Conflicts
Dealings with Banks
Robert Wechsler
According to a
Washington Post article
this weekend, U.S. Senators Conrad and Dodd were cleared by
the Senate Select Committee on Ethics with respect to the senators'
membership in Countrywide Financial's VIP mortgage program. The
committee concluded that the senators were given special treatment, but
that others were given similarly special treatment and that the
senators did not benefit financially.
Robert's Rules Has a Conflict of Interest Rule for Local Governments with No Conflict Provisions
Robert Wechsler
The great majority of local governments that think they have no state
or local law or rules regarding local officials' conflicts of interest
do actually have a conflict of interest rule.
This rule is hidden in Robert's Rules, which is usually the set of rules under which local government bodies operate. Here is what it says in §45 (Voting Procedure), in the first subsection on Rights and Obligations in Voting (I'm quoting from the Perseus Publishing tenth edition, pp.394-395):
This rule is hidden in Robert's Rules, which is usually the set of rules under which local government bodies operate. Here is what it says in §45 (Voting Procedure), in the first subsection on Rights and Obligations in Voting (I'm quoting from the Perseus Publishing tenth edition, pp.394-395):
Nonprofits and the Revolving Door
Robert Wechsler
According to an
article in Tuesday's New York Times,
nonprofits are seeking an exception to the Obama administration's rule
that lobbyists cannot serve in areas where they have lobbied. This raises
the issue of the purpose of revolving-door provisions, which are common
in local government ethics codes.
Ethics Jurisdiction Over Those Doing Government-Approved Work
Robert Wechsler
Individuals and companies doing the work of government or work approved by government, even when
they do not have a direct financial relationship with government, should be within the jurisdiction of a
government's ethics code. This controversial position is strengthened
by what happened to many Tennessee local governments, according to a front-page
article in today's New York Times.
Unethical Harassment and Wearing Logos
Robert Wechsler
When I saw the headline from the Anchorage Daily News, "Palin Calls Blogger's
Ethics Complaint Bogus," and saw that it had to do with clothing the
governor wore, I thought I might write a piece about using ethics
complaints for the purpose of political harassment. But when I read the article, I
realized that the complaint was not frivolous, and that the governor's
criticism of it was worthy of taking note. And there's even an issue here that local government officials could learn from.
Thumbs Up and Down Today
Robert Wechsler
Thumbs up for the Virginia House of Delegates General Laws Committee.
According
to an
editorial in today's Charlottesville Daily
Progress, this House committee greatly improved a Senate
bill on
disclosure of conflicts of interest by local land-use board members.
The Senate wanted to make disclosure of financial interests in rea
How Many Hats Should a Law Enforcer Wear?
Robert Wechsler
An
article deep in the first section of this Sunday's New York Times presents an interesting
ethical dilemma. In New York State, it used to be common for state
troopers and local police officers to negotiate, effectively plea
bargain, at the courthouse with people they'd given tickets to. And
then, in 2006, the State Police set a policy banning this practice.
The Conflict of Interest That Keeps Conflicting
Robert Wechsler
Here’s a new, foolproof way for an elected official to make some money on the side: loan money to your campaign, charge it a lot of interest, and then pay the loan principal off slowly, over a number of years.
Perks for Public Officials -- Transparency and Accountability
Robert Wechsler
Perks that public officials give themselves should be monitored as carefully as gifts, campaign contributions, and relationships with contractors. But they are not. And they’re usually easy to hide.
Rarely have perks been hidden as well as those of New York’s Republican state senators, who until this year controlled the senate for over four decades, according to an article in yesterday’s New York Times.
Special Districts - Conflicted But Invisible
Robert Wechsler
Special districts are an important and growing form of local
government, and yet they often fly beneath the radar. In fact, I've
only mentioned them once
in my blog. And most citizens have no idea what they are or that they
exist in their area (I myself can't name one in my area). For this reason,
conflicts of interest involving special districts also remain, for the
most part, invisible.