Patronage - Good for Politics, Bad for Administration
According to an
article in the Washington Post this week, a politics professor,
David E.
Safra Working Papers
June 25, 2014
Patronage in Illinois, or Shakman Is Dead, Long Live Shakman
It's the end of an era. Last week, according to an
article in the Chicago Tribune, a federal
magistrate declared that Chicago was released from the 1972 Shakman
consent decree, which was supposed to end patronage (for a long
time, however, patronage went underground; see my 2006 blog post on
this). From now on, there will be no more federal oversight
over city hiring.
January 4, 2009
Pay-to-Play Scandal Takes Out Bill Richardson
Life would be easier for honest politicians if there could be no
intersection between government contracts and contributions to campaign
and candidate-associated political committees. The possibility of
Commerce Secretary nominee Bill Richardson's involvement in a New Mexico pay-to-play situation has led him to withdraw himself from the
nomination process, according to an
AP article today.
Transparency & Disclosure
August 26, 2009
Paying for a Lack of Government Transparency
Who should pay for a lack of government transparency, the officials
keeping the secrets or the citizens who lack access to information?
As it is now, in most jurisdictions, when a complaint is made under a freedom of information/sunshine (FOI) act or ordinance, either local government attorneys represent the respondent or the respondent is compensated for reasonable legal fees. In effect, the complaint is treated as if it were filed against the local government rather than against the official.
As it is now, in most jurisdictions, when a complaint is made under a freedom of information/sunshine (FOI) act or ordinance, either local government attorneys represent the respondent or the respondent is compensated for reasonable legal fees. In effect, the complaint is treated as if it were filed against the local government rather than against the official.
Campaign Finance & Pay-to-Play
April 25, 2008
Paying Relatives to Work on Council Campaigns - Issues of Trust
Once again, the New York Times has an article today that touches on municipal ethics issues. A municipal scandal does wonders.
This time the issue is campaigns hiring relatives of city council candidates. It happens all the time, and it’s not illegal (in New York City and most of the country), but as Susan Lerner, the executive director of New York Common Cause, is quoted as saying, “It’s the type of thing which makes ordinary voters suspicious of the motives of candidates.
Enforcement & Complaints
April 1, 2011
Penalizing Ethics Proceeding Transparency
Transparency is one of the most controversial aspects of government
ethics. It's so controversial that it is rarely
discussed in terms of transparency. It is almost always discussed in terms of
confidentiality, which is rarefly referred to by its popular name: secrecy. This careful use of words leads people to devalue transparency.
Enforcement & Complaints
November 27, 2006
Penalties
This is the place to comment on the penalty provisions of the Model Code, to recommend alternative penalties, to share experiences with various penalties and the lack of certain penalties, and to discuss the advantages and disadvantages of various penalties. For example, please share your experiences with ethics commissions that have the power to suspend or remove employees, as well as with situations where this power is reserved to the legislative body or other individuals or bodies.
Ethics Codes & Reform
February 2, 2007
Penalties and Unions
This is the place to discuss negotiating with unions regarding penalties that apply to their municipal employee members. This is a sensitive area, where open discussion could be especially helpful to preventing friction by considering union perspectives and requirements as part of the process of preparating or amending an ethics code.
Conflicts of Interest
November 27, 2006
Penalties Relating to Contracts
This is the place to discuss penalties involving contracts. There are two in the Model Code: automatic voiding of contracts upon a finding of a violation of the Code, and debarment of persons and entities from entering into other contracts with the municipality after violating the Code.
Do you think these penalties are too harsh? Are there other appropriate penalties involving contracts? Please share your opinions as well as your experiences with these penalties or experiences where these penalties were not available?
106.
November 3, 2009
Pension Board Reform in California
While on the subject of pension boards in California, it's worth
mentioning a new California bill, Bill
1584, signed into law on October 18.
Enforcement & Complaints
June 17, 2008
Pension Forfeiture
My state, Connecticut, has just added itself to the at least 14 states
that provide for public official pension forfeiture. Like some of the
other states, its new law covers municipal officials.
January 15, 2010
Pension Forfeiture in Baltimore
"My e-mail boxes are full of angry letters about [former Baltimore
mayor] Dixon's retirement
package being left intact. The deal to resolve this case and get Ms.
Dixon out of office seems to have sparked more public emotion than the
mayor's transgressions." (Dan
Rodricks' column in the Baltimore Sun)
Conflicts of Interest
June 12, 2008
Pension Fund Boards and Conflicts of Interest
Who should be on a local government pension board? Should conflicts of
interest be taken into account? These two questions are closely
interrelated, because the common answer seems to be that those with the
greatest conflict are also the most appropriate members.
There are two values at odds here: letting employees and retirees manage their own pensions, and the public interest in having tax dollars handled by disinterested and competent individuals.
Click here to read the rest of this blog entry.
There are two values at odds here: letting employees and retirees manage their own pensions, and the public interest in having tax dollars handled by disinterested and competent individuals.
Click here to read the rest of this blog entry.
Transparency & Disclosure
February 13, 2009
Perks for Public Officials -- Transparency and Accountability
Perks that public officials give themselves should be monitored as carefully as gifts, campaign contributions, and relationships with contractors. But they are not. And they’re usually easy to hide.
Rarely have perks been hidden as well as those of New York’s Republican state senators, who until this year controlled the senate for over four decades, according to an article in yesterday’s New York Times.
Conflicts of Interest
May 11, 2009
Personal Conflicts and Technicalities
Technicalities should play little role in discussions about local
government ethics. But because there are ethics laws, people
unashamedly talk about ethics technicalities. They see ethics laws as
like any other law, not as minimal requirements that deserve more
thinking about what's appropriate than about what's legal.
Local Government Practice
May 5, 2010
Personal Ethics vs. Government Ethics
Failure to disclose or to recuse oneself, even when it is not legally
required, can lead to some big headaches, as can be seen in Portland,
OR, where a city commissioner voted on a grant to a non-profit
organization where his girlfriend works. Also interesting in this case
is the commissioner's use of personal ethics rather than professional,
government ethics in making his judgment calls.
Campaign Finance & Pay-to-Play
January 26, 2009
Personal Fundraising by Elected Officials
Here's a more interesting story out of Massachusetts, this one from the
state Senate. Former state senator Dianne Wilkerson admits having
accepted up to $70,000 from friends and supporters in what is being called personal fundraising, that is, raising money to pay off personal debts. She says that the gifts were approved by the state
ethics commission and by lawyers.
Conflicts of Interest
February 7, 2009
Personal, Non-Financial Interests
One of my pet peeves is that many if not most local government ethics codes limit the
definition of "conflict of interest" to situations where an official's
interest involves money. But there are many personal interests that create a
conflict, even though no money is involved.
January 11, 2007
Philadelphia's "Ethics Agenda": Making Ethics Central to a Mayoral Campaign
Philadelphia's Committee of Seventy may be a little gray (it recently celebrated its 100th birthday), but in its 'reborn' form (it had taken the limited role of monitoring election activities) it still knows how to take a stand and make a difference.
September 11, 2012
Phoenix Mayor Forms Ethics Task Force
According to an
official press release, yesterday the mayor of Phoenix
announced the formation of an Ethics Review Ad Hoc Task Force, with
eleven members appointed by the mayor, to be chaired by former
Maricopa County Attorney Rick Romley and staffed by the city’s law
and human resources departments.