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GOVERNMENT CONTRACTS: ETHICAL OR SCANDAL A recent article appearing in The Blade implies allegations of ethical misconduct on the part of Governor Taft when he awarded government contracts to his supporters. The story headline provided by the Associated Press reads, “Taft donors win majority of unbid school contracts” (5). This article suggests that 85 percent of unbid design and construction contracts for rebuilding Ohio’s schools did not go through the a competitive bidding process but were awarded to companies that donated to his re-election campaign or to a political fund controlled by Gov. Bob Taft. A spokesperson for Taft defended that there was no correlation between soliciting donations and the awarding of contracts. In my opinion, even if the contract awards were legitimate, at the very least there is an appearance of conflict of interest in the awarding of these contracts. Public officials should award contracts in terms of the public interest and merit, not self-interest. This is absolutely essential for the public to have confidence in their government. As a recently hired Loss Control Specialist for the City of Toledo, I was faced with the dilemma of awarding government contracts. I was handed a