> Those who see no ethical problem with small gifts to public servants should try imagining how they would feel if they were litigants in a civil trial and discovered that the judge trying the case had accepted even a free cup of coffee and a doughnut from the other party to the case. [...]
> Similarly, elected officials owe their unbiased judgment to the people who elected them. By accepting gifts, even a token gift such as a box of chocolates, they put at risk the impartiality of their judgment, thereby undermining their ethical obligation as public servants.
> Similarly, elected officials owe their unbiased judgment to the people who elected them. By accepting gifts, even a token gift such as a box of chocolates, they put at risk the impartiality of their judgment, thereby undermining their ethical obligation as public servants.