“Honor comes before ethics because a person without honor has no moral compass and does not know which way to turn to be ethical” (Shafritz, 2017, p. 192). When someone becomes a public official every aspect of your life can be scrutinized. Unethical behavior as a public servant, even on personal time is considered a professional violation of ethics. In May of 2017, City of Mesa Councilman Ryan Winkle was pulled over and arrested for suspicion of Driving Under the Influence (DUI). He was coming from an event in which he and his wife had been pulled over by Tempe police officers. His blood alcohol exceeded the legal limit as an extreme DUI and pleaded guilty to one of the citations. The first mistake he made was going to an event that …show more content…
The laws that Ryan Winkle vowed to follow, uphold, and protect for the good of society, he broke. He has a professional responsibility as a public servant to exhibit personal veracity. Winkle was dishonest during his arrest, and then he downplayed the severity of the allegations. He couldn’t refrain from enjoying additional cocktails, because of the personal pressure he was experiencing. (City of Mesa City Council Meeting, 2017). Even if he wasn’t trying to use his position for personal gain, the perception is there based on the social events he was participating in. Geuras and Garofalo (2011) stated, “Elected and appointed officials alike are the key players in altering cultural perceptions of public administration and administrators” (Chapter 6, Section 6, Para. 8). Job Ethical Requirements and Consequences Depending on the profession, each may contain their own specific code of ethics. In this case the City of Mesa has their own specific Ethics Handbook for Elected Officials in addition to a City Charter. In the City Charter Section 207, this allows for the other members of the council to decide if the member is qualified for fitness, to stay the remainder of their term (City Charter, City of Mesa, 2013). Boehm (2017) stated, “The Mesa City Council ousted Ryan Winkle