City Related

<b>Update:</b> April 3, 2014 (see below)<br>
<br>
Every so often, someone comes along and says, What's so bad about
government officials' ethical misconduct? Isn't it worth having
ethical misconduct if it means an effective government?<br>
<br>
This time it's Hilary Krieger, a Washington <i>Post</i> editor, who

Another mayor has resigned after getting caught by an FBI sting.
According to <a href="http://www.charlotteobserver.com/2014/03/26/4795861/charlotte-mayor-pat…; target="”_blank”">an

Can anyone volunteer for a local political campaign without it being considered a contribution? Isn't it
everyone's right to do so? Isn't this just about the most important
thing a citizen can do, short of running for office herself?<br>
<br>
According to <a href="http://metronews.ca/news/toronto/976216/lobbyist-warren-kinsella-workin…; target="”_blank”">the

I just finished reading the classic political science book <a href="http://books.google.com/books?id=-L99RHLc3WoC&quot; target="”_blank”"><i>Who Governs?
Democracy and Power in an American City</i></a> by Robert A. Dahl
(Yale University Press, 1961). It might have been the second time
around, because I did take an Urban Politics course forty years ago. The book happens to focus on
New Haven, the city in whose suburbs I live and whose public

While researching my last blog post, I visited the webpage of
Tallahassee mayor John Marks, and was thrown for a bit of a loop.
The first two paragraphs of <a href="http://www.talgov.com/commission/commission-officials-marks.aspx&quot; target="”_blank”">his
bio</a> look more like an advertisement for his law firm
than the bio of a mayor:<blockquote>

While I was on vacation last week, the biggest story in local
government ethics appears to have been, once again, in the District
of Columbia. According to <a href="http://www.fbi.gov/washingtondc/press-releases/2014/businessman-pleads-…; target="”_blank”">a
press release from the U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia</a>

Recently, the hiring of lobbyists to represent cities before state
and federal governments and agencies has become controversial. Some
people think this is an inappropriate use of taxpayer funds. I don't
agree. However, the hiring of external lobbyists (as opposed to
government officials who do the lobbying themselves) does raise some
government ethics issues, because it adds to the mix highly
politicized contractors.<br>
<br>
This problem is exacerbated when there are laws limiting

Last November, I wrote <a href="http://www.cityethics.org/content/advisory-opinion-concerning-constitue…; target="”_blank”">a
long blog post</a> examining <a href="http://www.cityethics.org/sites/cityethics.org/files/DC%20Constituent%2…; target="”_blank”">an important general advisory opinion</a>

This week, Seattle's expanded Whistleblower Protection Code became
effective (attached; see below). As what appears to be the most
extensive local whistleblower code, it deserves a look from any
local government seeking to draft or improve whistleblower
provisions.<br>
<br>
The major changes to the code, according to the ethics commission's
(SEEC) website, are:<blockquote>

One Indian tribe wants to build a casino, another tribe already has
one in the area and doesn't want competition. You're a council
member in the city that can effectively block the casino from being built. Both tribes want your support, and are willing to back up
that support with campaign contributions. What do you do?<br>
<br>