City Ethics | Breaking the oxymoron: "City Ethics"

Ethics Codes & Reform July 31, 2007

Justification and Its Effect on Ethical Reasoning

One of the 'latest things' in politics today is Drew Westen, a psych professor who advises the Democrats that they should be paying more attention to emotions than to policies (as, many say, the Republicans have been doing), because people's emotional reactions have a great effect on how they vote.…

July 30, 2007

The Ethics of Local Government Involvement in Immigration Matters

Immigration is a new issue for municipalities. Or is it? Last week, a federal judge struck down ordinances passed in Hazleton, PA that would harshly punish undocumented immigrants who tried to live or work there, as well as employers and landlords who provided them homes or jobs. Also last week, Ne…

Ethics Codes & Reform July 26, 2007

The Accountability of Sharing Our Mistakes

What a nice thing to wake up to: reading in the newspaper that at least some American institutions are using words like 'transparency' and 'accountability' as if they really meant it. In an article in today's New York Times, we learn that foundations are now publicizing their failures as well as th…

July 24, 2007

The Ethics of Teacher Tenure

In common discussions of municipal ethics, one principal type of municipal employee is rarely mentioned: the teacher. Unless a teacher is, say, a school board member, he or she is rarely in a position to have a conflict of interest. Right? Click here to read the rest of this blog entry. An article …

Resources & Learning July 23, 2007

The Public's Trust in Government: A Book Review

Gaining and retaining the public's trust in government is the principal reason given for passing ethics codes. But there is little talk beyond this about the concept of trust. I just read a book called The Moral Foundations of Trust by Eric M. Uslaner (Cambridge University Press, 2002). This book's…

Ethics Commissions & Administration July 19, 2007

Ethics Professionals Need to Defend Their Own

Louisiana legislators do not seem to like the state Board of Ethics. Earlier this year, two of them sued the Board of Ethics, based on a decision it made. Now the Legislature has passed a bill clearly intended to get rid of the Board's chief counsel, Gray Sexton. The first version of the bill, Hous…

Local Government Practice July 16, 2007

Local Government Post-Mortems

Whenever someone dies in a village in Bangladesh, Gonoshasthaya Kendra, a health charity, holds a public post-mortem, according to an article in the July 7, 2007 issue of the Economist. 'The aim is not to blame or indict per se'bare-knuckled confrontation would alienate the government'but to remind…

July 14, 2007

Newark, NJ: The Ethical Damage of Hiding Corruption Behind a Racial Screen

According to a 33-count indictment filed yesterday by the United States Attorney for New Jersey, former Newark, NJ mayor Sharpe James appears to have been just another crooked urban mayor out to help himself and his friends to the sort of perks that aren't supposed to come with public service: trip…

July 14, 2007

Affirmative Action and School Boards' Balancing of Ethical Principles

An excellent op-ed column by Stanley Fish in the July 14 New York Times focuses on a very difficult ethical problem in municipal government: affirmative action. The recently decided Supreme Court decision, Parents Involved in Community Schools v. Seattle School District No. 1 et al (No. 05-908), co…

Conflicts of Interest July 9, 2007

The Ethics of Contingency-Fee Arrangements

Many municipal ethics codes have a provision similar to this one: Contingent Fees No official or employee may retain, or be retained by, anyone to solicit or secure a contract with the town upon an agreement or understanding that includes a commission, percentage, brokerage, or contingent fee, exce…

Subscribe to