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City Related

Dealing with the Potential Conflicts Involved in EC Board Member Selection

There is a great deal to be learned from the selection process for
the new District of Columbia Board of Ethics and Government
Accountability, which is effectively complete. Three weeks ago, I
wrote <a href="http://www.cityethics.org/content/problems-nominating-top-government-la…; target="”_blank”">a
blog post</a> about the nomination of Robert Spagnoletti to be

Withdrawal, Secrecy, and Misuse of Confidential Information Issues in an Economic Incentive Matter

Providing incentives to attract companies or get them to expand
their operations in a city or county has always been a controversial
issue. Incentives are seen as necessary to attract, keep, or expand
jobs locally, but they can also be an unnecessary way to get local
governments into bidding wars (or what is presented to them as a
bidding war) with other local governments, to the benefit of
companies who are going to build or expand no matter what local
governments offer.<br>
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Doing What Isn't Required

Possibly the most important single thing in government ethics is the
recognition that just because something isn't required, it doesn't
mean you can't do it, and that just because something is not
expressly prohibited, it doesn't mean you <i>can</i> do it. This is an
expanded version of what I've often talked about:  that, unlike most laws, ethics
laws are minimum requirements.<br>
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I really like it, for example, when, even though the law does not require

The Problems with Nominating a Top Government Lawyer to Sit on an Ethics Commission

What does it mean to be a "high-caliber" nominee for a position on a
local ethics commission? Does it mean someone who has been in law
enforcement, a prosecutor or judge whose presence sends the message
that the law will be enforced? Or does it mean someone who appears
to be independent of the local government officials who are under
the commission's jurisdiction?<br>
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How to Deal with a Conflict at the Center of a Conflict of Interest Program

<b>Update</b>: July 17, 2012 (see end of this post)<br>
<br>
Here's an interesting conflict situation from Concord, NH. According
to <a href="http://concord-nh.patch.com/articles/another-ethics-complaint-filed&quot; target="”_blank”">a
recent article in the Concord <i>Patch</i></a>, a state representative
filed ethics complaints against Concord's mayor and one of the

A Special Ordinance Is Not the Way to Provide a Waiver

There are usually many ways to deal responsibly with a conflict situation. But
there are also many irresponsible ways to deal with a conflict situation. One
of the irresponsible ways is to be considered today in Portland, OR, according
to <a href="http://www.katu.com/politics/Portland-Police-Bureau-Officer-John-Myers-…; target="”_blank”">an

How a Mayor's Special Obligations Affect His Right to Remain Silent

<br>
Washington <i>Post</i> columnist Robert McCartney raised an issue in <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/mayor-vincent-gray-explain-or-resig…; target="”_blank”">a
column this weekend</a> that I feel should be taken seriously. The
background story is that two of the current D.C. mayor's campaign
aides confessed to having paid a mayoral candidate, and offered him

D.C. Legislative Immunity Decision Ignores Constitutional-Legislative Differences

Last September, I wrote <a href="http://www.cityethics.org/content/dc-legislative-immunity-case-alleging…; target="”_blank”">a
blog post</a> about the attempt by District of Columbia council
members to block a subpoena by employing a legislative immunity
defense. The case involves retaliation against a whistleblower who
had alleged improper council input in the awarding of a lottery
contract.<br>