We need minimum requirements for officeholders

A philosopher once said that “the two greatest professions for which there is no formal training are politics and motherhood.” It would be pretty difficult to establish minimum guidelines for future mothers, but there really seems to be a crying need for some type of certificate of eligibility for anyone running for public office.

Why not have minimum standards for candidates? You need a state license to run a beauty parlor or a barbershop and must have certain qualifications to become a real estate agent or work for a travel agency. So why not have some fixed criteria to become an elected official?

The more you follow the activities of public officials in the media, the more it appears that there should be some type of test or application form that would have kept some of them out of public office. The latest example of elected officials who’ve gone off a cliff is U.S. Rep. Joe L. Barton, a Republican from Texas.

Barton is a member of the Congressional panel holding hearings on the BP oil spill. He chose a key public hearing to apologize to BP Chief Tony Hayward for all the “terrible” things the government was doing to BP and for the “$20 billion White House shakedown” of BP. A job application might not have stopped Barton from getting his seat in Congress, but there has to be some type of screening for future officeholders to protect us from out-of-control headline-seekers.

So whether it’s a position on a Long Island school board or the U.S. Congress, there should be ground rules on eligibility to serve. Let’s start with literacy. Candidates need not have read all the books on The New York Times bestseller list to prove competence, but at the very least they should have some knowledge of the issues that impact the lives of the people they hope to serve. Just being anti-government or anti-tax isn’t enough to be effective in any position.

Candidates should be required to fill out questionnaires revealing whether they have paid their taxes, own property with safety or health violations, have any criminal record or have investments that would conflict with their positions. Too often the facts come out after an election and the successful candidate cries “politics” in response to any accusation.

When people of substance are asked to serve on some important state commission or hold a prestigious job, they are asked to fill out multi-page applications that demand very private facts and figures. Many a respect-able citizen has declined to serve in state government to avoid having to disclose highly confidential information. Yet potential candidates are asked nothing that relates to their ability to serve.

Many local governments have residency laws governing who can hold an elected position in their community. That makes sense even if a candidate has lived there the minimum amount of time. The federal law on residency to run for Congress is not as restrictive. To run for Congress you need to be at least 25 and a citizen for seven years. But surprisingly, elected members of Congress need not live in their districts after their election and may never choose to move in.

The lack of real qualifications for elective office at all levels is disturbing. What is equally disturbing is that incumbent officeholders can often break the law and walk away with full pensions paid by the taxpayers. As an example, seven state legislators have been convicted of crimes, and none of them have forfeited their pensions and other benefits.

Honest public officials often bemoan the fact that the people don’t have much respect for them. If the ground rules on getting in and getting out were made a lot tougher, politicians would be better respected than used-car salesmen.

Jerry Kremer was a state assemblyman for 23 years, and chaired the Assembly’s Ways and Means Committee for 12 years. He now heads Empire Government Strategies, a business development and legislative strategy firm.