Gov. Sarah Palin's national fame has brought government ethics
complaints to the attention of people who had never paid any attention
to them. And the result has, in general, been one of distortion rather
than education. The latest news has especially distorted the nation's
view of government ethics: the argument that defending against
frivolous ethics complaints was too costly in dollars and time, and
therefore damaging to the state and the people of Alaska, so damaging
that the governor resigned her position.<br>

<b>Ethics Reform Usually Means Ethics Changes</b><br>
While most people in Massachusetts are cheering on the ethics reform
package that was just passed, at least one state representative has focused
on the compromises and limitations of the package, calling it a first
step. Most responses to scandals are partial rather than changing the entire environment,

It is common for mayors and council members to take volunteer positions
on the boards of community nonprofits. Sometimes it's primarily
honorific, but sometimes it shows a special commitment to a particular
program or project, and sometimes it involves a leadership position.
Such a position can create real or apparent conflicts of interest.<br>
<br>

<span class="vitstorybody"><span class="vitstorybody"><big> I don’t
care
what state you are talking about, you are always going to have one or
two people who are going to do the wrong thing. That’s human life. But
the bottom line is: I can tell you that my members who are in the House
of Representatives are here for the right reason, and I am just a
little cautious to make a regulation for one person.</big><br>
<br>
Reaction of Rhode Island House Speaker William J. Murphy to Gov.

The Rhode Island Supreme Court has reached <a href="http://www.projo.com/news/2009/pdf/0629_riscruling_irons.pdf&quot; target="”_blank”">a
decision</a> on the legislative immunity case (Irons v. RI Ethics
Commission) involving the state ethics commission and the state
legislature. As expected, its majority opinion (it was a 3-1 split)
concluded that the state's Speech in Debate Clause 100% overrides the

It's not easy to publicize ethical and unethical activity in a
responsible manner. And when this is done, it can sometimes lead to
false attacks on the the legitimacy of the organization doing the
publicizing. This is what happened this week in Colorado.<br>
<br>

<span>The Politicization of
Officials Selecting Ethics Commission Members</span><br>
People should not be political footballs, and ethics commission members
even moreso. But that's what can happen when officials are allowed to
select ethics commission members. According to <a href="http://www.tulsaworld.com/site/printerfriendlystory.aspx?articleid=2009…; target="”_blank”">an

<div><a class="thickbox" href="files/pittsburgh-L.jpg" title=""><img alt="Click for enlarged image" src="files/pittsburgh-S.jpg" /></a> In the fall of 2008, Carla Miller consulted with the City of Pittsburgh to prepare reforms to regulation of: lobbyist activity, no-bid contracts, campaign finance reform and stronger Ethics Code provisions. Recently, we received a written acknowledgement of this work from Council member William Peduto.

This page is designed to accommodate any acknowledgments that we have received as a response to our services to Cities and Counties for our consulting services.
<ol>
<li>Pittsburgh reforms - Fall, 2008 <a href="/services/acknowledgment/pittsburgh-june2009">Click Here</a>.</li>
</ol>

We will add links to this page as new acknowledgments are received.

In her comment to <a href="http://www.cityethics.org/node/774&quot; target="”_blank”">my blog
post</a> on a Michigan recusal matter, Catherine Mullhaupt of the
Michigan Townships Association not only pointed out the effect of a
women's property rights act on local government conflict of interest
law (see <a href="http://www.cityethics.org/node/782&quot; target="”_blank”">my blog post on