Should we or shouldn't we censure and expel?                        April 2001

In February's column it was noted that the ICMA censures and expels members every year as individual cases warrant. ASPA rarely, if ever, has done so even though the by-laws state that membership can be terminated "when in its sole and absolute discretion the Council determines that any member appears to have acted in violation of the Society's Code of Ethics." (Article 2: Section 5) Given this authority, why hasn't the ASPA Code been aggressively enforced? The answer is based on both practical reasons and philosophical reasons.

On the practical side, there's a rather important matter of liability. That is, should a member be expelled he/she could sue the Society and, if successful, this could inflict severe economic damage---perhaps even mortal damage as the Society currently does not have liability insurance to cover such a loss. ICMA sources say that their liability coverage is expensive but feel nonetheless that it is important to be able to expel a member. And, rarely, if ever, has ICMA lost because censured and expelled members typically do not sue and if they do, find it is difficult for them to prove to a court of law that ICMA treated them arbitrarily or unfairly in reaching such a decision. ICMA has a rather elaborate adjudication process that is followed carefully whenever a member is alleged to have violated their Code. ASPA has no equivalent set of due process procedures.

On the philosophical side, the argument continues as to whether ASPA's Code of Ethics is and should be an aspirational document or a practical set of proscriptions. Some members feel strongly that the Code's strength is its aspirational qualities while others feel just as strongly that the Code's weaknesses are its absence of proscriptions akin to those found in other professional codes. What to do?

Mark Monson (mdmonson@DCE.state.va.us) of the Virginia Chapter exclaims:

If ASPA is to stand for something in the eyes of the public and political leaders, we have to be viewed as ethical above reproach. If we aren't viewed that way, then we are nothing more than another glorified public
sector employee association. It seems to me, therefore, that we absolutely must be willing to censure and expel members for ethics violations. I would even advocate ASPA taking public stands denouncing ethics violations in the public sector whenever they occur.

I'm not suggesting that we establish some kind of internal affairs organization charged with rooting out violators. But we must not hesitate to take action when we become aware of problems.

The question remains, "what should ASPA do?"