County Related
Problems with Ethics Provisions That Go Beyond Conflicts of Interest Issues
<b>Update</b> (9/30/09)<br>
I tend to focus a lot on weaknesses of ethics codes, but sometimes
ethics codes go too far. One reason for this is that they are usually
responses to scandals that are criminal in nature, that is, scandals that do not
involve conflicts of interest. Another reason is that most people don't
understand that ethics codes are really conflict of interest codes, not
codes that deal with all of an official's behavior. It's appropriate to
FBI Investigation in Cuyahoga County Leads to First Phase of Charges
A three-year FBI investigation of Cuyahoga County (which includes
Cleveland) appears to have begun with a sting operation involving
building inspectors, where an undercover agent offered bribes, and they
were accepted, according to <a href="http://blog.cleveland.com/metro/2009/05/cuyahoga_county_corruption_inv_…; target="”_blank”">an
Educating the Public About the Limited Role of an Ethics Commission
<b>See update below</b><br>
What is a local government ethics commission's role when a government
official has done something illegal or unethical that has nothing to do
with the official's work in government? That's the question facing the
Knox County (TN) Ethics Committee, according to <a href="http://www.knoxnews.com/news/2009/may/27/ethics-panel-defers-action-loc…; target="”_blank”">an
Jackson County Legislators Abandon Promise to Make Themselves Subject to New Ethics Code
The word from Jackson County (MO) last week was that the county
legislature was "close to
revising the county’s ethics code to include them under its rules,"
according to <a href="http://primebuzz.kcstar.com/?q=node/18345" target="”_blank”">an
Is a Jackson County Ethics Compromise For Real?
It appears that Jackson County (MO) legislators will allow the county
ethics commission to have jurisdiction over them, after a very ugly
series of incidents, including the <a href="http://www.cityethics.org/node/608" target="”_blank”">resignation of the entire
ethics commission</a> and the <a href="http://www.cityethics.org/node/674" target="”_blank”">false presentation</a> of
Good People Arguing for Pay-to-Play in a Charities Context
Broward County (FL), home of Ft. Lauderdale, is working on ethics
reform, something Ft. Lauderdale itself did in 2007. Today, according
to <a href="http://weblogs.sun-sentinel.com/news/politics/broward/blog/2009/04/john…; target="”_blank”">a
piece</a> on the <span>Sun-Sentinel</span>
Broward Politics website, a county commissioner will be introducing a
The Need for an Independent Ethics Commission in San Bernardino County
<b>Updates below</b><br>
According to <a href="http://www.pe.com/localnews/inland/stories/PE_News_Local_S_ethics06.3a1…; target="”_blank”">an
A County Attorney At War with the County: The Conflicts Fly in Maricopa County
The <a href="http://www.cogel.org/">Council on Governmental
Ethics Laws </a>has great instincts for meeting where the ethics problems are greatest. Last
year it met in Chicago. This year it will be Maricopa County, AZ (the
Phoenix area).<br>
<br>
<b>See update below</b><br>
Complicity and Knowledge
Last month,<a href="http://www.cityethics.org/node/640" target="”_blank”"> I wrote</a>
about the responsibility of lawyers and other professionals for doing
something about the deeply unethical conduct of two judges in
Pennsylvania who unjustly, and to their own financial benefit,
incarcerated hundreds of juveniles.<br>
<br>
A few days ago, the New York <span>Times</span>
The Conflict at the Heart of the Local Election Process
Last October, I wrote <a href="http://www.cityethics.org/node/544" target="”_blank”">a blog entry</a> about why parties should fight
elections, not referee them. <a href="http://media.kentucky.com/smedia/2009/03/19/17/clayindict.source.prod_a…; target="”_blank”">An
indictment this month</a> in Kentucky emphasizes the need for the