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West Virginia State Auditor Mark Hunt is facing serious questions
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after personally signing nine tax deeds last year. Deeds issued
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to a company owned by someone with whom Hunt acknowledges
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a longstanding personal relationship. State law assigns responsibility for signing
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those deeds to the deputy commissioner of delinquent and non-entered lands.
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It also establishes a 120-day consumer protection-like deadline for the
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benefit of property owners. Hunt argues the law is ambiguous. Others,
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including Delegate Tristan Leavitt and Senator Ryan Weld, disagree. For
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a full accounting of the controversy, the competing legal arguments,
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and Hunt's explanation on TalkLine, Read the commentary online at wvmetronews.com.
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But here's what matters beyond the legal debate. Think of
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the legislature as a company's board of directors. The board
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establishes policies and boundaries. Executives carry them out. They don't
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get to rewrite the rules whenever those rules... become inconvenient.
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Government works much the same way. The legislature makes the law.
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Constitutional officers, including the state auditor, are responsible for executing it,
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not substituting their own judgment for it. Perhaps there is
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a more efficient way to handle delinquent property transactions. Fine,
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change the law. And the auditor says he's tried. But
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efficiency is not a substitute for legal authority. And until
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the legislature changes the law... It is what it is. Ultimately,
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the courts may have to determine whether Hunt acted lawfully
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or not. But legality is only part of the story.
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There's another question, one involving ethics, morality, and the judgment
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we should expect from those entrusted with public office. Just
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because a public official believes he can do something, does
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that mean he should? And would anyone approaching the auditor's
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office have received the same treatment regardless? of personal relationships.
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Here's a useful exercise. Think of someone you know who
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possesses the highest standards of personal and professional integrity. Someone who,
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when faced with the choice between expediency and principle, consistently
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chooses principle. Now ask yourself, what would that person have
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done in Hunt's situation. A talk line listener suggested former
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House Speaker and Supreme Court Justice Tim Armstead as such
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a standard. Armstead developed a reputation for avoiding even the
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appearance of impropriety. So, who's your Tim Armstead? And would
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Hunt's actions pass that person's test? That's a question worth considering,
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as calls for Hunt's resignation grow and the possibility of
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impeachment increase. enters the conversation. None of this establishes criminal wrongdoing,
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nor does a personal relationship by itself prove corruption. But
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public trust demands something more than simply avoiding prosecution or
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finding a legal justification for questionable judgment. Public officials should
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ask themselves not merely whether they can defend their actions,
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but whether a person of unquestioned integrity would have taken
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those actions in the first place. Admittedly, that's a high standard,
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very high. Public office should demand nothing less.