Updated Oct. 10, 2008; see final three paragraphs

New York City is in a crisis. But its mayor and 2/3 of its City Council will have to leave office due to term limits imposed by referendum in the 1990s.

Mayor Bloomberg wants to get rid of term limits, and Ronald Lauder, the billionaire who backed the term limits referenda campaigns, wants them suspended for the 2009 election, due to the financial crisis and its devastating effects on New York City. Bloomberg says that the issue could be put to the people again in 2010, so effectively, both are looking for a temporary fix that will apply to current officeholders.

But for that reason, it runs into not only a democracy issue (can a council override a law set by referendum?), but also into a government ethics issue:  is it appropriate to change a law only to preserve one's own political office?

"I just don't see it that there would be any motivation in such that people would be trying to evade Freedom of Information responsibilities."

When does an interest become an interest? When an official starts thinking about entering into a contract? When she starts negotiating the contract? When she agrees on the details? When she actually signs the contract? Or is this not really the question to focus on?

According to an article in the Aspen (CO) Daily News, this issue arose recently on the Aspen City Council.

Sometimes a conflict of interest can help a community save money. An official with a relationship to a company might be able to negotiate a better deal for his town, as long as his company gets the business and the credit. But is this legitimate, and even if it is, how should it be handled?

Sometimes it's very difficult for a government official to deal with a conflict of interest involving a member of his or her immediate family. The common approach to ethics is to assume that an official will favor a family member, but sometimes an ethics law can take an official out of the uncomfortable position of having to reject a family member. And sometimes the situation with a family member can have elements of both.

In an op-ed piece in today's New York Times, John S. D. Eisenhower, son of the president, came out strongly against allowing any president's or vice-president's child to be assigned to duty in a combat zone.

A troubling KMOV television news report from Missouri (yes, another story from Missouri) has caught fire on right-leaning blogs. A self-styled Obama Truth Squad has been formed in Missouri, consisting of city and county prosecutors and sheriffs, who intend to set the record straight in response to advertisements that falsely characterize Sen. Obama and his policies. Examples include his religion and his tax cut proposal.