Editor, Gazette-Journal:

During my unsuccessful run for a school board seat in Gloucester County, I heard various candidates single out transparency as an attribute of their campaign and future if elected.

Although transparency has become a buzzword with both local political and bureaucratic players, just being open with people or “accountable” doesn’t guarantee for one moment that the actions someone takes are necessarily honest, truthful in the larger sense; conforming to your constituent’s core principles, the mission of the enterprise, or the law. It’s one thing to manage money efficiently; quite another to pursue a purpose that is both moral and in the tradition of our nation’s founding. All those elected face a big responsibility to the citizenry. 

As I stood outside a polling place handing out vote for me leaflets and trying to sway some last-minute decision makers, one man waved me off with, “Our kids are grown and I just don&rs...