Conflicts
Quote of the Day
Robert Wechsler
“If you hold a tiger by the tail, you have a difficult choice to
make: Do you let go or not? It’s not a good thing to alienate any
legislative leader.”
Lobbyist Miscellany
Robert Wechsler
Campaign Vendors Lobbying Their Candidates
Conflicted Local Party Committee Members
Robert Wechsler
Conflicts of interest are generally not seen to apply to local party
committees. There are almost never limitations on membership or voting on such
committees by local government employees, contractors, developers,
grantees, or others seeking financial benefits from the government.
Reality and Perception
Robert Wechsler
Long ago, experts in philosophy, physics, and psychology recognized that reality and perception are not as different as people used to think. And yet people continue to think it. One area where they continue to think it is government ethics.
It's Not Enough to Not Make an Exception
Robert Wechsler
In an article on the deportation of Haitians from the Dominican Republic in yesterday's New York Times, a police officer agonizes over the prospect of having to deport his best friend, a Haitian immigrant. “I have no choice,” he is quoted as saying. “It saddens me to think about being ordered to detain someone I really care about. It will be hard not to make exceptions, but I have to go about my job as professionally as I can.”
Nepotism in Metro Atlanta
Robert Wechsler
Nepotism is a difficult topic to get a hold of. It is the most
generally accepted kind of ethical misconduct, most governments do
not keep records (or, at least, public records) of familial
relationships, and nepotism provisions are rarely enforced. For all
of these reasons, the news media do not give nepotism much coverage.
So in many governments, especially those with poor ethics
environments, nepotism is common.
Decisions Regarding Lobbyists Sitting on Advisory Boards
Robert Wechsler
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.
The Temptations of Asset Forfeiture
Robert Wechsler
It's been six years since I last wrote about how
asset forfeiture is a serious temptation to engage in ethical
misconduct. I was planning to write about it again in light of a
recent U.S. Supreme Court decision on the subject, Kaley
v.
Conflicts: The Devil's in the Verbs
Robert Wechsler
As we know, the devil's in the details. In government ethics codes, this means
the language. In the case I will look at here, the devil's in the
verbs.
A One-Way Prohibition on Misuse of Office for Clients
Robert Wechsler
On Monday, Anthony Man of the Sun-Sentinel wrote an excellent analysis of the lobbying elements of Florida Senate bill
846 (a copy of the bill is attached; see below), which was
recently passed by the senate unanimously.