A Miscellany
<b>Sometimes Withdrawal and Formal Processes Are Not Enough</b><br>
It never looks good when a high-level elected official gets a job
with the government while in office or soon after leaving office. It
looks like he got the job because of his influence and relationships
with those who made the decision.<br>
<br>
According to <a href="http://www.observer-reporter.com/article/20140205/NEWS01/140209671#.Uvo…; target="”_blank”">an
article in the <i>Observer-Reporter</i></a>, the North Strabane Township
(PA) solicitor was shocked that anyone questioned the chair of the
board of supervisors being hired as a department head. “He went
through the same process as the other candidates. He was completely
shielded and excluded like the other candidates. Once he announced
he was interested in the position, we excluded him from anything to
do with the parks position.”<br>
<br>
The solicitor raises two important cures for an ethics
problem: following formal processes and withdrawing from
participation. Unfortunately, it was still the board run by the
job applicant that made the decision to hire him. No matter how well the i's are
dotted, no one will believe the decision was made fairly and impartially.<br>
<br>
According to <a href="http://blog.al.com/breaking/2014/02/alabama_ethics_commission_dism.html…; target="”_blank”">an
article on al.com</a>, a Huntsville council member
got a job with a city-owned utility. In a completely
confidential proceeding, he was found not to have violated the
ethics code. He had withdrawn from every council discussion and vote
involving the
utility, but some of his constituents were angry that they weren't
being represented with respect to utility issues. But in any event,
was withdrawal sufficient?<br>
<br>
<b>An Excellent Ethics-Oriented Editorial in Cedar Rapids</b><br>
It's heartening to see <a href="http://thegazette.com/2014/02/09/monitoring-connections/" target="”_blank”">an
editorial like the one in the Cedar Rapids <i>Gazette</i> on Sunday</a>.
The editorial is both an appreciation of the city's ethics board,
especially its provision of advisory opinions, and a look at ways to
improve the ethics program, all of which are consistent with best
practices.<br>
<br>
There is only one sad phrase in this excellent editorial: "It’s still the only such municipal ethics
board in Iowa." Seven years of a good ethics program should
have caught the eyes of other cities' officials.<br>
<br>
<b>Sign Up Those Contractors, But Don't Stop There</b><br>
Last week, Chicago mayor Rahm Emanuel introduced, and the council approved, an
ordinance to require city contractors to report any corrupt activity
(bribery, theft, forgery, perjury, fraud) carried out by an
employee, related to the contractor’s business with the city, to the
city's inspector general. Failure to report will be
considered a default on their contract.<br>
<br>
This is good news. It is important to get contractors involved in an
ethics program. But why leave out ethics violations, and why limit
involvement to contractors? What about grantees, those seeking
permits, lobbyists, political party officers, etc.?<br>
<br>
I will try to find a copy of the ordinance and attach it to this
post.<br>
<br>
<b>The Right Sort of Paper Trail</b><br>
Running for sheriff, you get a large
campaign contribution in cash from a drug trafficker. You want to
return it, but you want a record of having returned it, in case someone
accuses you of having accepted it. So you put it in the bank, and
immediately send the trafficker a check for the amount received. The
trafficker fails to deposit the check. Now what happens?<br>
<br>
According to <a href="http://www.brownsvilleherald.com/news/valley/article_76a91ec4-9140-11e3…; target="”_blank”">an
article in the Brownsville (TX) <i>Herald,</i></a> the candidate's opponent, who filed an ethics
complaint based on the acceptance of this contribution, "there is
nothing in the law that allows you to accept large cash donations
for the purpose of returning them. It’s just not in the law. The law
was broken when they accepted the cash.”<br>
<br>
So what do you do when you find a bag of cash on your doorstep
when you go out to get the morning newspaper? E-mail the appropriate office
and ask them what to do. Don't just try to do what appears to be
right. It will save you a lot of trouble down the line, and give you
the right sort of paper trail.<br>
<br>
Robert Wechsler<br>
Director of Research-Retired, City Ethics<br>
<br>
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