City Ethics | Breaking the oxymoron: "City Ethics"

October 10, 2012

Fall Reading: Out of Character

I don't talk much in this blog or in my book Local Government Ethics Programs about character. However, there is another approach to government ethics that is sometimes referred to as "the character approach." For example, the Josephson Institute trains local officials on the six pillars of character. There are ethics codes, too, that take a character approach to government ethics.

Ethics Commissions & Administration October 8, 2012

The Limits of an EC's Jurisdiction: A Situation in San Francisco

Update: October 10, 2012 (see below)

So far, I have ignored this year's most famous local ethics proceeding, against San Francisco sheriff Ross Mirkarimi. The reason I ignored it is the reason I am writing about it now: I think the proceeding should have been dismissed because the sheriff's misconduct involved neither a conflict of interest nor his official duties.

Conflicts of Interest October 6, 2012

Fire, Smoke, and Snowballs

It's valuable to put government ethics in the larger context of the use of public office for private purposes that does not involve a financial benefit for anyone. In other words, much of politics is personal. A review in this weekend's New York Times Book Review got me thinking about this.

Conflicts of Interest October 5, 2012

Putting Government Officials and Employees into Conflict Situations

It was very refreshing to hear Ann Arbor council member Steven Kunselman, in an interview with Jeanine DeLay of A2Ethics , an Ann Arbor-based ethics organization, talking openly, honestly, and intelligently about some local government ethics situations.

October 3, 2012

Chicago's Mayor Replaces Entire Ethics Board

When a mayor replaces an entire ethics commission, it usually means that he is taking over control of the city's ethics program, to protect himself and his allies. This doesn't appear to be the case in Chicago, where today Mayor Emmanuel replaced ethics board members whose terms had ended or were about to end, and whose other members had been asked to resign, according to an article in today's Chicago Sun-Times.

October 3, 2012

Legislative Involvement in Administration: Problems in Broward County, FL

One of the most important ways of preventing ethical misconduct usually does not appear in an ethics code, because it does not involve a traditional conflict of interest. I am referring to non-legislative roles played by local legislators, especially roles that enable them to create a pay-to-play environment. These roles are played in the two principal areas where ethical misconduct occurs: procurement and land use decisions.

October 1, 2012

Bid Rigging, Organized Crime, and State Takeover of Cities

According to an article in last week's Economist, last year 22 local councils in Italy were disbanded and taken over by the national government due to alleged infiltration by organized crime. This is an extreme way to deal with a poor local government ethics environment. But it's a very difficult problem for a local government to deal with.

Conflicts of Interest September 28, 2012

Questioning the Assumption of An Official's Sole Responsibility for Ethics Violations

It is assumed in government ethics enforcement that an official who mishandles a conflict situation is solely responsible for her misconduct. This assumption is rarely questioned. The official might have received no training, or poor training. The official might not have been encouraged to seek advice; in fact, she might not have had access to professional ethics advice from anyone, or only from a city attorney who was an important player from the other political party.

September 28, 2012

San Antonio Officials Mishandle the Mishandling of a Conflict Situation

According to an article in the San Antonio Express-News this week, San Antonio's deputy city manager is concerned about whether he mishandled a conflict situation. It involved his participation on a bid review committee for a $300 million contract for an expansion to the city's convention center. While on the bid review committee, he interviewed for and accepted a job with a nonprofit whose focus is downtown development.

Conflicts of Interest September 27, 2012

Assessors and Government Ethics

According to an investigative article on Nashville's WTVF-TV site yesterday evening, a former property assessor had help from a developer in disposing of her home and buying one from the developer, and also undervalued nine of the developer's properties by a total of $9.5 million over three years.

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