A Miscellany

Anonymous

Fri, 05/20/2011 - 04:19

County Related

Waiving the Privilege and The Extent of Withdrawal 
According to <a href="http://business-journal.com/airport-board-cooperates-in-land-deal-probe…; target="”_blank”">an
article in yesterday's Business Journal Daily</a>, the Ohio Ethics
Commission, which has jurisdiction over local government ethics, is
investigating the Western Reserve Port Authority's lease of property at
the local airport near Youngstown. Two controversies have arisen from this investigation that should be of interest to
government ethics professionals. 
 
The most interesting is something one rarely sees: a vote by a
body to waive the attorney-client privilege. The port authority's board
split 4-4, with the apparent subject of the investigation voting
against waiver. The board member who appears to be most serious about
getting to the bottom of what happened is quoted as saying, "It gives
us a black eye by saying there might be pieces we're going to keep out
of the investigation."

The authority attorney's response was just what one would expect from
an attorney who doesn't understand the difference between the
obligations of a private client and a government client: he
characterized the motion to waive privilege as "a bit of a slippery
slope." 
 
It also goes against the title and emphasis of the article, "Airport
Board Cooperates in Land Deal Probe." 
 
The second controversy involves the handling of the apparent conflict
at the center of the investigation. A board member is the
vice-president of the listing agent for the property that was leased.
Therefore, he apparently benefitted financially from the transaction.
Therefore, he should have withdrawn from the matter. 
 
The authority attorney is quoted as saying, "It's clear that Scott
Lewis did not vote on anything dealing with the cargo building." The
board member quoted above responded, "The voting isn't the issue. The
issue is whether he took part in the negotiations and whether or not he
disclosed that he was going to gain financially." 
 
And then he adds, showing far more understanding of the concept of
withdrawal than the attorney does, "If I'm a Realtor, I'm on this board
and that lease is going to be part of the deal, I [would] recuse myself
from anything. I wouldn't even be in the goddamn room when it was being
talked about and that's what should have been done." 
 
EC Independence Is More Than What's on Paper 
According to <a href="http://www.middletowntranscript.com/county_news/x1292318003/Clark-admin…; target="”_blank”">an
article in Wednesday's Georgetown Transcrip</a>t,
the New Castle County (DE) ethics commission is in a battle regarding
who can cut its budget and how. The administration made cuts in the
budget, and now wants to restore the cuts. But the EC doesn't want the
administration involved in any way. Its vice-chair is quoted as saying,
“The commission believes these changes are beyond the authority of the
executive. The commission believes its budget is a matter between
council and the commission and that interference by the administration
interferes with the commission’s independence.” 
 
The EC's attorney pointed out that the EC had made its own cuts, as all
agencies had to take a hit, but that it would be the only one to
determine where the cuts were made. Independence is not only what it
says on paper, but how things are done, and the attitude and
recognition of all involved. The EC appears to have taught a lesson in
independent government ethics to the entire county government. 
 
A Highly Desirable Position 
According to <a href="http://www.miamiherald.com/2011/05/18/2222740/miami-dade-ethics-commiss…; target="”_blank”">an
article in Wednesday's Miami Herald</a>, it appears that heading the
Miami-Dade County Commission on Ethics and Public Trust is one popular
job. The current director, Robert Meyers, is leaving this year after
twelve years in the position. The 39 applicants include: 
 
a longtime chief of the local public corruption unit 
a former real and daytime TV show judge 
a former state Medicaid fraud investigator and corruption investigator 
a former Miami assistant city attorney and ethics commissioner 
a Miami-Dade assistant public defender 
a former assistant attorney general 
and two longtime Miami-Dade prosecutors, who recently retired 
 
Do judges and criminal lawyers make the best government ethics
professionals? Of course, it depends on the individual, but considering
that training, advice, and disclosure are far more important to
government ethics than enforcement, it would be surprising. On the
other hand, many ethics staff members are attorneys, and a majority of
the Miami-Dade staff consists of enforcement personnel. 
 
The short list will be determined next week, so keep tuned. 
 
Robert Wechsler 
Director of Research-Retired, City Ethics 
 
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