A Miscellany
A New Use of a Nonprofit as a Conduit
Resources & Learning
August 21, 2012
Summer Reading: Corruption and American Politics - Michael Johnston's Essay
Corruption and American Politics, an essay collection edited by Michael A. Genovese and Victoria A. Farrar-Myers (Cambria, 2011), has some excellent essays, especially those that deal with institutional corruption. The only serious criticism I have of the book is its price: $30 in both paperback and e-book formats.
Ethics Commissions & Administration
August 21, 2012
Law vs. Function, and Oversight
An interesting issue has arisen in Louisiana. It involves an
important distinction in government ethics, between law and
function.
August 20, 2012
Very Problematic Fort Worth Ethics Reform Proposals
In a
long cover story in last week's Fort Worth Weekly, Peter
Gorman looked at the state of government ethics in Fort Worth and,
most important, some proposed changes to its ethics program that
take it in the wrong direction. Since it was the only article on the proposals, and Gorman
paraphrased me often (based on an interview), I was waiting for other local newspapers
to jump in and confirm what Gorman wrote.
August 16, 2012
County Election Boards Scandal in Columbus
Update: August 18, 2012 (see below)
There is a longstanding pattern of scandals in the cities that the Council on Governmental Ethics Laws (COGEL) chooses for its annual meeting. COGEL was in Chicago when Rod Blagojevich was arrested, and in New Orleans when Rep. Jefferson was re-elected despite the bribery charges against him (they held). COGEL stayed in the D.C. hotel where then mayor Marion Barry had just been arrested.
There is a longstanding pattern of scandals in the cities that the Council on Governmental Ethics Laws (COGEL) chooses for its annual meeting. COGEL was in Chicago when Rod Blagojevich was arrested, and in New Orleans when Rep. Jefferson was re-elected despite the bribery charges against him (they held). COGEL stayed in the D.C. hotel where then mayor Marion Barry had just been arrested.
Enforcement & Complaints
August 15, 2012
The Problems with Requiring a Sworn Ethics Complaint Based on Personally Known Facts
Is it important that an ethics complaint be based on information
that is known personally? Some ethics codes require this. But the
fact is that many ethics violations are done secretly. It can take
some serious, professional investigation to obtain the facts and
relevant documents. This is why investigations by journalists are so
valuable. What they uncover is often used by citizens, good
government organizations, and others as the basis for an ethics
complaint.
August 14, 2012
First Round of Chicago Ethics Reforms
(Note: This post has been revised, based on a response from Steve Berlin, executive director of Chicago's ethics board. I had made the silly assumption that the underlined language in the ethics reform ordinance was new. It turns out that much of that language has been there for some time. So I've deleted some comments and made changes to others.)
Conflicts of Interest
August 13, 2012
Mayors and Post-Employment Restrictions
When it comes to post-employment restrictions, a mayor should not be
considered as just a member of the legislative or executive branch, no
matter what the form of government (strong mayor or mayor-council).
A mayor has a special status that sets her apart from other local
officials. Post-employment restrictions that apply only to one's
branch or agency should not be relevant to a mayor. During the
cooling-off period, a mayor should not do business with or lobby the
government at all.
Campaign Finance & Pay-to-Play
August 10, 2012
Influence vs. Pay to Play
A big controversy surrounding the race for mayor of Honolulu is
focused on the state's pay-to-play culture of the past, and what pay
to play actually is. The reason for this is that a former Hawaii
governor is running for mayor, and he is being supported by Bob Watada, a former
state Campaign Spending Commission executive director who is
known for bringing the state's pay-to-play culture to its knees
during his 1994-2005 term in office.
August 9, 2012
A Miscellany
Ethics Code Amendment Without a Scandal
Sometimes conflict situations, when they are handled responsibly, lead to changes in an ethics code. This happened recently in Prince William County, Virginia, according to an article on the insidenova.com website.
Sometimes conflict situations, when they are handled responsibly, lead to changes in an ethics code. This happened recently in Prince William County, Virginia, according to an article on the insidenova.com website.