(A) The public judges its government by the way public officials and employees conduct themselves in the post to which they are elected or appointed. The people have a right to expect that every public official and employee will conduct himself in a manner that will tend to preserve public confidence in and respect for the government he represents.
(B) Such confidence and respect can best be promoted if every public official and employee, whether paid or unpaid, whether elected or appointed, will uniformly:
(1) Treat all citizens with courtesy, impartiality, fairness, and equality under the law; and
(2) Avoid both actual and potential conflicts between his private self-interest and the public interest.
('79 Code, § 412(1))