City Ethics | Breaking the oxymoron: "City Ethics"

February 4, 2015

A new Sunshine Law suit in Florida...

From the Miami Herald blog: Newspapers, advocates sue the governor and Cabinet for sunshine violation The Florida Society of Newspaper Editors, the Associated Press, a Tampa lawyer and a coalition of sunshine advocates filed a lawsuit late Tuesday alleging that Gov. Rick Scott and the Cabinet violated the state's open meeting laws when the governor unilaterally decided to "force the resignation" of former Florida Department of Law Enforcement Chief Gerald Bailey and they consented.

Conflicts of Interest January 23, 2015

Lawyer-Client Confidentiality and Money Laundering

The arrest of New York state senate majority leader Sheldon Silver points to an ongoing institutional problem that is not limited to New York state: the law firm as the perfect place to launder money. The reason for this is that lawyer-client confidentiality, at least as it is often practiced, allows a law firm, and the public office holders who are part of or do work for it, to keep its clients, its services, its receipts, and its payments secret.

December 30, 2014

An End-of-Year Miscellany

Call for a State Municipal Lobbying Code

December 22, 2014

Contingency Fees and Lobbying and Contracting with Attorneys General

There is a lot of disagreement over whether contingency fee arrangements between client and lobbyist should be permitted. Many cities, counties, and states prohibit arrangements where lobbyists are paid only if they succeed. The principal reason is that this arrangement encourages ethical misconduct. It encourages lobbyists to do everything they can to win, which may be good in a private adversary suit, but is not appropriate in a public context, where winning involves changes in public policy or obtaining public contracts, grants, or permits.

Transparency & Disclosure December 19, 2014

The Secrecy That Accompanies the Lack of Lobbying Disclosure

ALEC has gone local. No, not Alec Baldwin. ALEC is the American Legislative Exchange Council, an organization that for the last few years has been drafting conservative legislation for state legislatures.

December 17, 2014

Lobbying Oversight Programs Are Hot in Canada

When it comes to local lobbying oversight, cities are falling like flies. At least in Canada.

Campaign Finance & Pay-to-Play December 17, 2014

The Ethics of Combining Charitable and Campaign Contributions

It amazes me how many ways elected officials misuse charitable organizations to engage in ethical misconduct, especially to get around gift rules. One would think that charities would be sufficiently sacrosanct. But instead they are frequently used as an indirect form of pay to play, and they have played a major role in getting around campaign finance limitations.

December 15, 2014

A Uniformed Union Fiefdom in NYC

I've written several posts about individuals who have created fiefdoms (a D.A., a housing authority director, a city pension board attorney, the director of a council of local governmen

Conflicts of Interest December 9, 2014

Local Officials Officiating at Restricted Sources' Weddings

According to an article yesterday on the Baltimore Brew website, a year ago Baltimore's mayor officiated at a wedding between two individuals who lobby the city government. In Las Vegas, no less.

Mayors, judges and, sometimes, other local government officials often officiate at weddings. Some ethics codes have a special exception from the gift ban that allows for this, but most make no mention of it.

Transparency & Disclosure December 7, 2014

Disclosing Lobbyists' Language

The principal value of lobbying, according to both lobbyists and government officials, is the expert information lobbyists provide. The view is often stated that, with the resources they have, government officials could not effectively do their job without the expertise they obtain from lobbyists.

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