City Ethics | Breaking the oxymoron: "City Ethics"

October 21, 2008

Bad Government from a Good Government Leader

See update and second update below
People in the government ethics field can be very arrogant. I know I can. But it's horrible to see it in action, especially when it's turned against what we commonly think of as good government.

October 20, 2008

San Diego: An Unappreciative Council and a Close Look at the Revolving Door

Sometimes city councils feel compelled to write or improve their city's ethics law due to a scandal. Sometimes city councils are compelled by a ballot measure. And in both instances, the council isn't happy with the result.

In San Diego, the ethics code came via ballot measure in 2002, and yes, the city council doesn't seem all that happy with the result. So it is doing what it can to undermine the ballot measure and to keep the ethics commission's work out of the public eye.

October 19, 2008

A Serious Election-Oriented Conflict of Interest in Southwest Ohio

See Update below

Conflicts of Interest October 18, 2008

A New Twist on Charity Abuse by Politicians

See below for two updates

I've written a lot about politicians' charities, and how they allow lobbyists and others to get around limits on campaign contributions. But an article in today's New York Times presents a new form of abuse of a politician's charities (although it's not as different as it first seems).

Transparency & Disclosure October 17, 2008

Financial Disclosure for Quasi-Governmental Organizations -- A Need for Compromise

To what extent should financial disclosure rules be applied to nonprofits that do government work?

According to an article in Sunday's New York Times, two years ago New York State extended disclosure requirements to the board members of nonprofits "affiliated with, sponsored by or created by a county, city, town or village government." The goal was more transparency in quasi-governmental organizations.

Ethics Codes & Reform October 15, 2008

Understanding Is Everything

We don't know why the Summit County developer is running for a council seat (see the most recent blog entry), but we do know why a sheriff's sergeant in Rancho Murieta, California, is running for the Sacramento County Community Services District Board: to get off-duty sheriff's deputies to provide security in his area. And according to an article on ranchomurieta.com, he is very frustrated that, if elected, this is the one issue he won't be allowed to vote on.

October 15, 2008

Selling a Lack of Expertise

Expertise is one of the most difficult issues in local government ethics. In most cases, more expertise also means more potential conflicts of interest, and yet it can also mean more effective government. According to an article in yesterday's Park Record (Park City, UT), a Summit County Council candidate running against the head of a development company is focusing on this issue.

October 14, 2008

New Jersey Governor Starts the Ball Rolling Toward Local Government Ethics Reform

According to an editorial in the New Jersey Star-Ledger, Gov.

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.

Ethics Codes & Reform October 9, 2008

It Is Honorable for Government to Help People Act More Honorably

The New York Times has an excellent article today on Alan Greenspan in relation to the current financial crisis. It provides food for thought about government regulation at any level.

Essentially, Greenspan believes that the cause of the crisis is Wall Street decisionmakers not acting honorably. However, the decision to regulate, like the decision to pass ethics codes, is to guide people to act more honorably and penalize those who do not.

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