Attack abuses, not leaks

Earlier this month, Salt Lake County Mayor Peter Corroon said he would give himself a year to clean up county scandals. After that, he would have to own up to them himself rather than blame the previous administration.

But his statements recently in support of an effort to track down the source of a leak that uncovered a potential scandal in the county clerk's office puts him close to taking immediate ownership, along with the County Council.

Corroon's high-sounding statements about sweeping the county clean in the light of day seemed to dissipate into thin air last week when he and members of the council publicly lent support to an investigation headed by District Attorney David Yocom into how a report about the clerk's hiring practices found its way into the hands of a Deseret Morning News reporter. The report, written by an outside attorney who conducted a probe at the request of the County Council, calls into question the alleged hiring of friends who were unqualified for their jobs.

You don't have to be a concerned taxpayer to see that the story here is that an elected official may have been abusing her powers. The story is not that some scoundrel leaked information about these alleged abuses.

So why engage in a fruitless effort to hunt down the leaker? It may not be possible to call off the district attorney's investigation, but the mayor and council could diffuse the probe and help public confidence by opposing it.

Corroon and the council should have made the report public in the first place. Now that it is out, however, they should be demanding answers to the allegations. Instead, a tipster who obviously felt the county wanted to cover up its findings may be facing a class B misdemeanor charge. Corroon said he doesn't think that would put a chill on the county's efforts to clean house. We're wondering how in the world it could help. Anyone who notices a problem from now on will have to at least consider the possibility of criminal charges before going public.

We've heard all the arguments about the dangers of leaking confidential documents, and how it can damage reputations. But more dangerous than that is the naive belief that such a document could remain secret in a place as politically charged as Salt Lake County government. Reputations fare better if such reports are discussed openly, their merits, or lack thereof, available for all to see.

Not coincidentally, this newspaper has been trying to obtain information about sexual harassment claims against former chief deputy county clerk Nick Floros. The county has been fighting those efforts relentlessly. Earlier, we urged Corroon to demonstrate his commitment to ridding the county of scandal by lending support to the release of those records. It's disappointing to see that he and the council have chosen a different approach.