All candidates for any public office from dog catcher to president should face background checks up the wazoo including the ‘mental health’ checks they are so frikking fond of. They should be disqualified for past and/or present drug and alcohol use and be drug tested every single month. Felons should be automatically disqualified. Their finances should be open to public scrutiny every day that they serve and there should be no exemptions for themselves from any law they pass on their constituents.
And that is just for starters.
They should also have their ferns checked, too. No druggies in the pharmacy, no safecrackers in the jewelry store vault, no peds in the schools. (Arrest Kevin Jennings.)