City Related | City Ethics

News & Commentary October 29, 2008

Our Nation's Trust Deficit

The federal government's trust deficit today is in worse shape than our federal budget and current account deficits. Government leaders better jump on the government ethics bandwagon quick, or there could be a serious trust crisis. Here's the latest new from the Harris Polls: Four in five adult Ame…

October 29, 2008

Corrupting a State Via Good Ol' Self-Interest

The big news this week on the government ethics front is Alaskan Senator Ted Stevens' conviction on seven counts of making false statements on financial disclosure forms, regarding home renovations paid for by an oil executive. But this is only the tip of the iceberg. I've already written about the…

October 27, 2008

A Big Disability Scam and the Revolving Door

Long Island (NY) Railroad (LIRR) retirees are many times more likely to be on disability than other rail workers, and the New York Times has been focusing on this story (click here for a page of articles and information). Needless to say, according to an article in today's paper, behind it all are …

October 26, 2008

Elections Should Be Fought by Parties, Not Refereed by Parties

"As long as I count the votes, what are you going to do about it? --William Marcy "Boss" Tweed, 1871 see update below Another of Boss Tweed's famous quotations is, "I don't care who does the electing, so long as I get to do the nominating." His and other city bosses' way of controlling politics thr…

Conflicts of Interest October 25, 2008

Don't Underestimate the Effects of Conflicts of Interest

Back in January, I wrote a blog entry focusing on the lack of transparency in the credit rating business so central to the subprime mortgage mess that has brought the world economy to its knees. Transparency, it has become clear, is all important. The same goes for conflicts of interest. The New Yo…

October 24, 2008

Michigan County Clerks Do the Right Thing and Open Themselves to Suit

It's not quite civil disobedience by county officials, but Michigan's senate majority leader has asked the Attorney General to block what those officials are doing, according to an article yesterday on mlive.com (Booth Newspapers). The officials are county clerks, and what they've done is to cross-…

October 23, 2008

What's At Stake in New York City?

I've already written about the conflict of interest problems involved in the New York City term limits dispute. But now the dispute is over, according to an article on today's New York Times website: the NYC Council chose to allow current elected officials to run beyond the term limit rules approve…

October 21, 2008

Bad Government from a Good Government Leader

See update and second update below People in the government ethics field can be very arrogant. I know I can. But it's horrible to see it in action, especially when it's turned against what we commonly think of as good government. Fred Voigt is the deputy city election commissioner for Philadelphia,…

October 20, 2008

San Diego: An Unappreciative Council and a Close Look at the Revolving Door

Sometimes city councils feel compelled to write or improve their city's ethics law due to a scandal. Sometimes city councils are compelled by a ballot measure. And in both instances, the council isn't happy with the result. In San Diego, the ethics code came via ballot measure in 2002, and yes, the…

October 19, 2008

A Serious Election-Oriented Conflict of Interest in Southwest Ohio

See Update below Is there a conflict when a county prosecutor who is a presidential candidate's campaign chairman in the area subpoenas the voting records, including personal information, of certain voters who registered and voted at the same time during a short window when this is allowed in Ohio?…

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