Who expects a wonderful local government ethics surprise to come from
New Jersey? Check out the Department of State's <a href="http://www.state.nj.us/state/secretary/ordinance.html#1&quot; target="”_blank”">Pay-to-Play
Ordinances page</a>, which provides links, county by county, of
municipal ordinances placing a limited contribution ban on those
entering into municipal contracts.<br>
<br>

Tallahassee takes a compliance approach to ethics. Its <a href="http://www.talgov.com/gov/facts/ethics.cfm&quot; target="”_blank”">ethics code</a> is
aspirational, based on core values. Its ethics training employs a
Character First approach. Conflicts of interest are only a small
portion of a program that ranges from personnel and transparency issues
to harassment, discrimination, and fraud.<br>
<br>

<br>
<b>Update:</b> January 4, 2010 (see below)<br>
<br>
On December 15, Chicago published a <a href="http://www.scribd.com/doc/24238034/2009-City-of-Chicago-Compliance-and-…; target="”_blank”">Compliance
and
Integrity

In three cities this week, top officials showed the ability to get away with unethical behavior, but not the ability to distinguish law from ethics.<br>
<br>

It's only a month ago that a <a href="http://ethics.lacity.org/pdf/pressrelease/press_112409_SpecialBulletin_…; target="”_blank”">federal
court
in California rejected</a> a PAC's attempt to prevent the Los
Angeles ethics commission from enforcing contribution limits in the

<br>
<b>Update:</b> December 30, 2009<br>
<br>
Two weeks ago, <a href="http://www.cityethics.org/content/palm-beach-county-ethics-program-has-…; target="”_blank”">I
welcomed</a> the new Palm Beach County ethics codes. What I didn't
realize is how much of the county's government isn't covered by the

This year, the Rhode Island ethics commission, which has jurisdiction
over local governments, has been bouncing around the issue of conflicts
of interest relating to local officials' involvement in 
negotiations with a union, where they or their spouse is a member of a
different local union that shares the same umbrella union and, often,
the same negotiators and some of the same funds. The public statements
on this issue, from representatives of unions and good government

In <a href="http://www.cityethics.org/content/location-cogel-meets-midst-serious-un…; target="”_blank”">a
recent
blog post</a>, I listed the suits filed by Maricopa County's
sheriff Joe Arpaio and county attorney Andrew Thomas against other
county officials during the Council on Governmental Ethics Laws conference
right in the heart of Maricopa County.<br>
<br>

The ethics commission for the largest American city, and the only one
with a truly appropriate title — New York City's <a href="http://www.nyc.gov/html/conflicts/html/home/home.shtml&quot; target="”_blank”">Conflicts
of Interest Board</a> — is appointed by the city's extremely strong
mayor, with council approval.<br>
<br>
If this old and highly respected EC were to be made independent of the

Here's a tough call. It's a few weeks before a primary election, and
you (a local ethics commission member or staff member) learn that a
candidate has violated an ethics code provision, and hidden it
via a false disclosure. Do you act or do you sit on your hands until
after the election?<br>
<br>
Often this sort of problem arises when a complaint is filed by an opposing
candidate or party member, that is, when the filing is politically
motivated. But what should an EC do when there is no outside