Good news: Westminster is not alone. No, I am not referring to
the British Parliament or the New York dog show. I am referring to the
Westminster, CO law that says that a campaign contributor has a relationship with the recipient of a sizeable campaign contribution
that gives rise to a conflict of interest and requires the recipient's withdrawal from participation
in any matter involving the contributor (see my blog post on...
On December 6, according to an
article on the Chicago Talks website, Chicago mayoral candidate
Rahm Emanuel promised that he would make many ethics reforms to “change
the culture” of corruption and cronyism at City Hall.
As a postscript to the Jersey Sting,
on Wednesday, according to a
Justice Department press release, the former CFO and CEO of a
company that reconditioned and sold athletic equipment to schools and
universities were...
Two months ago, a book was published called The
Jersey Sting, by two Star-Ledger reporters, Ted Sherman and Josh
Margolin. It provides the history of an enormous federal sting
operation which led to the arrest of dozens of government officials,
most of them from local governments, on July 23, 2009 (see...
Last month, the Obama administration drafted an
executive order that would require those seeking federal government
contracts to disclose their political contributions, and those of their
directors, officers, affiliates, and subsidiaries, made in the two
years before they bid for a contract. This draft executive order has
been the subject of a great and...
According to an
article in the Billings Gazette last week, the Montana Political
Practices Commissioner will have to step down from her position, because
her nomination by the governor was not approved by the state legislature. Her office,
which handles ethics, campaign finance, and lobbying matters, has
jurisdiction over local elected officials...