City Ethics | Breaking the oxymoron: "City Ethics"

Enforcement & Complaints September 8, 2014

Yet Another Problem with the Criminal Enforcement of Government Ethics

In a an op-ed in the Daily Kos last Friday, Janos Marton — special counsel to New York state's recent Moreland Commission on state-level corruption — makes an excellent point about one of the problems involved in the criminal enforcement of government ethics : The Executive Order under which the Co…

September 4, 2014

Chicago: Legislative IG and Mayoral Travel

Chicago's Legislative IG The battle continues in Chicago over government ethics authority and funding. According to the cover letter to the legislative inspector general's semi-annual report dated August 22, 2014 (attached; see below), the IG's office has expended its 2014 budget and the city counc…

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 g…

Enforcement & Complaints August 22, 2014

Criminal vs. Ethics Enforcement of Lobbying Laws: A Case in Massachusetts

There are several problems with the settlement the Massachusetts AG reached last week with a lobbying firm that the AG alleged had entered into an illegal contingency fee agreement with a hospital. According to the AG's press release, the lobbying firm would be paid a percentage of funds paid to th…

Conflicts of Interest August 18, 2014

How Preferential Treatment Toward Municipal Employees and Contractors Can Affect Elections

Ferguson, MO — where Michael Brown was recently killed by a police officer, and the police department's first reaction was to protect the officer and keep the facts secret — is an unusual case of a local government where a scandal is likely to actually increase rather than decrease citizen particip…

Transparency & Disclosure August 15, 2014

There Is No Reason to Leave Principals Out of the Lobbying Disclosure Process

Most people believe that lobbyists are guns hired to influence government officials, and most lobbying laws reflect this by applying only to those who lobby, not to the clients for whom they lobby. Unlike most laws, lobbying laws focus on agents rather than their principals. This problem extend bey…

Conflicts of Interest August 13, 2014

Decisions Regarding Lobbyists Sitting on Advisory Boards

I believe that the best solution to the problem of having lobbyists and others seeking special benefits from the government sitting on government advisory boards is to get rid of these advisory boards. Conflicts involving these boards are important because, although they are "merely advisory," thei…

Conflicts of Interest August 5, 2014

Problems with Obtaining a Job with a Contractor for One's Agency

The Stamford (CT) Advocate's Angela Carella wrote an excellent column on Saturday about a post-employment (also known as revolving door) situation in Stamford. Entitled "In Ethical Questions, Appearances Matter," the column looks at the many problems with a school board member taking a job with a c…

Ethics Commissions & Administration July 31, 2014

CA Appellate Court Protects EC Legal Advice on the Basis of Privilege

The logic of a California appellate decision on Monday, in the case of St. Croix v. Superior Court (A140308, July 28, 2014) (attached; see below), doesn't seem right to me. It skips steps. St. Croix is the executive director of the San Francisco Ethics Commission, and this matter involves a public …

Local Government Practice July 29, 2014

What Is the Role of a Definition of "Lobbying"?

An interesting debate about lobbying and advisory groups can be found on the Austin Bulldog website. Late last week, the Bulldog published an article about an ethics complaint filed by the president of the Austin Neighborhoods Council (ANC) against an appointed member of the Land Development Code A…

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