Ethics Commissions/Administration

One of the most powerful lobbyists in the United
States has come out strongly in favor of independent, effective
local government ethics programs. The lobbyist is AARP. Here is a
quote from p. 1-13 of <a href="http://aarp54390.tizrapublisher.com/fullchapter-1/%7E%7EPdfSource/0&quot; target="”_blank”">the
Government Integrity and Civic Engagement chapter</a> (notably,
Chapter 1) of AARP's latest Policy Book:<blockquote>

The Miami-Dade County ethics commission has been a leader in
reaching out to the community. In 2011, it co-sponsored <a href="http://www.cityethics.org/content/local-government-ethics-conference-be…; target="”_blank”">a
local government ethics conference</a>, which attracted people
from all over Florida. In 2012, it organized the first Ethical

I wrote about it in <a href="http://www.cityethics.org/content/ec-selection-process-and-recusal&quot; target="”_blank”">a
June 2011 blog post</a>, and then again in <a href="http://www.cityethics.org/content/when-ec-members-appointing-authority-…; target="”_blank”">a

One kind of revolving door that is often ignored is the move from
elected or appointed board or commission membership and a paid
position that is approved by and under the direction of the same
board or commission. It makes it look as if the board member were
using her position to get herself a nice job, and exclude others. It
also puts the board members in the conflicted position of overseeing
a former colleague, who might very well be seen to have made a deal
with them that would give them something in return for their

A "placeholder" is someone who agrees to run on a ticket
with a mayoral candidate or be appointed by him, but has no interest or intention in
actually doing the work required by the position. Such a candidate
does not attend many meetings of the body to which she was elected
(often she is not even in town much of the year) and, when she does
attend, is usually not prepared. When her support is needed, she
will sometimes read a short speech prepared for her by someone else.<br>
<br>

Does a former ethics commission member have a special obligation not to
make misstatements with respect to government ethics matters? This question arose
from a 2010 case in Florida I just came across, where the state
senate president hired a former chair of the state ethics commission
as his attorney. According to <a href="http://www.wptv.com/dpp/news/state/ethics-panel-approves-haridopolos-se…; target="”_blank”">an

I learned this week that the board I administered until last July,
the New Haven Democracy Fund board (the Fund is a public campaign
financing program for the city's mayoral election), no longer has
enough members to hold an official meeting. The seven-member board
has three members, and it needs four members to have a quorum.<br>
<br>
This is an especially serious problem because there is a mayoral
election this year, and the mayor, whose responsibility it is to

One government ethics question that does not have a general answer
is whether boards of education or school systems are under the
jurisdiction of city or county ethics programs. The answer is
sometimes, but generally not.<br>
<br>
There are several reasons for this. One is that many, probably most
school systems have different boundaries than cities and counties.
Generally, these are regional, including all or parts of multiple
cities, towns, and counties.<br>
<br>

<b>A New Use of a Nonprofit as a Conduit</b><br>
Pay to play appears to be as creative a field as cellphone apps. <a href="http://washingtonexaminer.com/d.c.-investigators-had-early-shot-at-thom…; target="”_blank”">An
article in the Washington <i>Examiner</i> on Sunday</a> points to a new
way to get developer money into an official's

There is a serious controversy going on right now in Jacksonville
regarding the transparency of text messages by local
government officials concerning government business. This is an issue
where most governments have failed to keep up with technology. That's
common, of course. But from a government ethics point of view, what
is most important is how the issue is approached.<br>
<br>
Florida, which is known for its good sunshine laws, dealt with the issue