making local government more ethical

You are here

Nonprofits/Charities

Robert Wechsler
Money rarely speaks as loudly and personally as it did for Tom Golisano, a billionaire who appears to have been the principal force in pushing the Democrats out of power in Albany, after he was snubbed by the party to which he has been a principal patron. And rarely has a good government advocate shown so clearly that he doesn't even know what government ethics is.

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.

Robert Wechsler
Broward County (FL), home of Ft. Lauderdale, is working on ethics reform, something Ft. Lauderdale itself did in 2007. Today, according to a piece on the Sun-Sentinel Broward Politics website, a county commissioner will be introducing a bill to prevent county commissioners from soliciting contributions for third parties, whether charities or other...
Robert Wechsler

There are municipal ethics issues that will never find their way into any ethics code, but which should certainly be covered in ethics training courses. Many of these issues involve the relationship between government and businesses.

If there were no money to be made in and through municipal government, there would be far less need for ethics programs. Power does corrupt, but it's no accident that corruption so often involves relations with developers and contractors. It's also no...

Pages