Safra Working Papers

December 11, 2010

National Panel on Ethics Training

At the annual Council on Governmental Ethics conference in Washington D.C.

From left:

  • Kurt Nemes, World Bank Ethics Office
  • Carla Miller, City Ethics
  • Matt Cross, Office of Governmental Ethics
Each presented as a part of an ethics training seminar in Washington DC, Dec. 2010


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Conflicts of Interest October 17, 2013

Negative Conflicts of Interest

Conflicts of interest are not always positive, any more than relationships are always positive. And conflicts are based on relationships.

We tend to think of an official using his position to help a family member or business associate. But sometimes officials use their position to harm someone with whom they have a negative relationship, anyone from a former in-law (the bum who dumped my sister) or current in-law (that woman who's driving my brother crazy) to a former business partner or a major business competitor.
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Conflicts of Interest November 29, 2006

Nepotism

Nepotism seems to be more a matter of taste than other conflict provisions. Everyone knows that it looks bad to hire members of one's own family, but many people feel that government is like business, and in business people do this all the time. What is family for? What are your thoughts on including nepotism in a municipal ethics code, and what are your experiences with such provisions and with the conflict itself?

100(13).

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September 3, 2014

Nepotism in Metro Atlanta

Nepotism is a difficult topic to get a hold of. It is the most generally accepted kind of ethical misconduct, most governments do not keep records (or, at least, public records) of familial relationships, and nepotism provisions are rarely enforced. For all of these reasons, the news media do not give nepotism much coverage. So in many governments, especially those with poor ethics environments, nepotism is common.
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Conflicts of Interest August 20, 2013

Nepotism: Definition, Exceptions, Waiver

There are two ways to write a nepotism provision. One is to have a short, straightforward prohibition, and allow requests for a waiver under special circumstances. The most frequent circumstance would be a small town or school system where there are not a lot of prospective employees to choose from.

The other way is the one chosen by Louisiana:  three pages of exceptions from the general rule (attached; see below).
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April 13, 2009

Nevada Legislative Immunity Appeal: A Sigh of Relief Regarding Institutional Waiver, and a Legislator's Neverneverland

The Nevada legislative immunity appellate briefs have been filed, and they are worth reading for those interested in the intersection between government ethics enforcement and legislative immunity, an intersection where, in the last year, there have been a few collisions harmful to the cause of government ethics. Although this case involves a state legislator, it is in some ways applicable to local government legislators.
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November 25, 2008

Nevada Senator Given Legislative Immunity from Ethics Commission Jurisdiction

A Nevada court found yesterday that the state ethics commission did not have jurisdiction over a state senator on grounds of legislative immunity, even though the state constitution has no Speech or Debate Clause. The judge gave the senator a preliminary injuction to prevent his having to appear before the ethics commission next week. No decision is available yet, but the judge did say that the state constitution would have to be amended for the ethics commission to have jurisdiction over a state legislator.
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April 7, 2011

New Cuyahoga County Ethics Code

This week, according to an article in the Cleveland Plain Dealer, Cuyahoga County (which includes Cleveland) passed a new ethics code, largely based on the recommended code drafted in October by the Code of Ethics Workgroup, set up by the Cuyahoga County Transition Advisory Group Executive Committee (the transition referred to is a change in form of government; see
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March 24, 2010

New Government Ethics Organization Mischaracterizes the State of Government Ethics, and Acts Politically

Yesterday, my attention was drawn to a new organization called Foundation for Ethics in Public Service, Inc., which operates as the website www.reportpubliccorruption.org. On February 11, its executive director, Leslie W. Merritt, Jr., a former North Carolina state auditor, sent out a statement to newspapers across the country about state and federal ethics commissions.
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