City Related | City Ethics

December 26, 2009

Ethics Commission Allegations Against a Candidate Soon Before an Election, and a Resulting Suit

Here's a tough call. It's a few weeks before a primary election, and you (a local ethics commission member or staff member) learn that a candidate has violated an ethics code provision, and hidden it via a false disclosure. Do you act or do you sit on your hands until after the election? Often this…

Conflicts of Interest December 23, 2009

A City Pension Board Attorney's Fiefdom

I talk a lot about the importance of independent ethics commissions. But independence is not always a good thing for local government boards and commissions. Independence without oversight, transparency, and independent ethics enforcement easily turns into someone's fiefdom. According to an article…

Enforcement & Complaints December 22, 2009

The Willful Standard in Nevada's Ethics Enforcement

Standard of proof is a big issue in ethics enforcement, as it is in any enforcement. A year and a half ago, I wrote a blog post on the mishmash of standards of proof in local ethics codes and in the codes of states that have jurisdiction over local government ethics. In many codes there is no state…

December 17, 2009

Good and Bad News from Three Cities

Good and Bad News from Memphis The good news from Memphis is that newly-elected mayor A. C. Wharton, Jr. issued an ethics executive order last week (attached; see below). The order's provisions, which do not apply to council and its staff, are less valuable in their own right than as a prod to the …

Transparency & Disclosure December 15, 2009

Jersey City Ethics Audit re Development Process

This summer, several New Jersey local government officials were arrested in a big FBI sting operation (see my blog post). Yesterday, an ethics audit focused on development practices was released. Requested by the Jersey City council, it was written by three members of a New Jersey law firm. Accordi…

Ethics Codes & Reform December 14, 2009

Ethics Reform Aimed at Political Opponents

Ethics reform aimed at political opponents is a good way to undermine the whole idea of ethics reform. This is what is happening in San Jose. San Jose starts off with an odd ethics program. Title 12: Ethics Provisions does not even have a conflict of interest provision, nor does the city have an et…

Ethics Commissions & Administration December 12, 2009

San Diego: More Tension Between EC and Council

The relationship between San Diego's council and ethics commission continues to prove unhealthy. It shows how wrong it is for elected officials to appoint and control the body that oversees their conduct. According to an article in today's Union-Tribune, a long-term EC investigation has led to an a…

December 11, 2009

Ethics Reform Task Force Report Released in Philadelphia

Yesterday, Philadelphia's Task Force on Ethics and Campaign Finance Reform released a 58-page report (plus ethics laws) requested by the city's mayor and council president in 2008. The report recommends a large number of reforms, most of them stricter than what exists, some of them less strict and …

December 2, 2009

Ethics Allegations Often Bring Out the Worst in Elected Officials

According to an article in Town Talk, an allegation against the mayor of Alexandria (LA) of ignoring a conflict of interest has led to some all too typical denial, squabbling, and inappropriate city attorney activity. The city council's legal committee passed a motion to conduct an investigation in…

Ethics Commissions & Administration December 2, 2009

A Toothless Ethics Commission Seeks Information About the Effects of Its Recommendations

Ethics reform is difficult without a scandal. If your local government doesn't have an ethics commission, it's hard to form one. If there's an ethics commission without teeth, it's hard to even get dentures. And in Denver, according to an article in the Denver Post, it's hard to even get informatio…

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