The principal problem with getting one's ethics from one's organization is that, according to Bailey, “Organizations seem to have a poorly developed sense of right and wrong. Expediency all too often comes out ahead of morality. Organizations and institutions are supposed to be the guardians of trust and fair dealing, but often there is no one to guard the guardians and — self interest being a prime mover — they look after their own good rather than the public good. ...

<h2>"The worst thing you can do is read the [ethics] law like a lawyer and
look for loopholes."<br></h2>
<br>
—Richard H. A. Washburn, training manager with the New York State <a href="http://www.nyintegrity.org/&quot; target="”_blank”">Commission
on Public Integrity</a> in a training session with St. Lawrence

In <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Kingdom-Individuals-Self-Respect-Obligation-Paper…; target="”_blank”"><i>The
Kingdom
of
Individuals</i></a> (Cornell University Press, 1993), F. G.
Bailey's principal concern is what he calls svejks (pronounced
"shvikes"), that is, individuals in organizations who put their

It is troubling that legislators insist that legislative immunity
protects them in order that they may represent their constituents, and
yet legislative bodies rarely have rules to ensure that their members
represent their constituents by showing up to debate and vote.<br>
<br>
The result is that some legislators, at every level, do not adequately
represent their constituents by showing up to work. And often voters do
not know. This may not be something that can be enforced by a local

<b>Update: September 26, 2010</b> (see below)<br>
<br>
Disclosure forms are important. Sometimes, even secondary information
can be important. But it can take a lot of work to get behind the
information that appears on disclosure forms. And when you do get behind the
information, it can look real ugly, even if it's completely legal.<br>
<br>

<b>Updates: August 24 and 26, 2010</b> (see below)<br>
<br>
For those who, like me, believe that neither a mayor nor a local
legislative body nor a city attorney has any business getting involved in the government
ethics process, here's an example you can use of the mess they can make when they
do get involved.<br>
<br>

Should advisory board and task
force members be excepted from conflict of interest rules? Jurisdictions disagree about this. Some believe that, when a
board has no authority to act or implement, the usual rules should not
apply. The principal argument is that there are times when a government
needs to get people with opposing interests together — such as business
and union interests — in order to hash out community problems. Another
argument is the need for expertise.<br>
<br>

A couple of months ago, the Ohio Ethics Commission did something very
wise and valuable:  it drafted <a href="http://www.ethics.ohio.gov/Opinions/2010-03.html&quot; target="”_blank”">an advisory
opinion on nepotism rules</a>, gathering information from years of
partial, specific advisory opinions, and providing examples. It even
gives excellent definitions of each of the relevant terms, including

<a href="http://www.ci.san-marcos.tx.us/index.html">San Marcos</a> (TX)
Council candidate Toby Hooper, in his first public statement as a candidate, said some of the right things about ethics:<br>
<br>
On the role of an ethics
commission (he's a member of the city's ethics review commission):<br>
<br>

<a href="http://www.ajc.com/business/connections-count-at-law-592015.html&quot; target="”_blank”">Last
Saturday's
Atlanta <i>Journal-Constitution</i> ran a long article</a>, "Connections Count
at Law Firm," on the Washington/Atlanta-based law firm <a href="http://www.mckennalong.com/&quot; target="”_blank”">McKenna Long & Aldridge</a>.