Arnold Schwarzenegger’s recent move in cutting business ties with two fitness magazines and the Arnold Fitness Classic is a good one. Calls for the governor to end his conflict of interest relationships were answered on July 15 when he announced that he would step down as executive editor of Muscle & Fitness and Flex magazines.
In an effort to show his critics that he is serious about putting an end to his ties with business and interest groups, Schwarzenegger announced late last week that he would no longer accept money for appearances at the Arnold Fitness Classic held in Columbus, Ohio.
The uproar started earlier this month when Schwarzenegger vetoed a bill that would have regulated the usage of performance-enhancing substances. If signed, the bill would have undercut the nutritional supplements market and negatively affected magazine advertising for those supplements. Some, citing his ties with fitness magazines that reimbursed him for writing articles and columns, protested that the governor was acting in the interest of outside pressures, not the good of California. Political opponents were quick to jump on Schwarzenegger for subsidizing his income while serving as Governor in light of his promise not to do movies while in office.
Schwarzenegger’s decision to cut ties with the California business magazines forced him to forego upwards of $5 million in income from the publications over the next five years. The governor said he has no intentions of returning the money he has already been given and will continue to write columns for the magazines and appear at the Arnold Classic without receiving payments – an amicable solution to the controversy. Not only is this a positive step for Schwarzenegger, but should be standard for other officials in elected positions.
According to California state law, it is legal for elected officials to hold outside jobs. These outside jobs are acceptable, but should be approved by a state’s attorney general in order to rule out the possibility of conflict of interest. As in any public service profession, it is paramount that elected officials separate their personal views from possible conflicts of interest.
This page, however, proposes a solution for high ranking officials that receive compensation and payments for services while in office. Any compensation received for services such as speeches, appearances and columns while an elected official is in office would stay in a trust, and would be unable to be used by that official, until five years after he or she retires from public service. Public officials should not be monetarily hindered by their service, but safeguards should be in place to prevent bias.
