City EthicsBreaking the oxymoron: "City Ethics"
An Indirect Benefit to a State Official Regarding a County Contract
According to an article in today's New York Daily News, an investigation by the U. S.
Conflicts of Interest
Conflicts of Interest
April 13, 2015
Two from Chicago
Mixing Election Oversight and Professional Contracts
According to an Illinois Business Times article on April 5, the Chicago Board of Election Commissioners is chaired by an attorney whose law firm has received presumably no-bid contracts to lobby for city agencies, that is, contracts from the administration whose mayor and alders were running for re-election.
Conflicts of Interest
March 15, 2015
Recent CA Advisory Opinions re Proximity to Properties Involved in Land Use Matters
The Law of the Land Blog has recently summarized a number of
California decisions regarding proximity, a conflict of interest
issue that, for some reason, seems to come up primarily in
California, due in large part, I suppose, to its 500-foot rule.
Conflicts of Interest
January 23, 2015
Lawyer-Client Confidentiality and Money Laundering
The arrest of New York state senate majority leader Sheldon Silver
points to an ongoing institutional problem that is not limited to
New York state: the law firm as the perfect place to launder money.
The reason for this is that lawyer-client
confidentiality, at least as it is often practiced, allows a law firm, and the public office holders who are part of or do work for it, to keep its
clients, its services, its receipts, and its payments secret.
Conflicts of Interest
December 9, 2014
Local Officials Officiating at Restricted Sources' Weddings
According to an
article yesterday on the Baltimore Brew website, a
year ago Baltimore's mayor officiated at a wedding between two
individuals who lobby the city government. In Las Vegas, no less.
Mayors, judges and, sometimes, other local government officials often officiate at weddings. Some ethics codes have a special exception from the gift ban that allows for this, but most make no mention of it.
Mayors, judges and, sometimes, other local government officials often officiate at weddings. Some ethics codes have a special exception from the gift ban that allows for this, but most make no mention of it.
Conflicts of Interest
December 6, 2014
Gift Bans and Falling Sales
According to an article in the November 29 issue of The
Economist, when China banned gifts to government officials,
sales of the principal producer of baijiu, a sort of Chinese vodka,
fell 78% in just a year.
The only sales that would likely go down if gifts were banned across the board in the United States would be restaurant and golf club sales. That is because petty bribery is less a problem here than the ongoing reciprocal relationships between lobbyists and the government officials their clients are seeking to influence.
The only sales that would likely go down if gifts were banned across the board in the United States would be restaurant and golf club sales. That is because petty bribery is less a problem here than the ongoing reciprocal relationships between lobbyists and the government officials their clients are seeking to influence.
Conflicts of Interest
October 31, 2014
Some Wisdom on Gifts from a Former Lobbyist
Former lobbyist, now jailbird, Kevin A. Ring shared some valuable
words of wisdom in an
op-ed piece in the Washington Post this week.
Conflicts of Interest
August 18, 2014
How Preferential Treatment Toward Municipal Employees and Contractors Can Affect Elections
Ferguson, MO — where Michael Brown was recently killed by a police
officer, and the police department's first reaction was to protect
the officer and keep the facts secret — is an unusual case of a
local government where a scandal is likely to actually increase
rather than decrease citizen participation in government.
Conflicts of Interest
August 13, 2014
Decisions Regarding Lobbyists Sitting on Advisory Boards
I believe that the best solution to the problem of having lobbyists and others seeking special
benefits from the government sitting on government
advisory boards is to get rid of these advisory boards.
Conflicts involving these boards are important because, although they are "merely
advisory," their recommendations are often accepted, and their
members are often selected (or seen to be selected) in order to reach a particular
conclusion.
Conflicts of Interest
August 5, 2014
Problems with Obtaining a Job with a Contractor for One's Agency
The Stamford (CT) Advocate's Angela Carella wrote an
excellent column on Saturday about a post-employment (also
known as revolving door) situation in Stamford. Entitled "In Ethical Questions,
Appearances Matter," the column looks at the many problems with a
school board member taking a job with a company that manages the
school board's construction projects. He resigned his
position the day before he accepted the job.