<b>Targeting Ethics Reform</b><br>
In May, I wrote <a href="http://www.cityethics.org/content/cook-county-ethics-reform-proposal&qu…; target="”_blank”">a
blog post</a> about ethics reforms proposed by a Cook County (IL)
commissioner. I felt they didn't have much chance of passing.<br>
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Who is the best sort of individual to select as an ethics commission
member?  Some people believe it's a member of the clergy, because
who else is more ethical? And there are many clergy members on ethics
commissions across the country. But this shows either a
misunderstanding of government ethics (that it's about being good
rather than dealing responsibly with conflicts of interest) or a
preference for appearances, even if it gives the public the wrong
impression about what government ethics is all about.<br>
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Forget the fascinating range of ethics programs at the local level. It is congressional
ethics programs that get the national attention. And with all this attention, what Congress does, and fails to do, has a great effect not
only on what happens at the local level, but also on the rhetoric
employed there.<br>
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When Congress self-administered its own ethics, every council or county
commission member could say that if self-regulation is good enough for
Congress, it's good enough for them. Only legislative bodies, the

Four years after I wrote a blog post entitled <a href="http://www.cityethics.org/node/133&quot; target="”_blank”">The Ethics of Today's
Municipal Pension Plan Problems</a>, according to <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2010/09/11/opinion/11kramer.html&quot; target="”_blank”">an
op-ed piece in the New York Times</a>, New Jersey agreed with the

What is most remarkable about the <a href="http://www.santafecounty.org/documents/agendas/packet_materials/BCCDraf…
code
of conduct for Santa Fe Count</a>y (NM) is the fact that it was
drafted by the county attorney. It reads as if it were put together by
a citizens group in a community that has lost faith in its
government officials.<br>
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In May, <a href="http://www.cityethics.org/content/comparison-two-county-ethics-initiati…; target="”_blank”">I wrote a critical assessment</a> of the <a href="http://www.wbcitizensvoice.com/pdfs/Ethics%20Pledge.pdf&quot; target="”_blank”">Luzerne

The Jacksonville City Council's Sub-Committee on the Charter Review Commission's (which only meets every 10 years) findings met yesterday 07-09-2010 to hear public testimony on any aspects of the CRC's findings. There were about 20 people who spoke, and all but one were there to encourage the committee to implement the Jacksonville Ethics Commissions recommendations regarding inclusion of the Ethics Commission in the city's charter.

Using government employees for private purposes is one of the most
common ethics code violations.<br>
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This violation is especially bad because it involves coercion of
individuals, in this case subordinates who are not in a position to say
no. Coercion and intimidation rarely occur outside of a poor
ethical environment.<br>
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This violation also shows a serious failure to recognize the boundary
between public and private, which is the heart of government ethics.<br>
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<a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2010/09/06/us/politics/06charity.html?_r=1&adxnn…; target="”_blank”">The
lead article in yesterday's New York <i>Times</i></a> was on charities set up
by members of congress. I've written a few times about the use of

In order to develop their identities, and cement the loyalties of their members, organizations tend to contrast themselves with other organizations, and with those they deal with, whether they are clients, customers, or citizens. Bailey wrote, “If contact with outsiders is experienced as painful and involves rejection, organizational solidarity is likely to be enhanced." In other words, in the local government context, seeing citizens as irritants creates solidarity.<br>
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