Local Government Attorneys

I'd like to call your attention to a new local government law blog that, among other issues, covers government ethics. It's called Coates' Canons: NC Local Government Law Blog, and it's a joint effort of  local government law faculty members at the School of Government at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill. Albert Coates, after whom the blog is named, was the founder of the university's Institute of Government...

COGEL (Council on Governmental Ethics Laws) annual conferences are often held at a time and place where there are serious government ethics issues. Last year, the conference was held in Chicago the day Gov. Blagojevich was arrested. This year, the conference was held in Maricopa County, AZ, where few days go by when there isn't a serious government ethics issue. Maricopa County has got to be the most dysfunctional county in the U.S.

According to...

According to an article in Town Talk, an allegation against the mayor of Alexandria (LA) of ignoring a conflict of interest has led to some all too typical denial, squabbling, and inappropriate city attorney activity.

Ethics reform is difficult without a scandal. If your local government doesn't have an ethics commission, it's hard to form one. If there's an ethics commission without teeth, it's hard to even get dentures. And in Denver, according to an article in the Denver Post, it's hard to even get information about what happens after a toothless ethics commission recommends disclipinary action.

There are many right and wrong ways to select an ethics commission. The rightest ways take the selection process out of the hands of anyone who could possibly come before the EC, because that places a conflict of interest at the very center of a process intended to guide and enforce the responsible handling of conflicts. The rightest ways also prevent anyone who could possibly come before the EC, or their colleagues, from...

An article in the Riverside (CA) Press-Enterprise this week raises two interesting government ethics issues. One involves conflicts based on a business-related desire to have good relations with the local government. The other involves conflicts based on campaign contributions to elected officials who serve on an ethics commission.