Ethics Codes & Reform

One of the 'latest things' in politics today is Drew Westen, a psych professor who advises the Democrats that they should be paying more attention to emotions than to policies (as, many say, the Republicans have been doing), because people's emotional reactions have a great effect on how they vote.…

What a nice thing to wake up to: reading in the newspaper that at least some American institutions are using words like 'transparency' and 'accountability' as if they really meant it. In an article in today's New York Times, we learn that foundations are now publicizing their failures as well as th…

According to a May 24, 2007 New York Times editorial, the Commerce Department inspector general, charged with protecting whistle-blowers, took vengeance on two subordinates who questioned his expense accounts. He reassigned his top deputy and his counsel to peripheral jobs, when they refused to sig…

What happened recently in Colorado makes it clear that a state constitution is not the right place for ethics laws. Last November, an amendment to the state constitution was approved by voters, prohibiting state and local officials from accepting any gift of over $50 from any 'person.' The state At…

(Draft - personalize for your organization!)  All board members and applicants shall agree to comply with the organization's ethics code and the ethical guidelines on conflicts adopted by the Board on______. Members of the board shall not discuss, advocate, or vote on any matter in which they have …

How to use the Federal Sentencing Guidelines (FSG) to establish or strengthen ethics programs Purposes of the FSG: a) Prevent and detect criminal conduct and b) Promote an ethical culture The FSG require that an organization establish procedures to prevent bad conduct and that this is done in a wel…

Many areas of ethics have little overlap with municipal ethics. But one rather specialized area that I came across has some interesting applications: the ethics of casting love spells. According to an article in about.com, 'the standard position among Pagans is that you should never do spells to ma…

Who should be in charge of writing and revising municipal ethics codes? Generally, ethics codes are the work of a mayor or a council, or sometimes they both jockey for the position of being seen as more ethical (this is especially true when a council member is considering a run for mayor). Sometime…

It is not enough to reform a city's ethics program. One must also let the world know about it. Most municipalities reform their ethics in a vacuum. They might look at a nearby town or city, or two, but the people in charge rarely know what is happening elsewhere, what are the norms and what are the…

In Isle La Motte, Vermont, according to a recent article in the Burlington Free Press, the longtime town clerk and treasurer diverted $100,000 of town funds to her own use. Before the town learned of this, its Selectboard (the town's elected executive board) had arranged to allow her to pay back th…