Updates: August 24 and 26, 2010 (see below)

For those who, like me, believe that neither a mayor nor a local legislative body nor a city attorney has any business getting involved in the government ethics process, here's an example you can use of the mess they can make when they do get involved.

San Marcos (TX) Council candidate Toby Hooper, in his first public statement as a candidate, said some of the right things about ethics:

On the role of an ethics commission (he's a member of the city's ethics review commission):

Gifts from restricted sources, that is, from those doing business with the local government (and their lobbyists), are exceptionally damaging, in that they make the public believe their officials can be bought or that their officials are running a pay-to-play government. It's too bad that at least some members of the Los Angeles ethics commission don't recognize this.

Recusal is a two-part process. First, the official discloses his interest in a matter that has or will come before his board or agency. Then, the official does not participate in that matter.

In Tucson, this process was distorted by the involvement of a board attorney. According to an article in Wednesday's Arizona Daily Star, the chair and vice-chair of the Rio Nuevo Multipurpose Facilities District Board, an important development board in Tucson, were concerned about a member's possible conflict of interest and asked the board's attorney for an advisory opinion. The city of 540,000 does not appear to have an ethics officer or commission, so this was the most reasonable alternative.

The Kansas City, MO ethics commission situation is a mess. Last month, I wrote about the problem that arose regarding EC members who made campaign contributions to candidates over whom they had jurisdiction, leading to two resignations. Soon after, the council prohibited EC members from making contributions, and two more members resigned, leaving only three members. But that's only the icing on the cake.

The usual image we get when we hear about a government official getting something free from a contractor is of a new kitchen or driveway. But free services can also be invisible, like legal advice and other professional service.