GOVT 327 Discussion Board 3
Imagine you are the governor of Virginia and your bureaucracy is issuing new laws
and regulations without proper authority. How would you rein that in? For this
Discussion, imagine that you are the governor of Virginia, you are the chief
executive of this state and the entire bureaucracy falls under your authority.
Although you did not directly make the decision, one of your departments is issuing
rules outside of a law’s intent because they have a better understanding of the
issue than those who wrote the law. They argue that it still falls within the intent of
the law. Voters are not happy because they have felt the harm of these new rules
and none of the benefit. The legislators aren't happy and believe you are outside of
your constitutional authority. And all of the blame falls on your shoulders. What do
you do? Identify a specific/real state agency. Identify the real stake holders. How can
you ease the problems of perception and Constitutional authorities? Remember
when you’re working through this scenario, this business is about relationships—
with the voters, the legislators, and the bureaucracy. In your responses, pretend
that you are a political advisor to the governor, whose election to the U.S. Senate is
coming up in the next year and a half (in Virginia governors only serve one term and
then usually seek higher office in the U.S. Senate). What would you tell them?
Thread: 250-300 words; 1 source
2 Replies: 100 words; 1 source
If I were the governor of Virginia in this particular scenario, I would first make it my top
priority to act swiftly to make sure that stakeholders, all department members, legislators, and
the public to show that I am a competent leader and hear their concerns. I would issue a press
release straightaway stating that I would be doing everything in my power to get to the bottom of
this and make it right as soon as possible.
Once I have concluded my investigation into the problem, it is time to look at the legal
aspect of things and see what can be done legally to correct the problem. Once that is done, I
would make sure that the person and their superior who administered this bad regulation were
removed from their positions because they acted with the intentions of breaking the law. This
type of bad behavior will not be condoned. In an effort to ensure that this is prevented moving
forward, I would establish a new process that requires the approval of either legislators or a
committee in the department before any regulation is to be enforced. I feel that these actions are
necessary because it would be my duty to hold these public administrators accountable for their
actions. The textbook states that “elected officials have the duty of holding administrators
responsible for their decisions and accountable to the public interest, as defined by the
constitution and by statute” (Bowman & Kearney, 2018, p. 219).
Once these actions are taken, I would hold a press conference to speak directly to my
constituents. I would explain exactly what happened and how I corrected the problem. I would
also apologize for the lack of oversight in the department and would explain my plan to prevent
this from happening again.
Reference
Bowman, A. & Kearney, R. (2018). State and Local Government. 10th ed. Cengage Learning.
https://ebooks.cenreader.com/#!/reader/58ee96e0-c357-4d8f-8d15-
d22ad7449391/page/91d74226e220c70dd1403c4b4dd1a68a
REPLY 1
Hello Judith, I really enjoyed reading your discussion board post for this week’s assignment. You
brought up some interesting points. I have to agree that a governor has the responsibility to
ensure that the laws of the commonwealth are faithfully executed. I also agree with your point
that trust is crucial between elected officials and voters. That is why it is very crucial that elected
officials value accountability. The textbook states that “elected officials have the duty of holding
administrators responsible for their decisions and accountable to the public interest, as defined by
the constitution and by statute” (Bowman & Kearney, 2018, p. 219).
Reference
Bowman, A. & Kearney, R. (2018). State and Local Government. 10th ed. Cengage Learning.
https://ebooks.cenreader.com/#!/reader/58ee96e0-c357-4d8f-8d15-
d22ad7449391/page/91d74226e220c70dd1403c4b4dd1a68a
REPLY 2
Hello Monica, I really enjoyed reading your discussion board post for this week’s assignment.
You provided a very interesting perspective in this particular scenario. I have to respectfully
disagree with your strategy though. The trust relationship between voters and an elected official
is a tricky one. It should not be written off with a simple “trust me because you elected me”
mindset. If the public is upset about something, the governor should provide a more adequate
explanation and hold the department in question accountable. The textbook states that “elected
officials have the duty of holding administrators responsible for their decisions and accountable
to the public interest, as defined by the constitution and by statute” (Bowman & Kearney, 2018,
p. 219). Holding administrators accountable in this scenario would appeal to the trust
relationship with the public.
Reference
Bowman, A. & Kearney, R. (2018). State and Local Government. 10th ed. Cengage Learning.
https://ebooks.cenreader.com/#!/reader/58ee96e0-c357-4d8f-8d15-
d22ad7449391/page/91d74226e220c70dd1403c4b4dd1a68a
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