Campaign Finance

Once again, an elected official in the national eye took an
opportunity to teach the public about government ethics and used it
solely to distort government ethics and defend himself.<br>
<br>
The official is Texas Governor Rick Perry who, according to <a href="http://www.nydailynews.com/news/politics/2011/09/13/2011-09-13_rick_per…; target="”_blank”">an

<a href="http://www.delawareonline.com/article/20110731/NEWS02/107310355/How-Chr…; target="”_blank”">A
very lengthy article in yesterday's <i>News Journal</i></a> looks at the
history of relations between Delaware legislators and Christopher
Tigani, formerly the top executive with Delaware's top liquor
distributor. The article provides an instructive look at corporate and personal

It is sometimes hard to see what campaign finance has to do with
government ethics, that is, conflicts of interest. Campaign finance
involves candidates getting elected, while conflicts of interest
have to do with decisions made by elected officials. What they have in common is that both
areas are intended to help officials act for the public interest rather
than their own.<br>
<br>
Two recent judicial decisions show how far campaign finance law has
been moving away from government ethics law. Why? Because the First Amendment

Monday evening, I learned about the serious consequences that
can result from not giving ethics commission members a clear
understanding of what government ethics is, and what it is not.<br>
<br>
The occasion was the consideration by the Democracy Fund board, which
oversees the public campaign financing program in New Haven, of a
possible violation of the program's ordinance and regulations.<br>
<br>
I am the Democracy Fund Administrator. Focused on the topics before the

Sometimes, conflicts are built right into ethics laws, partly because
it is in the political interest of those with conflicts, and partly
because they don't even view those laws as ethics laws.<br>
<br>
A good example of this is the Connecticut law (<a href="http://search.cga.state.ct.us/dtsearch_pub_statutes.html&quot; target="”_blank”">CGS
§9-623</a>) that places enforcement of municipal campaign finance

Reading the Supreme Court majority and dissent opinions in <i>McComish v.
Bennett</i> (attached, see below; actually <i>Arizona Free Enterprise Club's Freedom Club PAC v.
Bennett</i> at the Supreme Court level) is a very jarring experience that I
highly recommend to anyone interested in government ethics. One
opinion presents the world as we know it. The other opinion exists in a
different world, a world without action and inaction on the part of

As a postscript to <a href="http://www.cityethics.org/content/jersey-sting&quot; target="”_blank”">the Jersey Sting</a>,
on Wednesday, according to <a href="http://www.justice.gov/usao/nj/Press/files/Kurlander,%20Mitchell%20et%2…; target="”_blank”">a
Justice Department press release</a>, the former CFO and CEO of a

Last month, the Obama administration drafted <a href="http://www.scribd.com/doc/53440033/Executive-Order-Disclosure-of-Politi…; target="”_blank”">an
executive order</a> that would require those seeking federal government
contracts to disclose their political contributions, and those of their
directors, officers, affiliates, and subsidiaries, made in the two

According to <a href="http://billingsgazette.com/news/state-and-regional/montana/article_b7ce…; target="”_blank”">an
article in the Billings <i>Gazette</i> last week</a>, the Montana Political
Practices Commissioner will have to step down from her position, because
her nomination by the governor was not approved by the state legislature. Her office,

This is a very serious blog post, but I want to start it with a game.
Here are the headlines of stories that are said to be "related" to <a href="http://www.wltx.com/news/article/125997/2/UPDATE-Politicians-Pay-Fines-…; target="”_blank”">an
article on the WLTX website yesterday</a> relating to local government
ethics in South Carolina:<br>
<br>
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