Safra Working Papers | City Ethics

Transparency & Disclosure December 19, 2014

The Secrecy That Accompanies the Lack of Lobbying Disclosure

ALEC has gone local. No, not Alec Baldwin. ALEC is the American Legislative Exchange Council, an organization that for the last few years has been drafting conservative legislation for state legislatures.

Ethics Commissions & Administration June 9, 2009

The Selection of Ethics Commission Members by Community Organizations

Nothing is more important to an ethics program than ensuring that an ethics commission is seen as independent, and not a pawn of politicians. People will not trust the advisory opinions and enforcement decisions of an ethics commission consisting of people with even presumed ties to politicians. Since trust is the principal goal of an ethics program, this is unacceptable.

Conflicts of Interest May 27, 2014

The Selection Process Behind Local Board Misconduct Allegations in Orange County, FL

It all started with a private meeting among three members of the Orlando-Orange County Expressway Authority board, according to an article last week in the Orlando Sentinel. The subject of the informal meeting was the ouster of the executive director, which took place at the next formal meeting.

December 5, 2009

The Self-Serving Nature of Cook County Township Governments

It's been a year since the Council on Governmental Ethics Laws (COGEL), the association of state and local government ethics professionals, met in Cook County, IL. But the day before COGEL meets in Scottdale, AZ, it's time to take another look at one of America's most unethical counties, which includes Chicago.

Ethics Codes & Reform May 7, 2014

The Separation of Lobbying and Campaign Services

According to a post in the Crain's Insider blog last week, the New York City council hired as deputy general counsel a lobbyist whose firm recently had been the council speaker's campaign consultant (the speaker is the leader of the NY city council, elected by its members). This raises an interesting conflict issue relating not only to hiring, but also to firms that both provide campaign services and lobby local government officials.

Conflicts of Interest June 23, 2008

The Special Responsibilities of Prosecutors -- and Other Local Government Attorneys

An article on the front page of today's New York Times presents us with an opportunity to focus on the special ethical responsibilities of prosecutors, and other local government attorneys.

Conflicts of Interest July 25, 2008

The Spitzer Report and the Need for Clearer Boundaries Between Public and Private Work

The New York State Commission on Public Integrity released a report yesterday on the allegations relating to the Spitzer Administration's attempts to gather and make public the travel abuses of the Senate Majority Leader, in order to tarnish his reputation. See the New York Times article.

Ethics Codes & Reform March 9, 2009

The State-Local Obstacle to Ethics Reform

One of the biggest obstacles to ethics reform in some U.S. states and Canadian provinces is the possibility of state enforcement of local ethics. For example, in Connecticut, there has been talk for years at the state level about either having state enforcement or state requirements. Even though it has all been talk, and the towns and cities have successfully talked it down, the same town and city CEOs have said that it's silly to talk about local ethics reform when something might happen at the state level. It's a great way to eat your cake and have it, too.

May 16, 2008

The Statistical Projections Game - The Cards Go Out on the Table

Actuary Jonathan Schwartz has received no funds from City Ethics. But it may seem like that from how perfectly today's front-page New York Times article follows up on the blog entry I posted yesterday.

In yesterday's blog entry, I argued that governments and public sector unions do not have the same right as businesses and ordinary unions to put information in a light that helps their cause. They have a responsibility to be truthful, so that the public can understand what is happening.

October 13, 2009

The Supreme Court Is to Consider How Honest Services Fraud Jives with Ethics Laws

Update: October 16, 2009 (see below)
In his New York Times legal affairs column today, Adam Liptak focused on what is known as "honest services fraud," which is actually part of a definition of "scheme or artifice to defraud" in the federal mail and wire fraud statute (before reading on, please read my earlier blog post on the meaning and history of honest services fraud).

Conflicts of Interest June 13, 2011

The Supreme Court's Local Government Recusal Decision Is Limited to Voting and Legislative Debate

The Supreme Court reached a decision today in the Carrigan case, and it is nearly unanimous. However, it deals with only one part of the arguments made by Carrigan (see my blog post on the oral argument): whether a local legislative vote is protected speech under the First Amendment.

Conflicts of Interest December 14, 2012

The Swords of Politics and the Shield of Government Ethics

No one wants a political government ethics program, and yet the people who most often worry out loud that it will be political want it to be political. This apparent paradox can be explained by looking at the various meanings of the word "political." Which of these meanings is most important to a government ethics program, and which of them are, well, "just politics"? And what can a government ethics program do to lessen politics?

Conflicts of Interest June 3, 2014

The Temptations of Asset Forfeiture

It's been six years since I last wrote about how asset forfeiture is a serious temptation to engage in ethical misconduct. I was planning to write about it again in light of a recent U.S. Supreme Court decision on the subject, Kaley v.

Ethics Codes & Reform February 27, 2009

The Three Lies of Government Ethics

Everyone knows the three lies jokes. Every topic has its three lies, and the third one is the punch line. Unfortunately, in government ethics there aren't any punch lines, but there are lies, or at least common rhetoric that isn't true, what I will refer to as "untruths." Those who believe in effective government ethics programs need to be ready to respond to them when they arise.

Conflicts of Interest September 13, 2013

The Timing and Content of Withdrawal from Participation

Timing is everything. That is the principal lesson to be learned from a conflict situation in West Palm Beach, FL.

Resources & Learning February 24, 2008

The Top Municipal Ethics Film of All Time

I just watched the film Hands Over the City, and I believe it should hop up to the top of City Ethics’ list of Top Ten Ethics Films. Hands Over the City is a dramatic film that is about municipal government ethics, and nothing else.

Ethics Commissions & Administration August 9, 2010

The Tough Way to Revive a Moribund Ethics Commission

What do you do when an ethics commission is moribund? Sadly, few people know and few people care. That is the norm. Rarely does an official complain publicly, "I have no one to give me good ethics advice." She just goes to the city or county attorney, or makes the decision herself. Rarely does anyone complain that there is no ethics training or nowhere to file an ethics complaint. And certainly no official complains that he doesn't have to file a financial disclosure form anymore.

January 5, 2010

The Use of County Party Committees to Launder Campaign Contributions - An Interactive California Report

Worth taking a look at is the work of California Watch in disclosing the use of county party committees to launder campaign contributions far over the legal limits.

The nonpartisan good government organization presents the data in three different forms:

Conflicts of Interest October 11, 2008

The Use of Subordinates as Means and Benefitting a Personal Interest

According to an article in today's New York Times and in yesterday's Huffington Post, the investigator charged by Alaska's Legislative Committee, before Sarah Palin was even being considered as a vice presidential candidate, found in a report that, among other things, Gov.

Campaign Finance & Pay-to-Play February 25, 2015

The Value of a Chicago Referendum on Public Election Financing

Is it, as Every Voice says in its celebratory e-mail last night, an "exciting victory [that] sent a loud and clear mandate to city and state governments to fundamentally reform the way we fund elections so that everyday Americans can take back control of their democracy"?