making local government more ethical

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Robert Wechsler
I think it's safe to say that a local government ethics "first" has occurred in Montgomery County, Maryland. A transgendered council aide has filed a complaint against the county ethics commission on the grounds that the EC investigated her because of her gender identity, according to an article in...
Robert Wechsler

“People seem to listen to you more when you’ve got a bagful of cash.”

Thomas J. Donohue, president of U.S. Chamber of Commerce (from today's New York Times)
Robert Wechsler
Update: November 20, 2009 (see below)

The latest news from the federal trial of former New York state senate majority leader Joseph Bruno's is sadly not surprising. According to an Associated Press article yesterday, former senate legal counsel told Bruno to hand-deliver his financial disclosure forms so that there would not be any problems with federal...
Robert Wechsler
One can learn a lot about local government (and judicial) ethics by listening to local officials talk about a conflict situation they're in. Here's one from Dallas County,  where the district attorney's wife is a political consultant for the campaigns of seven judges before whom the D.A.'s office practices.

Robert Wechsler
Since my exchange with an attorney for the Michigan Townships Association in June, I've been wondering about the inherent conflicts involved in local government associations. The bottom line is, Is there any relationship between who sits on the boards of such associations and laws such as the new Michigan...
Robert Wechsler
The mayor of Baltimore is on trial for stealing $1,500 in gift cards, allegedly intended for poor Baltimore residents. A letter to the editor of the Baltimore Sun proposes a better approach than a trial costing hundreds of thousands of dollars:

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