making local government more ethical

You are here

Home

Lobbyists

Announcing the Book "The Regulation of Local Lobbying"

Tuesday, February 23rd, 2016
Robert Wechsler
At last, I have put up online a final version of what has turned out to be a separate book, The Regulation of Local Lobbying. This free 342-page resource has three parts. The first part explains what local lobbying is, how it differs from lobbying at the state and, especially, the federal levels, and the special characteristics of procurement and land us lobbying. It considers the public's view of lobbying, the...

Efforts to Influence Through the News Media as Lobbying

Monday, January 18th, 2016
Robert Wechsler
One of the news media's biggest problems is failing to look at the big picture and, instead, focusing on specific events and issues. This is especially true when it comes to government ethics, where the news media generally considers, and calls for, ethics reforms on a piecemeal basis.

An article on the Innovateli website yesterday shows that this same limited vision applies when a government ethics reform involves the...

Gifts of Sexual Relations

Monday, January 11th, 2016
Robert Wechsler
When gifts from lobbyists to government officials are discussed, what they consist of is usually money (including campaign contributions), meals, trips, and services. A pending Missouri House bill  (2059; attached, see below) seeks to extend the definition of reportable "gift" from lobbyists in this context to include:

sexual relations between a registered lobbyist and a member of the general assembly or his or her staff. Relations between married persons or between persons...

Public Relations

Monday, December 7th, 2015
Robert Wechsler

Local governments that lack a lobbying oversight program do not have to merely throw up their hands when a huge procurement matter arises. They have the choice to set rules for that matter which, if it works, may later be applied more generally.

This is the lesson that comes from the York, Ontario region which, according to a recent...

Leading the Way on Lobbying Disclosure

Wednesday, December 2nd, 2015
Robert Wechsler
When it comes to lobbying disclosure, local government agencies should lead the way. According to an article in the San Diego Reader, this is not the case with the San Diego Airport Authority, whose lobbying firm did not disclose any of the lobbying it did for the Authority in the first half of 2015.

According to the article, this summer the Authority...

A Lobbying Pledge

Friday, November 20th, 2015
Robert Wechsler
A Portland, OR mayoral candidate made an interesting pledge in September, according to an article in the Portland Tribune:

I will not permit any individual who was a paid member of my campaign or my mayoral staff to lobby me or my office on behalf of a private entity. This prohibition will extend through my full four-year term...

Pages