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August 9, 2006

San Diego: A Great Case Study in Conflicts of Interest

Reading the newspapers, you might not realize that behind all the fraud, non-disclosure, and "reckless mismanagement" that former S.E.C. Chair Arthur Levitt found in San Diego's pension and wastewater systems were serious conflicts of interest.

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Ethics Codes & Reform July 31, 2006

The Importance of Being Readable

One of the most serious problems with municipal ethics codes is their unreadability. Few of those who write them seem to consider the capabilities of the code's audience: municipal officials and employees without a legal education. In 1998, the Securities and Exchange Commission insisted that documents intended to disclose information to the public should be written in plain English, and to help with the process, it put together a Plain English Handbook: How to Create Clear SEC Disclosure Documents (www.sec.gov/pdf/handbook.pdf).
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July 10, 2006

A City Where "We Don't Want Nobody Nobody Sent"

Patronage is the most basic of all municipal conflicts of interest. It involves not only self-interest (my job), but also a variety of organizational interests (my agency, party, ethnic or racial group, friends). In every little patronage decision, all of these interests take precedence over the public interest. And yet patronage is also the most commonly practiced, and accepted, of all municipal conflicts of interest. Nowhere has patronage been practiced and accepted more than in Chicago.
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Local Government Practice July 6, 2006

Apologies: Central to a City's Ethical Environment

As canaries were to mines, apologies are to a municipality's ethical environment. If you don't see a good number of sincere apologies, then ethics and accountability are probably dead in your town.
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June 27, 2006

Setback for Municipal Campaign Finance Reform

Yesterday's Supreme Court decision in Randall v. Sorrell is a setback for municipal efforts at campaign finance reform (CFR).
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June 24, 2006

DENVER, CO

The Rocky Mountains west of Denver help people navigate the city by serving as a directional reference.

Brief History of Denver in Politics

Denver entered the political arena fairly quickly to its founding in 1858, and incorporation in 1861.

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June 24, 2006

SAN FRANCISCO, CA

As the official name implies, the City and County San Francisco is a consolidated city-county, being simultaneously a charter city and charter county with a consolidated government, a status it has had since 1856. It is the only such consolidation in California and the only California county with a mayor who is also the county executive.
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June 24, 2006

HONOLULU, HI

Honolulu Government

Originally governed by a Board of Supervisors, the City & County of Honolulu is administered under a mayor-council system of governance overseeing all municipal services: civil defense, emergency medical, fire, parks and recreation, police, sanitation, streets, water, among others. One of the largest municipal governments in the United States, the City & County of Honolulu has an annual operating budget of $1 Billion.

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June 24, 2006

OAKLAND, CA

Wikipedia Page: Oakland, CA

Public Ethics Commission

The City of Oakland Public Ethics Commission was established in November, 1996.

The mission of the Public Ethics Commission is to promote the highest confidence in the ethics of the government of the City of Oakland. We help ensure that government works the way it's supposed to -- that its people are treated fairly, with honesty and integrity. We do this by:

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June 24, 2006

SEATTLE

The Official City of Seattle web site

Seattle Ethics & Elections Commission

One of the missions of The Seattle Ethics and Elections Commission is to administer, interpret and enforce the Seattle Code of Ethics, Seattle Municipal Code Chapter 4.16 (SMC 4.16). The Code provides a standard of conduct for all City officers and employees, which includes all elected and appointed officials, all City employees, and members of boards and commissions, paid and unpaid.

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