Once again Gov. Charles W. Turnbull has taken the low road where accountability and ending corruption, waste and abuse in government are concerned. It is now up to our senators to override the governor's veto of a bill that sought to give peace-officer status to the inspector general and his officers.
In vetoing a bill he seemingly championed, Turnbull has showcased his infuriating indecisiveness and his inexplicable deference to Attorney General Iver Stridiron, who has long sought to squelch an investigative office he is mandated to support.
We will not speculate about Turnbull’s or Stridiron's motivations in not giving teeth to the one independent agency in the territory charged with rooting out white collar crime. However, we will hold our lawmakers responsible for making good on their repeated promises to the inspector general. If they expect anyone to take their fine words about government corruption seriously, they must override the governor's veto of this bill.
We also call upon the voting public to take note in this election year of how our 15 senators vote on this issue. Which ones will vote again – this time for an override – to beef up the one agency that time and again has protected public integrity and resources?
It is time to get serious about the constant drain on the territory’s resources through fraud, waste and corruption. It is time to give the inspector general the power to access important information, the power to arrest and the power to do the people’s work.
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