City Ethics | Breaking the oxymoron: "City Ethics"

Campaign Finance & Pay-to-Play July 17, 2008

If Only a Large Campaign Contribution Could Be Considered a Conflict of Interest -- The Westminster Approach

In ethics codes, campaign contributions are sacrosanct. Nearly every ethics code excepts them from the definition of "gift," "personal benefit," "anything of value," or whatever they call money and goods given to government officials and employees. Limiting campaign contributions is a matter for ca…

July 12, 2008

Update on Oklahoma Ethics Commisson Funding

I recently reported that the Oklahoma Ethics Commission was considering suing the legislature for more funds, on the ground that the state constitution requires adequate funding for the EC, and the legislature had, among other limits, permitted it to have only one investigator. The latest news is t…

Campaign Finance & Pay-to-Play July 10, 2008

Campaign Finance and the Perception of Independence of a Chief Financial Officer

One goal of campaign finance reform is to end the appearance and reality of corruption that comes with large campaign contributions. This appearance is attached especially to large contributions from those doing business with the city or trying to change its laws -- contractors, lobbyists, and unio…

Transparency & Disclosure July 8, 2008

Should an Unaccountable Former Officeholder Retain Power over Public Information? - Personal vs. Public Interest

One of the interesting things about the attorney-client privilege in a government setting is that the privilege -- which is, of course, the client's, not the lawyer's -- is held by the office, not by the individual holding the office at the time of the communication. This is a major reason why the …

Conflicts of Interest July 7, 2008

Government Ethics vs. The Right to Sign Petitions

[This blog entry has been substantially changed based on a response from the Phoenix City Manager, who provided information about the reasons for the City Attorney's position and the relationship of the City Attorney with the mayor.] Phoenix's City Attorney determined, according to an article in th…

Conflicts of Interest July 3, 2008

Local Government Consultants and Conflicts - New York Lawyers and Their Pensions

According to a New York Times article last week, hundreds of lawyers in New York State who have done consulting work for local school districts allowed themselves to be listed as part-time employees and allowed themselves to be enrolled in the school districts' pension systems. According to an arti…

Conflicts of Interest July 1, 2008

Who Is a Local Government Attorney's Client? -- A Conflict of Interest Question

Last week, the New York Times reported that for six months the White House refused to open an e-mail from the Environmental Protection Agency, a report stating that greenhouse gases are pollutants that must be controlled. The White House considered the EPA report to be in some sort of "e-mail limbo…

Transparency & Disclosure June 30, 2008

A Couple of Good Local Government Approaches to Transparency and Citizen Feedback

The Internet provides all sorts of opportunities for both transparency and citizen feedback. One way, which I pointed out recently, is for local government officials to have blogs that allow them to present their news and views, and allow citizens to respond and ask questions. Two other approaches …

June 25, 2008

Favoring Friends and Family Catches Up to Baltimore's Mayor

Two years after allegations made by the Baltimore Sun, two years after state prosecutors began an investigation, a year and a half after being appointed mayor (after being city council president), and six months after being elected mayor, Baltimore's Sheila Dixon's alleged favoring of friends and f…

Ethics Commissions & Administration June 25, 2008

Starving Ethics Commissions of Resources - The Situation in Oklahoma

Money is not only the root of much of the evil in government ethics, it is also the lifeblood of government ethics. Without money, ethics commissions, at least in cities and states, as opposed to towns, cannot do their job. Do something the legislative body doesn't like and it has a good way to get…

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