Patronage is the most basic of all municipal conflicts of interest. It involves not only self-interest (my job), but also a variety of organizational interests (my agency, party, ethnic or racial group, friends). In every little patronage decision, all of these interests take precedence over the public interest. And yet patronage is also the most commonly practiced, and accepted, of all municipal conflicts of interest. Nowhere has patronage been practiced and accepted more than in Chicago. And yet that is where it is being prosecuted.

As canaries were to mines, apologies are to a municipality's ethical environment. If you don't see a good number of sincere apologies, then ethics and accountability are probably dead in your town. In addition, insincere apologies are a sure sign that the town's political leaders are manipulative and trying to get something for nothing.

<p>From: http://www.jaxdailyrecord.com/showstory.php?Story_id=45455<br />
July 4, 2006<br /><b>Miller's ethics advice travels well</b>
<p>by <b>Bradley Parsons</b>, <i>Staff Writer</i></p><p>
As an ethical adviser to politicians, Carla Miller never has to worry about staying busy.</p><p>

Yesterday's Supreme Court decision in <a href="http://www.law.cornell.edu/supct/html/04-1528.ZS.html">Randall v. Sorrell</a> is a setback for municipal efforts at campaign finance reform (CFR). CFR is a municipal ethics issue, because the justification for campaign spending and contribution limits is that such limits help to prevent corruption.

from the June 26, 2006 edition - http://www.csmonitor.com/2006/0626/p02s01-usgn.html
<b>At a seminar in California, municipal leaders learn how to stay on the straight and narrow in times of temptation.</b>
<p>

<b>By
Daniel B. Wood</b> | Staff writer of The Christian Science Monitor
</p><p>

<b>SANTA CLARA, CALIF.</b>

<a href="http://www.denvergov.org/ethics/&quot; target="_blank">
<img src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/8/80/Denver_mosaic.jpg&quot; alt="The Rocky Mountains west of Denver help people navigate the city by serving as a directional reference." border="1">
</a>
<h2>Brief History of Denver in Politics</h2>

As the official name implies, the City and County San Francisco is a <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Consolidated_city-county&quot; title="Consolidated city-county">consolidated city-county</a>, being simultaneously a charter city and charter county with a consolidated government, a status it has had since 1856. It is the only such consolidation in California and the only California county with a mayor who is also the county executive.

<h2>Honolulu Government</h2>

<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oakland%2C_California&quot; target="_blank">Wikipedia Page: Oakland, CA</a>
<h2>Public Ethics Commission</h2>
<p>The City of Oakland Public Ethics Commission was established in November, 1996.</p>
<p>The mission of the Public Ethics Commission is to promote the highest confidence in
the ethics of the government of the City of Oakland. We help ensure that government

<img src="http://ndc.nu/img/seattles.jpg&quot; alt="The Official City of Seattle web site" border="1" height="153" width="450">
<h2>Seattle Ethics & Elections Commission</h2>
<p>
One of the missions of The Seattle Ethics and Elections Commission is to administer,
interpret and enforce the Seattle Code of Ethics, Seattle Municipal Code Chapter 4.16