Safra Working Papers | City Ethics

Conflicts of Interest March 19, 2011

The Basis of Human (and Government) Success

It's always nice to know that your discipline is at the heart of what it means to be human. In Tuesday's New York Times Science Section, Nicholas Wade wrote:

Biologists have little hesitation in linking humans’ success to their sociality. The ability to cooperate, to make individuals subordinate their strong sense of self-interest to the needs of the group, lies at the root of human achievement.

Ethics Codes & Reform June 18, 2008

The Benefits of Hyperlinking Ethics Codes, and the Dependency of Children

According to an article in the Cincinnati Enquirer, a county commissioner in Ohio voted on a contract that went to her non-dependent son, and she is being investigated by the Ohio Ethics Commission.

Transparency & Disclosure August 11, 2008

The Benefits of Interactive Local Government Information on the Internet

In a recent blog entry, I looked at how a couple of Connecticut towns are using the Internet to get citizen feedback and provide transparency. But some cities have gone much further, according to a syndicated column by Neal Peirce.

Resources & Learning June 19, 2007

The Best Continuing Ethics Education No Money Can Buy -- With Deterrence Thrown In

One great advantage of handling local government ethics matters at the state level is that decisions and advisory opinions can be easily and widely disseminated to all local governments in the state. This sort of publicity is good for several reasons. One, it provides precedents and guidance to local government officials. Two, it provides deterrence by showing the consequences of a wide variety of ethical violations.

Ethics Codes & Reform July 20, 2011

The Big Picture

Monday evening, I learned about the serious consequences that can result from not giving ethics commission members a clear understanding of what government ethics is, and what it is not.

The occasion was the consideration by the Democracy Fund board, which oversees the public campaign financing program in New Haven, of a possible violation of the program's ordinance and regulations.

Campaign Finance & Pay-to-Play March 29, 2012

The Black Boxes Known as Campaign Vendors

ProPublica ran an excellent article yesterday by Kim Barker and Al Shaw about campaign, PAC, and Super PAC coordination and self-dealing, primarily at the presidential level. What is so special about the article is that it follows the money to where it is being spent. The authors found that many PAC and Super PAC vendors are the same vendors, or different vendors owned by the same people, as the presidential campaigns'.

June 16, 2010

The Broward County Commission Should Not Be Challenging the Constitutionality of a Lobbying Provision

Update: June 18, 2010 (see below)

June 24, 2011

The Broward League of Cities' Poor Ethics Recommendations

It's fascinating how different issues are important to local government officials in difference places at different times. I couldn't say that officials will always dig in their heels and fight this ethics provision, or that another ethics provision never raises an eyebrow.

January 8, 2011

The Carrigan Free Speech Case Goes to the Supreme Court - The Florida Amicus Brief

Note: I made a few important changes to this blog post on January 10, in conjunction with the posting of my analysis of the parties' briefs in this case.

January 10, 2011

The Carrigan Free Speech Case Goes to the Supreme Court - The Parties' Briefs

This second blog post on the briefs filed concerning whether the Carrigan case should be accepted by the U.S. Supreme Court glances at arguments in the briefs filed by the two parties and then makes a different argument for why the First Amendment has no place in this sort of government ethics matter. Making this argument gets to the root of how the Constitution, and government ethics, protect the public. If only the courts would let the Constitution and government ethics work together, as they should, instead of placing them at loggerheads.

Enforcement & Complaints May 4, 2011

The Carrigan Oral Argument: How to Deal with Vagueness

Needless to say, last week's oral argument before the U.S. Supreme Court in the Carrigan v. Nevada Commission on Ethics case, which I have been following over the past year, was the last oral argument of the term. Was this putting local government ethics in the caboose or saving the best for last?

July 26, 2012

The Chick-fil-A Controversy Is Really a Government Ethics Issue

If you read the newspapers and blogs, the big issues in the Chicago Chick-fil-A controversy are free speech and government boycotts. But it's really a government ethics issue.

All rational voices acknowledge that a local legislator should not block a store opening just because it has given large sums to help an unpopular political cause. What they aren't saying is that a local legislator shouldn't be able to block a store opening in his district at all. Zoning matters should not be up to council members. They should be up to zoning boards and zoning officials.

Conflicts of Interest June 9, 2010

The Cincinnati Situation II - Conflicts and Indirect Benefits

A government official's relationships -- to family, employer, business -- are very important to determining whether conflicts exist. Both the type and the directness of each relationship are also important.

Conflicts of Interest June 10, 2010

The Cincinnati Situation III - Indefinite Benefits and Proximity

Indefinite benefits, like indirect benefits, are often not dealt with by ethics codes, and this means that they can cause confusion and controversy. This is one reason I tend to speak in terms of "possible conflicts," because possible conflicts based on indefinite benefits can be just as injurious to the public trust as certain conflicts based on certain benefits.

June 10, 2010

The Cincinnati Situation IV - Proportionality

In determining whether a conflict or preferential treatment might exist, another aspect of benefits, in addition to how definite or direct they are, is their proportionality. Stated in the form of a question, Is the benefit at issue just one of many equivalent benefits to a sizeable group, such as senior citizens or property owners, or is it especially large?

Conflicts of Interest March 22, 2007

The Class Exception

No, the class exception does not except classy people from ethics codes. It excepts people from recusing themselves when the interests they have that would be affected by an act or decision are similar to a broad class of people. The biggest class is, of course, taxpayers. Municipal officials can vote for budgets even though their taxes are affected by it. Other classes excepted without controversy include homeowners, renters, members of a pension plan, and business owners.

Ethics Codes & Reform November 5, 2012

The Collateral Damage of No Ethics Program

Independent agencies, especially those with lots of money to spend and contracts to enter into, require not just ethics policies, but a comprehensive, independent ethics program. This rarely acknowledged fact has been made clear once again by an external audit of an agency that proved completely unable to self-regulate its officials' and employees' conflicts of interest.

Ethics Codes & Reform March 25, 2008

The Conditions for Ethics Reform

In an upcoming book, The Rule of Law and Development, Michael Trebilcock and Ron Daniels divide developing countries into three groups (according to an article in last week’s Economist): 1. Those where politicians, lawyers, and the public all support legal reform (e.g., Central Europe after the end of communism); 2. Those where politicians support legal reform, but lawyers and the police do not (e.g., Chile); and 3.

Ethics Commissions & Administration April 30, 2008

The Confidentiality of Ethics Proceedings and the Duties This Creates

Confidentiality is a sticky issue in ethics investigations. It appears to be the norm, but many people do not seem to understand why it exists, or what duties it creates. An interesting confidentiality issue arose recently in Beaufort, South Carolina, according to an article in today’s Beaufort Gazette. A former mayoral candidate filed a complaint against the current mayor with the state Ethics Commission.

Conflicts of Interest March 21, 2009

The Conflict at the Heart of the Local Election Process

Last October, I wrote a blog entry about why parties should fight elections, not referee them. An indictment this month in Kentucky emphasizes the need for the election process to be taken out of the hands of those contending for the results of that process.