Blog Posts on Ethics Commission Independence

For Independence Day, here's a blog post that pulls together all past blog posts on ethics commission independence. EC independence is essential to an effective and respected ethics program, and yet a small minority of ECs are truly independent. Those individuals seeking to make their city or county's EC independent or to set up an independent EC need all the ammunition they can get. That is, they need to know what the options are, what the advantages are, and how ineffective and unrespected non-independent ethics advice and enforcement are. The posts are roughly in chronological order, starting with the most recent posts.

EC Selection: Nonpartisanship and Independence
Guaranteeing an EC's Budget
Electing EC Members
EC Independence Is More Than What's on Paper
Bellevue Council Can't Get a Grip on an Ethics Investigation
Independence of Ethics Administration Should Trump Independence of Agencies and Districts
Regional ECs via Interlocal Cooperation Agreements
One Commissioner, Two Conflicts, and No Ethics Program in Moore County, NC
A Council-Controlled Ethics Process Can Be a Real Battleground
Centralized vs. Disbursed Ethics Programs
The Need for an Independent Ethics Commission in San Bernardino County
Opposition to Independent Ethics Enforcement in Washington Will Echo Locally
The Fort Worth Council, Mayor, and City Attorney Deal Irresponsibly With a Conflict Situation
A Solution to the Problems of Local Government Attorney Ethics Advice
Cincinnati: Who Should Administer and Enforce Government Ethics
Moral Clarity: Independent Ethics Enforcement
EC Member Political Activity and the Perception of Fairness
Independent Offices vs. Independent Ethics Enforcement in Palm Beach County
A Proposal to Make NYC's Conflicts of Interest Board More Independent
The Selection of EC Members by Community Organizations
Maricopa County: Officials' Trust in the Public
Citizen-Based ECs
City Attorney's Advice re Conflicts of Interest: A New California Supreme Court Decision
The Need for EC Independence
Municipal Ethics Task Force in CT Bows to Town Officials
ECs: Independence and Managing Staff
In Dependence: Ethics Directors, Their Commissions and Politicians
Starving ECs of Resources
Parties and the Selection of EC Members
Who's in Charge? - An Introduction to Writing and Revising An Ethics Code
Clear Air in Manhattan: Independence of ECs 2
Clearing the Air?: The Independence of ECs