<b>Update</b>: December 16, 2012 (see below)<br>
<br>
The news has been full of information about billionaires sponsoring,
secretly and publicly, independent ads supporting and attacking
candidates as well as ballot initiatives. For instance, according to <a href="http://www.followthemoney.org/press/ReportView.phtml?r=437&PHPSESSID=46…; target="”_blank”">a

Former House majority leader Tom DeLay is currently on trial for
laundering
$200,000 in PAC contributions from corporate lobbyists through the
Republican National Committee to Texas candidates. In Texas, corporate
money cannot be used for political campaigns.<br>
<br>
According to <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2010/11/07/us/politics/07delay.html&quot; target="”_blank”">an

<b>County Ethics Embraced By Its Cities and Towns</b><br>
Ethics reform won big in Palm Beach County on Tuesday. The final
tallies were published on Friday. According to <a href="http://www.palmbeachpost.com/news/1024925.html&quot; target="”_blank”">an article in
yesterday's Palm Beach <i>Post</i></a>, every single city and town in the
county voted in favor of applying the county's code to their town.

Do expertise and conflicts go together more like love and marriage, or
like horse and carriage? In other words, are they necessary or are they
outdated in this age of government ethics?<br>
<br>
Interested people making important
decisions that affect their livelihood was the American way for
most of our nation's history. Beginning with Watergate,
the public has moved past this horse and carriage approach, toward a more selfless public service
where people deal responsibly with conflicts and do their best not to

Almost two years ago, <a href="http://www.cityethics.org/node/614">I
wrote about</a> the self-serving nature of attempts at ethics reform in
the village of Niles, outside Chicago. A lot has happened since then,
but in terms of an ethics program, not much.<br>
<br>

According to the Atlanta ethics office's <a href="http://www.atlantaga.gov/client_resources/government/boards/ethics_matt…; target="”_blank”">fall newsletter</a>, the Atlanta
Board of Ethics reached a settlement with a council member who sought
reimbursement from the city for costs related to her campaign
newsletter, including payments to campaign workers who distributed it

<a href="http://elections.sun-sentinel.com/2010/results/index.php?id=2&quot; target="”_blank”">Broward
County (FL) voters embraced</a> (3-1) two ethics questions on the
ballot yesterday, which applied the new county code of ethics to all
municipalities in the county as well as to all constitutional offices
(including the sheriff, appraiser, and clerk). They voted 6-1 for the

An <i>Ethics Matters</i> newsletter from the Atlanta ethics officer is always
a valuable occasion for those interested in local government ethics.
<a href="http://www.atlantaga.gov/client_resources/government/boards/ethics_matt…; target="”_blank”">The fall newsletter</a> is no exception (to subscribe, e-mail [email protected]). This is the first

A week ago, Transparency International published its fifteenth annual <a href="http://www.transparency.org/policy_research/surveys_indices/cpi/2010/re…; target="”_blank”">Corruption
Perceptions Index</a>, which scores countries on the basis of a variety
of independent reports on and surveys about corruption, including those
from the World Bank and other development banks, and those surveying

Government pensions are one of the most serious issues facing local and
state governments. Most pension plans are underfunded, and the generous
pensions, the relatively short vesting periods, and the low retirement ages that allow for
at least one more career, not only cost taxpayers a great deal of money,
but seem unfair to those without pensions or with far worse pension
situations.<br>
<br>
This is not an area where government officials should want to add
apparent conflicts to the mix, but an investigation done by the Ohio