Election time can be a good time for local government ethics. Good government candidates spout all sorts of interesting ideas about ethics independence, budgeting, transparency, and the like, which are rarely heard between elections. Take, for example, Leland Yee, who is running for mayor of San Fr…

Monday evening, I learned about the serious consequences that can result from not giving ethics commission members a clear understanding of what government ethics is, and what it is not. The occasion was the consideration by the Democracy Fund board, which oversees the public campaign financing pro…