Ethics Codes & Reform

In my most recent blog post, I pointed out how vague the concept of an "interest" is for most people. I would like to discuss this problem further, because I think it is the cause of much misunderstanding, as well as weaknesses in ethics code drafting. Ethics codes are essentially conflict of inter…

In the hands of politicians, government ethics can be wielded as a double-edged sword, as can be seen in recent events in Mandeville (LA), a city of 12,000 just across Lake Pontchartrain from New Orleans. According to an article in the New Orleans Times-Picayune, in October 2009 the city's mayor pl…

The mayor of a city of 46,000 people announces that the city would change its policy requiring annexation to obtain water and sewer service, and then negotiates an agreement with a developer to provide him with utilities. In the middle of the negotiations, the developer gives the mayor's campaign a…

Government lawyers enjoy exceptions to transparency laws. Should they also be excepted from government ethics laws? Atlanta senior assistant city attorney Robert N. Godfrey thinks so, according to an article in yesterday's Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Godfrey allowed lawyers suing the city to pick…

I've been meaning for a long time to take a long second look at the City Ethics Model Code provision on the revolving door that many officials walk through between government and firms that do business with government. It's a complex matter, and local governments as well as states with jurisdiction…

I think it's important to remind ourselves about the alternative government and economic system that exists in much of the world (and partially in islands throughout the U.S.) and which government ethics programs are intended to protect us from. That system was described succinctly in an Economist …

Time is a very important element of conflicts of interest. Some conflicts simply exist, but others either occur suddenly or suddenly become relevant. For example, an official can have a piece of property for twenty years and then suddenly the owner of a neighboring piece of property asks the local …

Cities across the United States are creating and expanding Ethics Commissions, Ethics Offices and Inspector Generals in order to fight corruption and establish higher ethical standards for their governments. I will be posting some of the best ideas from these programs on this site. If you have comm…

Many local government ethics codes have a provision that, when officials publicly give personal opinions rather than the government's position, requires them to clearly state that they are not representing the local government. Here's the one from the ethics code in Santa Clarita (CA) where, accord…

In three cities this week, top officials showed the ability to get away with unethical behavior, but not the ability to distinguish law from ethics. Poor Judgment All Around The mayor of Phoenix admitted to a romantic involvement with a woman he hired to raise campaign funds, paying her over $200,0…