Safra Working Papers

November 23, 2010

Local + Regional Corruption = National Corruption

The spread of corruption from local to state to national is often ignored. And when corruption is discovered, there is much litigation. In fact, it's often hard to see corruption clearly here in the U.S. That's why the occasional look at corruption abroad is useful, like looking in an only slightly distorted mirror.

This is true of an Indian matter written about in yesterday's New York Times. Here is a list of sentences that describe what apparently happened:
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Campaign Finance & Pay-to-Play April 2, 2013

Local Campaign Finance Laws Are Also Minimum Requirements

Government ethics is a process issue. Process issues appeal more to, and are better understood by, lawyers. Although corruption may be seen as a substance issue, the ways to prevent it are considered procedural. So at election time, most candidates choose not to talk about ethics reform, at least in any detail. When they raise the issue, it is usually to portray themselves as clean and ethical, and sometimes to portray others as corrupt.
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August 20, 2008

Local Election Officials and Accountability after HAVA

Local election officials have been put in a bind since the Help America Vote Act (HAVA) was passed by Congress in 2002. Federal and state requirements limit their control over voting processes, and there have been many problems with the companies that provide voting equipment and services. Besides the pains of dealing with these companies from a position of weakness, the biggest problem is accountability and confidence in the voting process.
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April 16, 2014

Local Ethics Reform in Massachusetts

Because Massachusetts has one of the better state ethics programs with jurisdiction over local officials, there are very few local ethics programs, unlike the situation in Florida, California, or Texas, for example.
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Conflicts of Interest January 7, 2009

Local Government Attorneys - Criminal Defense and Labor Case Conflicts?

The status of a local government attorney is important. An external local government attorney, that is, one not employed full-time by the government, is still seen as the top legal official in town, someone whose word is effectively law, especially at government meetings. Such an attorney is also seen as representing the public interest whenever the government is involved.
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Ethics Codes & Reform March 27, 2009

Local Government Attorneys - More or Fewer Ethics Rules?

Recently, the Jackson County (MO) county legislature decided to exclude not only county legislature members from its new ethics code, but also county attorneys. This exception is hidden square in the middle of a 58-page code:

This chapter applies to all public servants, as the term is defined in this chapter, except licensed attorneys at law acting in the course and scope of their duties as such, who are subject to the rules of professional conduct promulgated by the Supreme Court of Missouri.
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Conflicts of Interest March 4, 2009

Local Government Attorneys' Conflict re Conflicts

The most complicating (sic) part of conflicts of interest is the being interested part. When one is interested in something, not necessarily in a financial way, it can be very hard to get the emotional distance necessary to analyze a conflict properly. In other words, it's hard for many people to admit the possibility that they may have a conflict and then to determine rationally what should be done about it.

A case in point involves the village attorney of Mokena, IL.
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Local Government Practice July 21, 2008

Local Government Dependency on Drug Asset Forfeiture in Texas

The drug war is not really about drugs, it's about addiction. And dependency is what powers addiction.

As it turns out, dependency is also what powers the drug war, at least in Texas. Local government agencies, and often local governments themselves, are dependent on the money that comes from asset forfeitures related to the drug trade. We're talking hundreds of millions of dollars.

Click here to read the rest of this blog entry.
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Local Government Practice November 2, 2009

Local Government Employees on Local Government Pension Boards - An Important Court Case in California

It's been over three years since I wrote about the conflict situation of San Diego's pension board. Its members were selected by the city government labor unions and by the city, and they worked for the city. When an increase in their retirement benefits was explicitly tied to their approval of a reduction in contributions to the pension plan, the pension board members acted in their personal interest and against the interest of the city's taxpayers in the responsible handling of the pension system.
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December 31, 2008

Local Government Ethics Audioconference

The International City/County Management Association (the city, county, and town manager professional organization) is holding a 90-minute audioconference on local government ethics on January 29. I do not know the details of the program, and I am not endorsing it, but it sounds like a very inexpensive way for local government managers and employees to share a professional presentation on local government ethics.
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