City Ethics | Breaking the oxymoron: "City Ethics"

July 27, 2012

Summer Reading: Thirst for Growth

Anyone who has seen the movie Chinatown has some idea how much ethical misconduct went into the ongoing battles over water in California. Those who want to get down to the nitty gritty of it will enjoy Robert Gottlieb and Margaret Fitzsimmon's Thirst for Growth: Water Agencies as Hidden Government in California (Univ. of Arizona Press, 1991).

July 26, 2012

The Chick-fil-A Controversy Is Really a Government Ethics Issue

If you read the newspapers and blogs, the big issues in the Chicago Chick-fil-A controversy are free speech and government boycotts. But it's really a government ethics issue.

All rational voices acknowledge that a local legislator should not block a store opening just because it has given large sums to help an unpopular political cause. What they aren't saying is that a local legislator shouldn't be able to block a store opening in his district at all. Zoning matters should not be up to council members. They should be up to zoning boards and zoning officials.

Conflicts of Interest July 26, 2012

Unpaid Legal Services to a Candidate Committee

Update: July 27, 2012 (see below)

July 25, 2012

Council Recall Election Funded by Contractors Past and Present

Talk about independent expenditures usually refers to such expenditures in support, or more often in opposition to, federal candidates. At the local level, the major independent expenditures tend to come from unions, both public service unions and construction unions. There are also cases where independent expenditures come from contractors and others seeking direct benefits from the candidates they support or oppose. This can look very much like a payoff for favors done and/or for future favors, generally referred to as pay to play.

Conflicts of Interest July 25, 2012

When a High-Level Official Seeks Special Treatment

One of the things that really ticks citizens off is when a local official uses his position to try to get out of a traffic ticket. The financial benefit may be minor, but there are two things that are major. One is that this conduct suggests that favoritism is common in the government. That is, the expectation and provision of special treatment is an indication of institutional corruption.

July 24, 2012

A Miscellany

Gift Bans

Ethics Commissions & Administration July 23, 2012

An EC Member Who Sues Her City Government

I've written recently about the propriety of the new chair of D.C.'s ethics commission practicing in matters that involve the city government. In that case, there was an appearance, based on the chair's own website, that he was seeking benefits for his clients from the council and certain city agencies. He said he would not do this while sitting on the ethics commission.

July 19, 2012

Trenton's Ethics Environment in a Timeline

According to an article in the Times of Trenton yesterday, the FBI raided the homes of Trenton's mayor, as well as the homes of his brother and a major campaign contributor.

July 17, 2012

A Miscellany

It's amazing how much local government ethics activity there is in this July. Here is a miscellany of issues that have arisen in just the last few days.

Subpoena Power
According to an article yesterday on the WFPL website, the Louisville ethics commission has been trying unsuccessfully to get subpoena power since an important proceeding against a council member was hampered by its inability to get several witnesses to testify.

July 17, 2012

Summer Reading: The Righteous Mind IX: Moral Capital, Blind Spots, and Asking

Moral Capital

Subscribe to