making local government more ethical

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Robert Wechsler
I don't like seeing conflicts of interest discussed improperly in the context of an election. Elections are a good time to educate the public about issues, but when government ethics is used for partisan purposes, it undermines both the public's understanding and their trust in elected officials.

Robert Wechsler
Rarely does someone make a comment to one of my blog posts that brings such a fresh look at a standard conflict of interest issue as the one made recently by Catherine Mullhaupt, Esq., Director of Member Information Services at the Michigan Townships Association.

It is important to recognize that the interest in having government officials both make and be seen to make decisions in the public interest rather than in...
Robert Wechsler
How does a council deal with conflicts in a company town? My first response to this would be, are there still company towns? Well, certainly not as many as there used to be, but probably most of the ones that remain are college towns.

Robert Wechsler
Yesterday, the Seattle City Council passed amendments to the city's ethics code, based on recommendations from the city's ethics commission, according to an article in the West Seattle ...
Robert Wechsler
According to an article in today's Boston Globe, former Massachusetts Speaker of the House Sal DiMasi was indicted by a federal grand jury on a variety of...
Robert Wechsler
Ottawa is currently in the grips of its mayor's influence-peddling trial. The allegations are that the mayor tried to get another mayoral candidate out of the race by offering him money and a federal position. The Ottawa Citizen has an excellent chronology of what allegedly occurred. There is a lot of evidence, but most of it appears to be hearsay, at least so far. But...

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