Ethics Reform

Quick. What's the biggest government ethics problem? Did you say deducting union membership dues from government paychecks? If you didn't, you are clearly not an Republican Alabama state senator. When you think of double-dipping, do you think of a mayor also acting as a state representative, or som…

In May, I wrote a critical assessment of the Luzerne County (PA) Ethics Pledge. From an article last week in the Citizens Voice, I learned that an Exeter council member who had missed numerous council meetings and filed a suit against the borough had actually appeared at a council meeting where he …

A new way to obtain ethics reform is making some headway in New York State. A number of former bigwigs, including former governor Mario Cuomo, and former NYC mayors Ed Koch and Rudy Giuliani, have created an organization called New York Uprising and a three-part pledge, one of which calls for a new…

Can they convict him simply for failing to disclose information when he had no duty to disclose? No Alaska law required it, and there's no federal statute that requires it, so what did he do wrong? — Donald Ayer, attorney for former Alaska state representative Bruce Weyhrauch (December 2009) (taken…

There are a lot of stupid reasons for opposing ethics reform initiatives, but an organization in Utah has pulled a Plaxico Burress with the stupidest of all. The organization, Gun Owners of Utah, opposes Utah's ethics reform initiative because "it contains a de-facto gun registration clause." Membe…