Orange County Mayor Teresa Jacobs is kicking off the new year with new reforms to strengthen public trust. Today, Jacobs proposed tough new texting and lobbying rules which will be placed before the Board of County Commission for discussion on January 15. Mayor Jacobs admitted disappointment over the matter, and said the easiest way to deal with this is to simply ban lobbying via text.
“I’m asking our board to step up,” said Mayor Jacobs. “What is ethical and what is acceptable are different.”
Jacobs said she did believe the image of the Board of County Commissioners was temporarily tarnished. While saying she has not seen any evidence that anything unethical occurred the mayor added that she had not done an adequate job on explaining her own actions and positions.
Jacobs’ proposal comes against the backdrop of the outrage caused when lobbyists texted members of the County Commission during the Sick Time debate last year. Even though Jacobs released her text messages, many texts from other Commissioners, like Jennifer Thompson, have never been made public to date.
“It’s not rocket science,” said Jacobs. “It’s simple, it’s the right thing to do. If a lobbyist wants to lobby, then they should not do that via text.”
Jacobs pointed out that the normal process involves setting up meetings, filling out forms and providing as much transparency as possible. As technology advances, so too does County policy according to Jacobs and the mayor does not believe lobbyists would object to the process.
Jacobs was very confident her reform package would pass, though there may be slim opposition. Shrugging off questions regarding potential added costs, such as $50 for a mobile plan, the mayor insisted gaining public trust was the most important goal.
“Public trust versus saving a few bucks? I choose public trust,” she said.
