Ethics Commissions & Administration

I recently wrote a blog post about a false statements in elections law in Ohio, and the problems with enforcing such laws. I have often written about the problems with self-enforcement of ethics laws. In the Wisconsin case of a state supreme court justice's misrepresentations in an election ad, the two have come together, big-time. The result is far more injurious, even crippling, to public trust in the judiciary than the original misrepresentations.

On Independence Day weekend, it's worth remembering that independence does not come cheap, and that there are some things that are more important than independence.

According to an article in the Providence Journal, a Rhode Island state senator has been indicted on federal charges that he falsified documents to get mortgages and an auto loan worth more than $1.5 million.

Ethics commission leaders are falling like flies in Hawaii. I recently wrote about Honolulu's EC chair resigning in order to be involved in a mayoral candidate's campaign (he had already been involved in other campaigns). And last Wednesday, the state EC fired its long-time director, according to an editorial in the Honolulu Star-Advertiser.

The Enquirer editorial I referred to at the end of my last blog post raised another important issue:  who should be administering and enforcing government ethics. Its conclusion was as follows:

According to an iLind.net blog post this week, the chair of the Honolulu Ethics Commission resigned on April 22. Although his letter of resignation provides no cause for the resignation, the chair apparently said that he had been asked to assist a mayoral candidate's campaign and did not want to violate the ethics code.

There was a fascinating editorial in the Waterbury (CT) Republican-American yesterday. The editorial turns anti-government anger against the idea of a local government ethics program, and yet it has some valuable things to say about government ethics. Here's an edited version of it:

I was reminded today that Sen. Arlen Specter, who recently switched from the Republican party to the Democratic party, voted against Elena Kagan's appointment as solicitor-general. He now appears likely to support her appointment to the Supreme Court. This raised the issue in my mind:  is it ever right for an elected official to vote on an appointment on purely partisan grounds?

Again and again, local government officials say that there is no need for an improved ethics program in their town because no one is filing complaints. If there were ethical problems, they argue, there would be lots of complaints. But complaints are not an indication of the need for a better government ethics program. The reason is that no one files a complaint when they do not expect a fair hearing of the complaint (most basic programs do not have a body that is considered independent and neutral).

Government ethics e-newsletters are a good source of ideas, and something worth considering for your local government's ethics commission or ethics officer. Atlanta's new spring 2010 newsletter, Ethics Matters, is a good example of what such an e-newsletter can do.

Ethics Pledges