Ethics Commissions/Administration

Transparency is one of the most controversial aspects of government ethics. It's so controversial that it is rarely discussed in terms of transparency. It is almost always discussed in terms of confidentiality, which is rarefly referred to by its popular name: secrecy. This careful use of words leads people to devalue transparency.

The first statement in any discussion of transparency in government ethics should be that transparency is one of the three areas of government ethics (...

Two types of independence often clash when it comes to government ethics. It is important that government ethics programs be administered by independent commissions. But independent agencies often do what they can not to be subject to a local government ethics commission.

It is clear which sort of independence is more important, but independent agencies still put their interest in self-regulation ahead of the public's interest in an effective, trustworthy ethics program. This has...

Some local government ethics codes include a provision prohibiting officials from acting outside of their authority, which is especially directed at council members interfering in a city or county's management. I don't consider this a government ethics issue, since it does not necessarily involve favoritism, the official's personal interest, or anyone's personal interest. It is most often just a matter of the official trying to get things done through improper channels, which is a political...

A recent decision of the Wilton, NY ethics board (attached; see below) raises important issues regarding the selection of ethics commission members, their withdrawal from participation when they have a conflict, and the way an ethics commission handles allegations that are not covered by the ethics code.

This blog post was partially rewritten on March 24, 2011 after communication with the EC's executive director.

The actions of one member of Kentucky's state legislative ethics commission has undermined the public's view of the EC and of the state's lawyer disciplinary system. This case shows why it is inappropriate for ethics commission members to respond in destructive rather than constructive ways when the EC...

Seeking Order in Government
All government officials seek order, not just in the sense of law and order, but also in the sense of having everyone know their roles, their authority, and their relationships to other individuals and agencies.

Nonviolent actors seek order in societies where some kinds of disorder are taken for granted, for example, in dictatorships that have usurped authority and destroyed relationships.

In this sense, government ethics seeks...