Indefinite conflicts can cause a lot of problems for officials. They see them as not yet ripe, not something they should have to deal with yet. But others see them as looming in the future, and want to know how the official plans to deal with them. One such indefinite conflict is the subject of controversy in Tampa,
where a council candidate is the executive director of a nonprofit
organization that has a large contract with the city to build
affordable apartments. This sort of indefinite conflict comes up a lot.<br>
<br>

Another interesting ethics matter is raised in <a href="http://www.mercurynews.com/san-jose-neighborhoods/ci_16650954?nclick_ch…; target="”_blank”">the
article on the school board member</a> in Santa Clara County (CA),

There are three basic approaches to enforcing ethics laws: 
through ethics commissions, through the criminal process, and through
the ballot box. I strongly oppose using the criminal process for ethics
violations (see <a href="http://www.cityethics.org/node/497&quot; target="”_blank”">an
earlier blog post</a>), and feel that the ballot box is far too crude a
way to enforce ethics laws, especially considering that voters do not

<b>I have to admit that [the proposed ethics code and disclosure form] made
me nervous because I kept seeing instances where I personally could be
considered, shall I say, at risk. Because the things I am involved in
are funded by the city. Making me nervous was a good thing. This is
very clear.</b><br><br>

What do you do when you are not the only member of your immediate
family who is an elected official? This question arose in <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frederick_County,_MD&quot; target="”_blank”">Frederick
County, MD</a>, the home of Camp David.<br>
<br>

More from Madison. According to <a href="http://www.channel3000.com/entertainment/25375284/detail.html&quot; target="”_blank”">an
article
last month on the Channel3000.com website</a>, a stagehands
union sent 28 copies of a book on creating and maintaining healthy arts
organizations to members of the Madison council and members of an ad hoc
committee on the future of the city's arts center. The union insists

There are some interesting ethics issues being raised in Madison, Wisconsin.<br>
<br>
The mayor of Madison was asked
to co-chair a committee that will be raising funds to sponsor a
national conference of urban designers and developers to be held in
Madison. One job for the mayor would be to send out
fundraising letters and follow up with phone calls to companies and
individuals, including some that do business with the city.<br>
<br>
The mayor responsibly asked for an advisory opinion before accepting

Although the ethics proceedings involving Rep. Charles Rangel (NY) are
at the federal level, there is a lot to be learned from them that is
relevant at the local level.<br>
<br>
Yesterday, Mr. Rangel walked out of a meeting of the adjudicatory
subcommittee of the House ethics committee, insisting that he could not
afford a lawyer and asking for an extension. He has apparently run up
$2 million in legal fees, and his lawyers ended their representation of
him when he could not pay. Pro bono counsel is not allowed because it

This post will be of special interest to those who enjoy the occasional ironies
that arise in the world of government ethics. According to <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2010/11/13/nyregion/13black.html&quot; target="”_blank”">an
article in today's New York <i>Times</i></a>, the woman named to be New York
City's new schools chancellor has decided to resign from her positions

Prof. Patricia Salkin, director of the<a href="http://www.albanylaw.edu/sub.php?navigation_id=668&quot; target="”_blank”"> Government
Law Center</a> at Albany
Law School and author of the <a href="http://lawoftheland.wordpress.com&quot; target="”_blank”">Law of the Land blog</a>, has