An Ethics Reform Miscellany
It may be midsummer, but it's still a busy season for local government
ethics. Here's how a few local governments are dealing with ethics
reform.
City Related
Ethics Commissions & Administration
July 28, 2009
The EC Appointment Process: Watchdog or Lapdog?
Update below
The only thing worse than stacking ethics commissions with politically active, and apparently loyal, members is refusing to renew the term of a member who has been a vocal advocate of government ethics, in other words, a thorn in the side of officials who do not follow the local government's ethics codes. Clever officials know that one or two members of any board can have a strong effect on what the board does.
The only thing worse than stacking ethics commissions with politically active, and apparently loyal, members is refusing to renew the term of a member who has been a vocal advocate of government ethics, in other words, a thorn in the side of officials who do not follow the local government's ethics codes. Clever officials know that one or two members of any board can have a strong effect on what the board does.
July 24, 2009
A Miscellany
Open Records Requests and
Ethics Proceedings
July 23, 2009
Government Corruption Arrests in NJ: Abuse of Nonprofits, Conduit Contributions, and A Network of Crooked Officials
A few local government ethics issues come together in the story
behind the arrest today of 44 people in a political corruption and
international money laundering ring based in New Jersey. The story is
best told, so far, in the
press release of the U.S. Attorney for the District of New Jersey.
Conflicts of Interest
July 21, 2009
Overreacting to a Conflict
While so many local governments don't take conflicts seriously enough
to require recusal, some take conflicts too seriously, and overreact.
This appears to be what happened in Elizabethtown (NY), according to an
article in yesterday's Press-Republican.
July 17, 2009
North Carolina Legislature Is About to Pass a Nearly Worthless, and Possibly Dangerous, Local Government Ethics Law
In a blog post
yesterday, I noted that North Carolina was soon to require local
governments to pass ethics codes. I've now found out more about the
proposed law, and it is disappointing, to say the least.
Ethics Commissions & Administration
July 16, 2009
Elected Officials and Ethics Commissions -- What Tension Between Them Can Lead To
What just happened in San Diego, according to an
article in yesterday's Union-Tribune,
is a lesson for local government ethics commission members,
especially commission chairs, and even more especially chairs who speak
out. Most important, it points out how important EC independence is.
July 16, 2009
Quebec Report Recommends Ethics Codes for All Local Governments; North Carolina Might Soon Be Requiring Codes, Too
Last week, I wrote
about municipal corruption scandals in Montreal. This week, I'm happy
to be able to write about a report requested by the province of Quebec,
which determined that the province's municipalities should all have a
code of ethics (only about 10% do now), that the largest cities and the
counties should have ethics commissioners, and that financial
disclosure and ethics training should be required. Contractors would be
covered under the codes.
Conflicts of Interest
July 15, 2009
Political Solicitation of Local Government Employees
See update below:
An issue that arises in many local governments involves campaign contributions from local government employees, which often appear to be coerced or required, that is, they appear to result from a misuse of office by elected officials. Often, it appears that the giving occurs because employees are concerned about keeping their jobs. This concern includes concern about retaliation as well as concern about what will happen if the candidate loses.
An issue that arises in many local governments involves campaign contributions from local government employees, which often appear to be coerced or required, that is, they appear to result from a misuse of office by elected officials. Often, it appears that the giving occurs because employees are concerned about keeping their jobs. This concern includes concern about retaliation as well as concern about what will happen if the candidate loses.
July 13, 2009
A Miscellany
Ethics Reform and Ethics
Environments