City Ethics | Breaking the oxymoron: "City Ethics"

Campaign Finance & Pay-to-Play June 15, 2009

Lobbying and Large Local Government Contracts

One of the biggest problems with local government lobbyists is that they invariably have close contacts with those who run the city or county. So whenever they are involved in a matter, especially the bidding of large contracts, there is a strong appearance of impropriety, and people don't trust th…

Enforcement & Complaints June 12, 2009

Sometimes the Accuser Is More Unethical Than the Accused

"Investigators, like prosecutors, must understand that the desire to go after big game to garner big headlines may be as unethical as the offenses they are pursuing." This is the central point of a formal statement made by the new chair of the New York State Commission on Public Integrity concernin…

Conflicts of Interest June 11, 2009

Three Recusal Case Studies

Here are three different recusal case studies: Public Recusal Is Not Enough One of the most important things to emphasize about recusal is that recusal at a meeting is not enough. Recusal is supposed to mean withdrawal from involvement in any aspect of a matter where an official has a conflict of i…

Campaign Finance & Pay-to-Play June 10, 2009

How Loudly, Personally, and Ignorantly Money Can Speak

Money rarely speaks as loudly and personally as it did for Tom Golisano, a billionaire who appears to have been the principal force in pushing the Democrats out of power in Albany, after he was snubbed by the party to which he has been a principal patron. And rarely has a good government advocate s…

Local Government Practice June 10, 2009

How Bystanders Can Put an End to Political Bullying

It should come as little surprise to people involved in local government that a New York Times article about bullying among ten- and eleven-year-olds has a great deal of relevance. I said for years about my town's government that its major participants were like ten-year-old boys on a playground, t…

June 9, 2009

Lawsuits, Legal Fees, and County Attorney Conflicts in El Paso Ethics Complaints Battle

In the midst of a big corruption probe, a pair of back-and-forth ethics complaints filed with a nearly toothless ethics commission in El Paso doesn't seem like much. But it does sheds some light on how much El Paso government is about the players rather than the citizens. And it touches on some iss…

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. Si…

June 8, 2009

County Attorney Conflicts and a Lack of Transparency in Maricopa County

Maricopa County (home of Phoenix) is doing an excellent job of showing America's local governments what not to do. In April, I wrote about the conflict that existed when the county attorney, after representing the county board of supervisors as it put together plans and contracts for a new county c…

Ethics Commissions & Administration June 7, 2009

The Need for Ethics Commission Independence, and What Is and Isn't a Government Ethics Violation

Updates below Anyone who doubts the need for truly independent ethics commissions need look no further than what has been happening in Philadelphia this week. Or should I say "this year"? I've already reported on the fining of the Ethics Board's executive director, Shane Creamer, for sharing with a…

Ethics Codes & Reform June 5, 2009

Ways to Prevent or Slow Down Ethics Reform

I am always fascinated at the ways in which even the most reform-minded politicians can kill ethics reform proposals that might cause them some embarrassment. Gov. Bobby Jindal of Louisiana has done a great deal for ethics reform, but at least one reform bill, which on its face seems pretty minor, …

Subscribe to