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The Mayor Daley Approach to Conflict of Interest

Tuesday, 15th February, 2006

In politics, more often that not, it is the cover up that gets people in to trouble not the incident itself. Which is why I remember with admiration the response of Mayor Richard Daley (the father not the current son) when a pesky journalist was impertinent enough to suggest impropriety at a rare Mayoral press conference held on the eve of an election. What, the journalist demanded, did the Mayor think about the insurance company that his son had just started working for being awarded a large slice of the city's insurance business without tenders being called. Without batting an eye the great political machine boss replied that any father who would not help his own son did not deserve to be called a father. He called "next question" and that was that. Re-election duly followed.

Tasmania Premier Paul Lennon has not taken this Chicago line as he comes under questioning about government funded contracts being awarded to his brother John's consulting company. Premier Lennon has denied any involvement in the awarding of the contracts but the Opposition senses this is a wonderful way of diverting the Labor Party from planning for the election that must be held this year. The Liberals are now calling for the parliamentary Public Accounts Committee where three independents hold the balance of power to investigate the apparent conflict of interest.

The Hobart daily The Mercury is giving Mr Lennon's opponents a hand. Saturday's paper had the headline "In hot water again: Lennon faces claims of impropriety over brother's deals"; on Sunday "Lennon besieged on 'conflict' role"; and by Monday it was "Lennon inquiry sought by Libs." The paper is clearly out to give the Premier a hard time as the "again" in the "hot water again" was a reference to the earlier conflict of interest allegation involving accepting the hospitality of Crown Casino before awarding Betfair a licence. See our earlier story A Corruption Allegation a Proven Vote Winner.

Back to the 2006 Tasmanian Election page.

Richard J. "Boss" Daley
was Mayor of Chicago from
1955 until his death in 1976
aged 74.
Among his most famous
sayings was the malapropism
We shall reach greater
and greater platitudes
of achievement.