Current Ethics Reform I - Orange County and Oakland, CA
Over the last few weeks, while I was putting the finishing touches
on the second edition of the book <a href="http://www.cityethics.org/ethics%20book" target="”_blank”"><i>Local Government
Ethics Programs</i></a>, there was a lot of action in the area of
ethics reform. In the next few blog
posts, I will summarize the action.<br>
<br>
<b>Orange County, CA</b><br>
According to <a href="http://www.voiceofoc.org/countywide/county_government/article_b9638f82-…; target="”_blank”">an
article yesterday on the Voice of Orange County website</a>, a <a href="http://www.ocgrandjury.org/pdfs/2012_2013_reports/Corruption-in-OC04152…; target="”_blank”">grand
jury report</a> laid out a 40-year chronology of corruption in the county, and recommended the creation of a
comprehensive government ethics program for the county. It's an
excellent report (but of course I would say that, since it quotes
from my book <i>Local Government Ethics Programs</i> several times).<br>
<br>
However, the county board of supervisors wants none of it. It
unanimously (with one abstention) rejected the the establishment of
a blue ribbon commission to recommend ethics reforms, and in <a href="http://cams.ocgov.com/Web_Publisher/Agenda06_25_2013_files/images/O0021…; target="”_blank”">a
written response</a> said that the grand jury’s finding that
Orange County lacks effective ethics oversight of its public
officials was “irresponsibly broad, vague, and not substantiated in
the report." It also said that the grand jury report "did not
demonstrate that the existing network of oversight functions has
failed to catch and correct unethical behavior once it occurs."<br>
<br>
While the board of supervisors focused on enforcement, the grand jury did not. It
emphasized that the goal of a government ethics program is to
increase the public trust and prevent ethical misconduct. The
board of supervisors disrespectfully ignored this.<br>
<br>
The board of supervisors listed a number of alternatives to a government ethics program: <blockquote>
the District Attorney’s Office<br>
the Internal Audit Fraud Hotline<br>
the Grand Jury<br>
the California Attorney General<br>
the Fair Political Practices Commission<br>
the Office of Independent Review</blockquote>
In order, these "alternatives" are: Criminal, criminal, criminal, irrelevant,
weak and did nothing to prevent past ethical misconduct, provides oversight
of sheriff's office only and not about conflicts of interest. In short, they are not alternatives at all, just a smokescreen.<br>
<br>
One supervisor abstained from the vote and drafted <a href="http://cams.ocgov.com/Web_Publisher/Agenda06_25_2013_files/images/49-06…; target="”_blank”">a
separate report</a> calling for a committee of
retired judges (why always retired judges?) to recommend an independent ethics program. But then he backed away
from the idea of an independent ethics commission, saying he would consider
a proposal to discuss a relationship with the state ethics
commission, like San Bernardino County's. But San Bernardino
County's relationship is limited to campaign finance matters. Such a
relationship would not likely create a full government ethics
program, although anything is possible.<br>
<br>
<b>Oakland</b><br>
According to <a href="http://www.ktvu.com/news/news/local-govt-politics/grand-jury-report-cal…; target="”_blank”">an
article on the KTVU website this week</a>, an Oakland grand jury
looking into a particular teen center development concluded that the
City Council provide the city's ethics commission with sufficient
authority and funding to enforce the city's ethics code, and that elected
officials receive ethics training every two years, with proof of
compliance.<br>
<br>
Unlike in Orange County, the city's mayor and administrator agree
with the grand jury that the EC needs adequate staffing and
additional authority. They also agree on the need to shield
contracting, hiring, and management of staff from "inappropriate
political influence."<br>
<br>
Robert Wechsler<br>
Director of Research-Retired, City Ethics<br>
<br>
---