<b>Note:</b> When I originally wrote this blog post, I erroneously assumed that the ethics commission member whose conflict situation I discuss was the only one selected by the assembly speaker. I since learned that three of the members were selected by the assembly speaker. I would argue, therefore, that these three members are in the same situation (except for the personal opinion expressed about someone who would presumably be involved in the matter). With a fourteen-member commission, the withdrawal of three members from a matter would not hamper consideration of it.

<br>In their book <i><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Switch-Change-Things-When-Hard/dp/0385528752/&quot; target="”_blank”">Switch:

There is a great deal of thought-provoking material in Chip and Dan
Heath's book <i><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Switch-Change-Things-When-Hard/dp/0385528752/&quot; target="”_blank”">Switch: How to Change Things When Change Is Hard</a></i>
(Crown, 2010). Change has proved hard in every single city and
county in the United States. Those seeking government ethics reform
can learn a lot from this book.<br>

The first opinion of the District of Columbia's Board of Ethics and
Government Accountability (a searchable copy is attached; see below)
raises some interesting questions relating to enforcing
unenforceable ethics provisions, vagueness, and publishing evidence
and an opinion about a case that is being dismissed before an
investigation has been conducted. The opinion also shows that the
new ethics board has a long way to go up the learning curve of
government ethics.<br>
<br>

<br>New Jersey has one of the oddest approaches to local government
ethics. Like several states,  including Massachusetts,
California, and Florida, a state ethics program has jurisdiction
over local officials. But unlike other states, the state ethics
program is not run by the state ethics commission. It is run by the
Department of Community Affairs.<br>
<br>

One of the rarely questioned truisms of local government ethics is,
"One size does not fit all." Usually this means that one ethics code
is not right for every city or county, that every jurisdiction has
its own issues and problems.<br>
<br>
In some ways this is true. New York City's huge ethics program is
hardly appropriate to a small town, because there is such a large
difference in available resources. But there is no difference when
it comes to ethics rules or the need for training or independent

For those of you who are tired of talk about "witch hunts," this
quote will be a great relief:<blockquote>

"I'm concerned about a zealous ethics staff chasing down rabbit
holes when there is no rabbit."</blockquote>

The arrest of Miami Beach's former procurement director last October
may not be news, but there's a lot to be learned from this case. The issues include personal discretion, alternatives to fully competitive bidding, access to information, and debarment rules.<br>
<br>

<a href="http://www.minnpost.com/two-cities/2013/01/minneapolis-considers-confli…; target="”_blank”">An
article on the MinnPost site this week</a> brought to my attention
a report done by the Minneapolis Ethical Practices Board (EPB) on
conflicts of interest involving development-related boards (planning, zoning, preservation) in Minneapolis and

<b>Update</b>: January 30, 2013 (see below)<br>
<br>
Four years ago, I wrote <a href="http://www.cityethics.org/node/556&quot; target="”_blank”">a blog post</a> about
the conflict at the heart of the local redistricting process, where
the members of a legislative body are deeply involved in decisions that will
determine whether or not they, and their party or faction, are
re-elected. This conflict shares some similarities with the