The constitutional offices in the state of Virginia which include the offices of the Commonwealth Attorney, Sheriff, and the Commissioner of the Revenue; have come under attack recently by the press and others as being unnecessary, expensive and cumbersome for government.
Unfortunately, those who harbor or express those opinions are totally lacking in the history of and knowledge of the United States Government. The forefathers of America were not interested in forming a streamlined and efficient government. If so they would have instituted a king or a dictator . . . After all nothing is more efficient than, “I said so or it’s off with your head.”
Our Fore Fathers knew that government can be riddled with corruption and abuse, and therefore they tried to separate the power of government between and among different branches with checks and balances on each other. Not efficient by any means, but the best form of government to protect the rights of citizens and to prevent abuse by not consolidating power to any political group in the government.
And above all political groups is the judicial system that is supposed to be apolitical and follow the law…not politics. That is why we have a Supreme Court and not a supreme congress or supreme president. The Separation of Powers Doctrine, first phrased by Thomas Jefferson, was an important element of protection for the people, by our founding fathers who did not even trust the government that they were creating.
Not only was the Separation of Power Doctrine deemed important at the federal level, but even more so at the local level where grass roots politics and corruption are equally as pervasive. To aide in this diffusion of power, there were not only the national branches of government (executive, legislative, and judicial). In key areas of the protection of citizens’ rights and where government abuse would fester, certain offices of the Commonwealth were deemed to be state offices, and beyond the reach of local government and politics.
For instance, the Sheriff is an officer of the commonwealth and he is to be the chief law enforcer of the land to protect the people from all law breakers….even the local government. The Commonwealth Attorney, also an officer of the state is the state’s chief prosecutor and upon whose shoulders lie the responsibility of protecting the legal rights of the citizens from all law breakers. The Commissioner of the Revenue, also a state officer, is charged with fairly, and accurately assessing the taxes from the people to finance local government.
Each one of these officers is directly elected by the people, to represent the people, and to protect the people from every abuser and violator…..including the government. And these officers are answerable to the people who elected them, and should be free of any pressure or influence from local government. The injecting of these officers into government is hardly streamline, hardly cost efficient, and may interfere with local politicians. But their job is none of the above. Constitution officers have the sole purpose of protecting the rights of the citizens who elect them above all else. And that, after all, is the most important function of representative government officials. In their case they are elected to protect the citizens from everyone…including the government.
As of late, the Constitution, the political design of our fore fathers who built this nation, has come under attack at every level. Every safe guard that was put in place by this “Greatest Generation” who were thinkers ahead of their time has been trampled by greedy self serving politicians, social spin doctors, and a citizenry which is growing ever dependent on government entitlement for survival as a way of life.
Because of these and other factors, our founding fathers’ greatest fears are alive and thriving today. The consolidation of government powers through such government management systems as Council- Management has turned local government into a cesspool of abuse, mismanagement, waste, and corruption that would have our Fore Fathers spinning in their graves.
Not only with the consolidation of the executive and the legislative branches of local government, but the gutting and neutering of constitutional offices has left local city councils and boards of supervisors as powerful tribunals of government power who answer to no one but the courts. And they know few citizens have the money to fight them in a court of law. And they indemnify themselves from wrong doing if adjudication results.
The answer to those of us who live under this council – management tribunal is to fight back hard to restore our constitutional officers, and separate the branches of government, and restore the checks and balances originally intended by our Fore Fathers to protect the freedoms and rights of the citizens. One needs only to look at the city of Detroit whose government officials I am sure were telling the citizens “Everything was OK” right up until the bankruptcy lawyers were knocking the doors down at city hall.
– Roger D. Malouf
Republican Nominee for The Roanoke City Commissioner of the Revenue 2013