Ethical Leadership for Public Trust
Welcome to Public Ethics Now
Dr. Tom Shanks founded this independent and nonpartisan website to promote ethical leadership and public trust in local government. Our focus is on the City of Santa Clara and ethical decision-making during and after this election. Our goal is to hold candidates accountable for the ethical pledges and promises they have made.
For over a decade, the City of Santa Clara’s elected officials developed and lived an ethics code which was designed to earn the trust of residents and staff alike. The program showed promising results. Scientific surveys from 2006-2008 showed that more than 9 of 10 (91%) residents felt the City was heading in the right direction ethically.
The 2024 Santa Clara resident survey shows a dramatic drop to 40%.
Dr. Shanks believes the lack of consistent attention to ethics has created the decline in confidence with Santa Clara residents.
When City of Santa Clara Council members and staff fail to ask fundamental questions like, “Is this the right thing to do?” or “Does this decision serve the public’s best interests?” the result is a breakdown in public trust.
Since the arrival of the 49ers, these critical questions have been neglected, and dissenting voices have been dismissed. The current Santa Clara Council majority seems to view ethics as a political weapon rather than a set of good government principles.
Consequently, City government’s core values have fallen by the wayside, and the Code of Ethics & Values is largely ignored.
In recent years, the Santa Clara County Civil Grand Jury has released three reports criticizing the majority of the Santa Clara City Council and the 49ers for unethical behavior. The Council’s rejection of these findings and its handling of an indicted Councilmember have further eroded public trust.
This kind of behavior weakens the very foundation of democracy and governance.
Dr. Shanks created a Santa Clara Ethics Pledge for candidates seeking public office. View which candidates took the Santa Clara Ethics Pledge and are willing to prove their ethical coverage and accuracy.
Dr. Shanks will be assisted as needed by colleagues who are ethicists or academics who have expertise in ethics, communications, and government.