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The most interesting thing Gov. Bev Perdue said here Monday morning had nothing to do with the 50th anniversary of the Woolworth sit-ins or the opening of the International Civil Rights Center & Museum.

We've all got to make sure government is "set straight," and that's it's honest and works for us, she said.

Has she been reading the news from Greensboro lately?

Of course, there's no doubt she's keenly aware of recent events in Raleigh, including the 51 federal charges filed last month against Ruffin Poole, who was top aide to former Gov. Mike Easley. The indictment provides an eye-opening account of how someone in high public office can use political power for personal financial gain.

If Perdue's got ideas for cleaning that kind of corruption out of state government, she needs to act now. It's getting tiresome.

Unless some miracle saves him, Poole seems likely to end up in prison. If he does, he'll follow a state agriculture commissioner, legislators, including a speaker of the House, a lottery commissioner and a congressman. Easley himself and former U.S. Sen. John Edwards are under investigation and look to be in a heap of trouble.

Clearly, there's been a culture of corruption in Raleigh.

But it's not confined to Raleigh. Local officials, ranging from a sheriff taking payoffs from video poker operators to a prosecutor implicated in fixing drunken-driving cases, have abused their offices, too.

It all points to the need for serious new laws governing the behavior of elected officials.

True, enforcement of existing laws has nailed some. But the real concern is how many skate away either because their activities are winked at or by taking advantage of laws that are laughably weak.

That's where our local news comes into play.

Guilford County Commissioners Chairman Melvin "Skip" Alston recused himself from voting back in December when his board included a Greensboro hotel project on a list of proposals approved for federal bond financing -- then continued to advocate on its behalf with other elected officials while he was acting as a real-estate broker for the deal.

According to Alston, it's unfair to expect him to step away from a job just because he holds public office. The law agrees, but the law doesn't consider the behind-the-scenes influence a powerful politician still can exert over the public decision-making process.

If North Carolina truly wants to reduce opportunities for elected officials to use their power to win public support for projects through which they personally profit, it must enact tough new conflict-of-interest laws. One suggestion: If an elected official has a financial connection to a project, then that project should be ineligible for public support of any kind.

This must be backed by strict financial disclosure reporting by elected officials, with heavy penalties for violations.

Some politicians will protest. That would require them to give up too many business interests and sacrifice income.

Too bad. If business interests conflict with public service, give up one or the other. Everyone is entitled to earn an honest living. But holding public office requires a person to serve the public interest first, not his own.

As an aside, the Alston matter strengthens the point that only a commissioner elected countywide should be eligible to serve as chairman. The most powerful official in Guilford County should be directly accountable to all the voters of the county, not just those in one district representing roughly 10 percent of the population -- just as the mayor of Greensboro must be elected by all city voters. If someone wants to be chairman or vice chairman, he or she should run at large. Holding a position of immense power without accountability to the electorate is a formula for bad government.

North Carolina has had bad government for years, marked by a sluggish economy, high unemployment, poor services, high taxes, crumbling roads and bridges and budgets balanced with federal bailouts. Is it a coincidence that so many corruption scandals have occurred at the same time? Are leaders really trying to do their best for the state or for themselves and their cronies? Who's looking out for the interests of the people -- other than one very busy U.S. attorney in Raleigh?

The governor and legislature have an obligation to see to it, as Perdue said, that "government is set straight." It sure looks crooked now. Local government authorities also owe it to their constituents to enforce integrity and honest dealings in all their practices. Business as usual is not acceptable.