City Related

Those who, like me, are fascinated by Vernon, California, the ultimate
company town, with an ethical environment that breaks nearly all the rules, will be happy to know that it was given a long treatment in <a href="http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-0919-fortress-vernon-20100918,0…; target="”_blank”">a
front-page
article in Sunday's Los Angeles <i>Times</i></a>. There are no

I'm always fascinated by the myriad ways in which local governments
approach ethics reform. <a href="http://www.greenwichtime.com/local/article/League-of-Women-Voters-Green…; target="”_blank”">An
article
in the Greenwich <i>Time</i> last week sheds some light</a> on the
state of ethics reform in
Greenwich, CT. (Disclosure: my brother lives in Greenwich, but is not

<a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2010/09/06/us/politics/06charity.html?_r=1&adxnn…; target="”_blank”">The
lead article in yesterday's New York <i>Times</i></a> was on charities set up
by members of congress. I've written a few times about the use of

<b>Updates: August 24 and 26, 2010</b> (see below)<br>
<br>
For those who, like me, believe that neither a mayor nor a local
legislative body nor a city attorney has any business getting involved in the government
ethics process, here's an example you can use of the mess they can make when they
do get involved.<br>
<br>

<a href="http://www.ci.san-marcos.tx.us/index.html">San Marcos</a> (TX)
Council candidate Toby Hooper, in his first public statement as a candidate, said some of the right things about ethics:<br>
<br>
On the role of an ethics
commission (he's a member of the city's ethics review commission):<br>
<br>

Gifts from restricted sources, that is, from those doing business with
the local government (and their lobbyists), are exceptionally damaging, in that they make the public believe their officials can be bought or that their officials are running a pay-to-play government. It's too bad that at least some members of the Los Angeles ethics commission don't recognize this.<br>
<br>

Recusal is a two-part process. First, the official discloses his
interest in a matter that has or will come before his board or agency.
Then, the official does not participate in that matter.<br>
<br>
In Tucson, this process was distorted by the involvement of a board
attorney. According to <a href="http://azstarnet.com/news/local/govt-and-politics/article_e1581d0f-d71c…; target="”_blank”">an

The Kansas City, MO ethics commission situation is a mess. Last month,
I wrote about the problem that arose regarding EC members who made
campaign contributions to candidates over whom they had jurisdiction,
leading to two resignations. Soon after, the council prohibited EC
members from making contributions, and two more members resigned, leaving
only three members. But that's only the icing on the cake.<br>
<br>

The usual image we get when we hear about a government official getting
something free
from a contractor is of a new kitchen or driveway. But free services
can
also be invisible, like legal advice and other professional service.<br>
<br>

In March I wrote <a href="http://www.cityethics.org/content/matter-facts-or-law-la-crosse&quot; target="”_blank”">a
blog
post about a situation in La Crosse</a>, Wisconsin where the mayor
brought his father, who runs a refuse business, to meet with a county
official about a county solid waste assessment. A council member sought
advice from the city attorney rather than the city ethics board, and