Misuse of Office/Special

Some very interesting issues arise out of a past (and present) conflict situation that has become an issue in this week's mayoral primary in the Unified Government of Wyandotte County and Kansas City, KS ("UG").

The conflict situation appears simple at first glance, but it is not. In 2007, a UG commissioner became the paid executive director of the Argentine Neighborhood Development Association ("ANDA"), a nonprofit Community...

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.

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.

The FBI had to work hard for years to get a grand jury indictment of former New Orleans mayor Ray Nagin yesterday (a searchable PDF of the indictment is attached; see below).

A lot of what occurred could have been stopped a long time ago if the city and state had better ethics laws and the city's ethics board was able to initiate complaints and hold public hearings on ethics issues that came to its attention. It appears that every time I read the indictment of a mayor or council...

“These are, as far as I’m concerned, the everyday things and courtesies that are done in life.”

—Andrew P. O'Rourke, then Westchester County (NY) Executive, after admitting that he had sought a job for his son-in-law (and an admission interview for his daughter) at a medical college that had a contract with the county; had recommended his domestic partner for a job with the county's medical insurer; and had "looked the other way" when his daughter was hired by the county's...

“The remedy is he is no longer in our employ. So the next thing we look at is: ‘Is there any harm to the city? Did the city lose money? Did anybody steal anything?’ The answer to that is No.”

—Mayor Greg Granstrom of Rossland, British Columbia. According to a CBC news article today, the former building inspector of Rossland billed the city for $...