Safra Working Papers
A Pattern of Behavior Investigated, Secretly, as Distinct Acts
Robert Wechsler
Investigations of purported ethics violations by the Middlesex County
(MA) sheriff apparently led to his suicide on Saturday. According to a
Boston
Globe chronology, the sheriff filed papers for retirement on
October 28, while running for re-election on November 2. His plan was
to get a pension and a salary.
A Possible Cause of Action When an Official Retaliates Against a Citizen
Robert Wechsler
What can a citizen do when a local government official falsely impugns
her reputation and retaliates against her due to her opposition to a
matter the official supports? The City Ethics Model Code has
a provision that deals with an official falsely impugning a citizen's
reputation, but very few ethics codes contain such a provision. And
even our model code has nothing that deals with retaliation.
A Primer for Government Lawyers Faced with Officials' Conflicts
Robert Wechsler
Today I came across the Municipal
Research and Services Center of Washington (State) website. MRSC is
"private, non-profit organization based in Seattle," whose mission is
"to promote excellence in Washington local government through
professional consultation, research and information services."
A Problematic Baltimore Legislative Immunity Decision
Robert Wechsler
Update - July 31, 2009 - see below
A Proposal to Make New York City's Conflicts of Interest Board More Independent
Robert Wechsler
The ethics commission for the largest American city, and the only one
with a truly appropriate title — New York City's Conflicts
of Interest Board — is appointed by the city's extremely strong
mayor, with council approval.
If this old and highly respected EC were to be made independent of the administration it oversees, it would send an important message to the rest of the country's local governments.
If this old and highly respected EC were to be made independent of the administration it oversees, it would send an important message to the rest of the country's local governments.
A Proposed Ethics Code for Memphis Falls Short
Robert Wechsler
Three years ago, I
featured Memphis in a blog post, noting that, in the last six
years,
66 government officials, employees, and contractors had been found guilty of
various sorts of government-related crimes. Last year, I noted that the city's
mayor had resigned under a cloud of accusations.
A Proposed Procurement Review Task Force in Miami-Dade
Robert Wechsler
The mayor of Miami-Dade County has announced the formation of a
Procurement Review Task Force to, according to his May 6 memo
(attached; see below), "improve and simplify our procurement
process."
The principal goals of the task force are:
The principal goals of the task force are:
To ensure that all procurements continue to be conducted with the maximum level of transparency, fairness and integrity."
A Public Interest That Is Personal and Material
Robert Wechsler
There is an assumption held by people involved in government ethics that putting one’s personal interests ahead of the public interest is bad, that a healthy democracy depends on government officials working for the public interest rather than for themselves.
But not everyone holds this view.
A Recall Effort in Miami-Dade: Pros and Cons
Robert Wechsler
Update: December 16, 2012 (see below)
A Regional Solution to Regional Corruption
Robert Wechsler
In February, I wrote seven
blog posts applying some of the concepts and practices of
nonviolence to the field of government ethics. This is effectively
an eighth post. This time the inspiration is not a book, but the
latest issue of the journal New Routes, entitled "Peace
Without Borders: Regional Peacebuilding in Focus."
A Remedy for Lack of Ethics Training and Advice?
Robert Wechsler
How important is ethics training? According to Justice Ginsburg's
dissent in Connick
v. Thompson, a 5-4 decision by the U.S. Supreme Court on
March 29, it is the difference between life and death.
A Reminder About Ethical Reminders
Robert Wechsler
Dan Ariely, an economist at M.I.T., made up a test that is easy to cheat on, in order to see how social situations might affect students’ choices whether to actually cheat or not. As described in his new book, Predictably Irrational, he found that students who had been asked to recall the Ten Commandments did not cheat at all.
A Responsible Act of Non-Denial in San Diego, a Den of Denial
Robert Wechsler
It's great to read newspaper commentary that shows an understanding
of how an unethical organization acts, in this case, the effects of its employment of denial. Scott Lewis,
voiceofsandiego.org's Executive Editor and political commentator, did
this in a
column this week.
A Restricted Source Involved in a Preferential Arrest and a Questionable Third-Party Candidacy
Robert Wechsler
Sometimes, conflict of interest matters come disguised as election
law matters. Most of the time, due to secrecy, laziness, or an
inability to draw lines between the dots, no one recognizes the
conflict of interest matter. But sometimes, someone gives the game
away, and it becomes clear how inextricable the two areas can be.
A Rotten Crop of Oranges in Tamarac, Florida
Robert Wechsler
I talk a lot about poor ethics environments, probably the single most
important element in unethical conduct. But since loyalty is the
strongest force in such environments, a great deal of work is done to
hide the existence of poor ethics environments. After unethical conduct
is discovered, it is rare for anyone to set out just how bad things
were.
A Second Baltimore Legislative Immunity Decision: There Are Limits!
Robert Wechsler
There are limits on the legislative immunity of local government
officials, according to a decision yesterday by the Baltimore Circuit
Court in the Dixon case (attached; see below), involving the mayor of
Baltimore at the time she was president of the city council.
A Second Constitutionality Opinion in Broward County, Just Like the First
Robert Wechsler
According to a letter (attached; see below) from a Fort Lauderdale attorney hired to provide a second opinion on the constitutionality of a lobbying provision in the proposed Broward County ethics code, the Broward county attorney (who wrote the first opinion) has decided not to continue seeking a declaratory judgment due to its cost to the county and the likelihood that a decision would be too late to serve its purpose (see my recent blog post<
A Serious Sort of Local Government Preferential Treatment Is Before the Supreme Court Today
Robert Wechsler
See update below
A central element of government ethics is that preferential treatment is bad. Preferential treatment is bad when it involves favoring officials' businesses or family members over other businesses and individuals. Preferential treatment is even bad when it involves officials' favorite charities. And preferential treatment is especially bad when it involves officials' religions.
A central element of government ethics is that preferential treatment is bad. Preferential treatment is bad when it involves favoring officials' businesses or family members over other businesses and individuals. Preferential treatment is even bad when it involves officials' favorite charities. And preferential treatment is especially bad when it involves officials' religions.
A Sheriff Joe Campaign Finance Gambit
Robert Wechsler
I don't normally deal with purely campaign finance issues, but this gambit is too good (or too bad) to pass by. The perpetrator of the gambit is our old friend Sheriff Joe Arpaio of Maricopa County, AZ.
You see, he's not running for sheriff again until 2012, but he doesn't like one of the guys who's running for county attorney in 2010, and he's got lots of money left over from the last election.