. Lino Dominguez will not refuse the emolument; he will not have to give up the pay for one of the positions.

Emoluments are the benefits or payment packages of an office (Pfiffner, John &Robert, 72). According to the constitution, assuming a state statute fixes compensation and salaries of an office, the salaries and compensation will be attached to and cannot be separated from the office. In summary, the office will not return the benefits or pay of the second office, or basically refusing to accept the compensation to avoid being taken of holding two emolument civil offices. Additionally, the constitution ascertains that the entity of the government cannot eliminate the benefit or pay to a county officer to avoid the holding issue of a dual office.

When Lino takes the additional duties in the Attorney’s office he will not create the violation in the second office. There is no conflict of offices if Lino decides to hold the two offices. This is because under many circumstances, an officer who enforces law is not taken to be an office for the sake of constitutional holding limitations for a dual office. Therefore, it is very possible that Lino can hold both positions as a County Commissioner and an Assistant District Attorney this is because the two offices are not categorized as incompatible.

Conflicting loyalties limits the person from holding two offices simultaneously when their interest of the two entities conflict and election of a single public office would compromise other office interest. The position of a county commissioner and that of An Assistant District Attorney have no conflicting loyalties between them. This is attributed to the fact that the policy of objectives of the two offices do not conflict in any area. The compatibility doctrine between the two positions will not protect the county’s institution integrity through promotion of impaired services by the official.

Additionally, according to the law, two positions have issues of conflicting loyalty when they are public offices. County Commissioner and Assistant District Attorney Position are both public offers. But the fact that Lino will work as for a different public organization will not present issues of conflicting loyalties that would prevent him from taking the position of a second office. In conclusion, Lino can hold the two positions because nothing under the Political Reform Act prevents an official from holding a given position.

Conflict only arises when an individual takes a position and depends on the conduct of that person before taking the office. Therefore, a conflict of interest cannot in any way prohibit an individual from holding or seeking an office (Simon, 24).ReferencePfiffner, John McDonald, and Robert Vance Presthus. Public administration. 5th Ed. New York: Ronald Press Co., 2007. Print. Copy & Paste | Parenthetical Simon, Herbert A. Public administration. [1st Ed. New York: Knopf, 2000. Print.