Members of royalty have personal drivers. The president does. Some chief executive officers do, too. And so does City Council Member Paula Johnson Branch, as Examiner reporter Stephen Janis reported Thursday.
Her 2005 financial disclosure forms list her son, Antonio Johnson, as a part-time driver for the City Council in 2005. He supposedly chauffeurs her to weekend meetings.
Weekend meetings? We?d like her to list the dates of those she attended and how much her son earned in his position.
Having a driver did not improve her attendance at City Council meetings. She missed four in 2005 ? the most of any council member. So far this year she has missed two. The council meets about twice per month.
The city ethics code, updated in 2005, outlaws public officials from hiring family members but exempts those whose relatives already had jobs at the time of the changes. How convenient.
Branch should forgo her son?s services and those of any driver. And the grandfather clause should be abolished.
Both undermine public trust and send the message that public officials abide by their own rules.
