City Related | City Ethics

Ethics Commissions & Administration May 18, 2010

Anti-Government Anger Is Misplaced With Respect to Local Government Ethics Programs

There was a fascinating editorial in the Waterbury (CT) Republican-American yesterday. The editorial turns anti-government anger against the idea of a local government ethics program, and yet it has some valuable things to say about government ethics. Here's an edited version of it: One reason gove…

Local Government Practice May 14, 2010

Partisanship of Local Elections and Government Ethics

Is the partisanship of local government elections a government ethics issue? I think it is, partly. The story that sparked my thoughts about this was one from today's New York Times about Mayor Bloomberg's second attempt to turn New York City elections from partisan to nonpartisan. Pro-nonpartisan …

May 13, 2010

Misinformation and the Lack of Ethics Training in Mississippi

Misinformation is rampant in local government ethics. And the less people understand it, the easier it is for the misinformation to be taken at face value. According to an article in yesterday's Dispatch, in Columbus, a city of 24,000 in eastern Mississippi, one council member's response to a fist …

May 6, 2010

Another Strike Against the Honest Services Statute in a Local Government Context

Back in January, I wrote about the California Supreme Court's decision in a criminal conflict of interest prosecution against members of a San Diego pension board. In that post, I wrote about how to solve the problem that led to the case's dismissal: local government employees being considered a cl…

Local Government Practice May 5, 2010

Personal Ethics vs. Government Ethics

Failure to disclose or to recuse oneself, even when it is not legally required, can lead to some big headaches, as can be seen in Portland, OR, where a city commissioner voted on a grant to a non-profit organization where his girlfriend works. Also interesting in this case is the commissioner's use…

Conflicts of Interest May 4, 2010

When Voting Is Damaging, No Matter What the Ethics Code Says

According to an article in yesterday's Morning Journal, the Law Director of Lorain, OH (a city of 70,000), advising a council member, said, “If his employer had a direct financial interest, he would have a conflict. But it does not.” A council member who was vice president of a regional firefighter…

Local Government Practice May 3, 2010

Legal Ethics vs. Government Ethics

Many government lawyers feel that the rules of professional conduct are sufficient to keep them ethical. Because of this, they sometimes seek to be excluded from an ethics commission's jurisdiction (see a recent blog post) and more often argue that the attorney discipline system takes precedence. A…

Conflicts of Interest April 29, 2010

Elected Officials and No-Bid or Improperly Bid Contracts: Two Case Studies

A no-bid or improperly bid contract cannot help but create an appearance of impropriety. And yet not only do elected officials keep defending them, but they also refuse to acknowledge the appearance of impropriety that surrounds every one of them, especially when elected officials and their family …

Conflicts of Interest April 27, 2010

Lawyer Exceptions and Preferential Treatment

According to an editorial in the Press Democrat, the city council in Santa Rosa (CA), a city of about 150,000 north of San Francisco, has postponed consideration of an ordinance requiring city lobbyists to register, supposedly due to complaints from nonprofits who do not want to pay the $120 fee. (…

April 26, 2010

Signs of the Times

(illustration from illegalsigns.ca, Toronto) I haven't mentioned billboard companies in my blog. It's about time. Billboard companies can be a serious source of apparent impropriety and corruption in local government. And this is an important time for them, because things are changing in the billbo…

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