City Related

The tendency of local government ethics codes to limit conflicts to
financial interests is one of my pet peeves. A
current matter in Tacoma shows the downside of this limited definition
of interests that can conflict.<br>
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The perceived independence of an ethics commission is extremely
important. This perceived independence has become an issue in Frankfort
(KY), according to <a href="http://www.state-journal.com/news/article/4794079&quot; target="”_blank”">an article in
Tuesday's <i>State-Journal</i></a>.<br>
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Here are two interesting situations where it is not clear what an
ethics commission's role and authority are. One in Baltimore, the other in Philadelphia.<br>
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<b>Update:</b> March 29, 2010 (see below)<br>
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It is a common problem in government ethics to confuse law and ethics.
It is a more unusual problem to confuse law and facts. But this appears
to be a problem in La Crosse (WI; pop. 51,000), according to <a href="http://www.lacrossetribune.com/news/article_cca5c1ba-3181-11df-a411-001…; target="”_blank”">an

<b>The Partisanship of Ethics</b><br>
The first pleasant surprise involves a<a href="http://advanceindiana.blogspot.com/2010/03/what-to-do-with-our-corrupt-…; target="”_blank”">
blogger (Advance Indiana) who is disgusted</a> with his own party's
unethical conduct in his city/county, Indianapolis/Marion County. A
native of Illinois, he compares it to Chicago, and he notes that his

<a href="http://www.cityethics.org/content/surprise-philadelphia-council-drafts-…; target="”_blank”">Philadelphia</a>,
<a href="http://www.cityethics.org/content/not-much-get-excited-about-baltimores…; target="”_blank”">Baltimore</a>,
and

In <a href="http://www.cityethics.org/content/indirect-interests-and-freedom-speech…; target="”_blank”">my previous blog post</a>, the issue arose of voiding a planning and
zoning commission's approval of a permit because one of the commission
members had a conflict of interest. Connecticut law automatically
invalidates the

An unpublished Connecticut Superior Court
opinion takes an odd approach to a conflict of interest charge against
a member
of a zoning commission in the small town of Pomfret (pop. 4,000). Not
only is it odd, but it could very well be unconstitutional, as it
partly bases
its decision on whether individuals have spoken out for or against a
matter before the zoning commission. My thanks go to Patricia Salkin,
who

When a major newspaper's editorial on a city council's handling of an
important ethics issue begins with "Sneaky.
Real sneaky." it's something worth sharing with those interested in
local government ethics.<br>
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<b>Update:</b> The bills discussed below passed the council on March 22.<br>
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Just down the road from Philadelphia, Baltimore too is considering
ethics reforms, but it's in response to a scandal involving its past
mayor rather than in response to the work of a task force.<br>
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There are two bills before the Baltimore council, both of them