Kickbacks and Local Government Ethics
I find it fascinating that, although kickbacks (also known as "thanks giving") are one of the central
elements of unethical conduct in local governments, I have only
mentioned them three times
in my blog posts.
November 24, 2010
Duty Does Not Equal Right, Duty Does Not Equal Right . . .
Update: December 1, 2010 (see below)
Last week, the Texas Attorney General issued a legal opinion on the role of the county attorney in representing and advising the El Paso County ethics commission, which was established in 2009.
Last week, the Texas Attorney General issued a legal opinion on the role of the county attorney in representing and advising the El Paso County ethics commission, which was established in 2009.
Local Government Practice
November 23, 2010
Educators' Obligation to Follow Government Ethics Rules or Argue Against Them
In a
recent blog post, I wrote about how the mayor's selection for New
York City schools chancellor needed to get a waiver from the state
department of education because she lacked an educational background,
and that she resigned corporate board positions to make it clear she
was serious about taking the job, even though there were, in some
cases, no clear conflict.
November 23, 2010
Local + Regional Corruption = National Corruption
The spread of corruption from local to state to national is often
ignored. And when corruption is discovered,
there is much litigation. In fact, it's often hard to see corruption
clearly here in the U.S. That's
why the occasional look at corruption abroad is useful, like looking in
an only
slightly distorted mirror.
This is true of an Indian matter written about in yesterday's New York Times. Here is a list of sentences that describe what apparently happened:
This is true of an Indian matter written about in yesterday's New York Times. Here is a list of sentences that describe what apparently happened:
Conflicts of Interest
November 22, 2010
The Conflicts of Teachers on School Boards
Teachers and teachers' family members seem to be just the sort of
people to run for school boards. They have either the expertise and/or
the interest in education. But with them come conflicts of interest,
and these can cast doubt on what they're doing there in the first place.
Teachers in the particular school district generally can't run for school board seats, but many teachers don't live in the districts where they teach. This prohibition often applies to their spouses as well, but not to their parents, siblings, and children.
Teachers in the particular school district generally can't run for school board seats, but many teachers don't live in the districts where they teach. This prohibition often applies to their spouses as well, but not to their parents, siblings, and children.
Resources & Learning
November 21, 2010
High Flying in The Fallen
I don't know how I failed to hear about this novel. Maybe I'm the last one on the block to do so, but it's been four years since T. Jefferson Parker's The Fallen was published. This detective novel involves the murder of an investigator for San Diego's "Ethics Authority," who falls from the sixth story of a hotel (must have been at a COGEL conference).
Conflicts of Interest
November 20, 2010
Handling an Indefinite Conflict Before It Becomes Definite
Indefinite conflicts can cause a lot of problems for officials. They see them as not yet ripe, not something they should have to deal with yet. But others see them as looming in the future, and want to know how the official plans to deal with them. One such indefinite conflict is the subject of controversy in Tampa,
where a council candidate is the executive director of a nonprofit
organization that has a large contract with the city to build
affordable apartments. This sort of indefinite conflict comes up a lot.
Ethics Codes & Reform
November 19, 2010
How to Bring Contractors Into the Ethics Process
Another interesting ethics matter is raised in the
article on the school board member in Santa Clara County (CA),
which I
discussed earlier today.
Enforcement & Complaints
November 19, 2010
In Ethics Enforcement, the Criminal Process Can Be Even Less Effective Than the Ballot Box
There are three basic approaches to enforcing ethics laws:
through ethics commissions, through the criminal process, and through
the ballot box. I strongly oppose using the criminal process for ethics
violations (see an
earlier blog post), and feel that the ballot box is far too crude a
way to enforce ethics laws, especially considering that voters do not
have the facts or know the laws.
A situation in Santa Clara County (CA) shows that the criminal process can actually be even less effective than the ballot box.
A situation in Santa Clara County (CA) shows that the criminal process can actually be even less effective than the ballot box.
Conflicts of Interest
November 18, 2010
A Family of Elected Officials
What do you do when you are not the only member of your immediate
family who is an elected official? This question arose in Frederick
County, MD, the home of Camp David.