Ewing municipal

File photo of Ewing Township Municipal Building

(Martin Griff | Times of Trenton)

In the best of all possible worlds, there would be no need for an anti-corruption resolution.



In the best of all possible worlds, lawmakers wouldn't even think of taking campaign money from industries they regulate.Office-holders would be barred from segueing into cushy lobbying jobs for five years after leaving those offices, and all government dealings would be completely transparent.



Clearly, we're not living in that world - yet.



But members of the Ewing Township Council moved their community several steps closer to it last week when they adopted a resolution seeking to rein in the influence of special interest groups and lobbyists.



It's their version of the American Anti-Corruption Act, and it's based on a model promoted by the grassroots citizens group Represent.Us. Last July, Princeton's governing body became the first in the nation to sign on.



The goal could not be simpler: To stop money from corrupting American government at all levels and to make We the People the most important stakeholders in the political system.



"Special interest groups and lobbyists seem to have all the influence over the issues," says Brian Millen of Ewing, a Represent.Us volunteer who brought the measure to the attention of township officials."The issues are always decided in their favor ... and what's good for the people seems to be canned."



Represent.Us describes itself as a "fiercely cross-partisan campaign."The act itself, design to prevent corruption and cronyism without running afoul of freedom-of-speech laws, has been scrupulously vetted by teams of constitutional lawyers.



Former Federation Elections Commission chairman Trevor Potter crafted the original model, which he saw as a blueprint for reshaping the nature of the political landscape.Experts from Represent.Us are available to work with local communities to tailor a resolution to meet their specific needs.



Ewing's version calls on federal and state officials to pursue legislation that would put limits on unregulated super PACs and other groups; increase the transparency of campaign financing, and stop elected representatives and their staffs from negotiating jobs while in office.



It also seeks to empower all voters through a $100 tax rebate to contribute to the candidates of their choice.



Especially as the race for the White House gathers steam, these are concrete ways citizens can help make politics more democratic - in the nonpartisan use of the term - and make politicians more answerable to the people they serve.



Ewing and Princeton are heading there.The rest of New Jersey should follow their lead.

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