<b>Update:</b> 9/30/09<br>
I was asked to do a short interview on Phoenix's NPR station KJZZ
yesterday, to provide a government ethics view on issues relating to the latest battle in
the uncivil war among elected officials in Maricopa County, the county
that includes Phoenix. My research into what is going on raised all
sorts of interesting issues. I'll deal with them in multiple blog posts.<br>
<br>
First, what happened. County Sheriff Joe Arpaio arrested County

When a congressman goes after a lawyer whose organization filed an
ethics complaint against him (in his capacity as Colorado's secretary
of state), you know he is more interested in getting even than he is in
the public interest. Getting even, however, is not what public servants should be doing.<br>
<br>

Recusal is a touchy subject for government officials, for two principal
reasons. One, withdrawing from a matter can appear to constitute an
admission of misconduct. This is because so many people, and even
ethics codes, consider it wrong to have a conflict. Actually, recusing
oneself is a way of dealing responsibly with a conflict, and is the
opposite of misconduct.<br>
<br>
Two, raising the issue of a conflict can disclose information the
official would rather keep personal. After all, the conflict involved

When a government employee holds or runs for elective office, there can
be conflict of interest problems. The principal problem occurs when the
government employee has to participate in a matter that directly or
indirectly affects his or her agency or department. Whether there is a
conflict depends on how direct the effect is. Another problem involves running for office in violation of the federal Hatch Act.<br>
<br>

The business coalition in Palm Beach County (FL) really gets it. One
reason is that City Ethics' Carla Miller has provided advice. The
coalition consists of Leadership Palm Beach County, the Palm Beach
County Business Forum, the Palm Beach County Economic Council, and the
Voters Coalition. Its positions are best stated in <a href="http://www.lwvpbc.org/LWV_article.pdf&quot; target="”_blank”">a short essay</a>

Preferential treatment is one of the most difficult ethics provisions
to deal with, because it seems on its face so open-ended. Every time a
decision is made, someone is preferred over someone else, whether it's
a hiring decision, a contract award, or a zoning change. But if these
decisions are made fairly and through the appropriate legal process,
there is no preferential treatment.<br>
<br>

One of the most difficult things for a government official to do is to
determine whether his or her conduct creates an appearance of
impropriety. Partially blinded by ego, surrounding yes-people, and the
government's ethical culture, an official often finds nothing
wrong with conduct that many or even most outsiders -- that is,
citizens -- find questionable or downright wrong. It is hard for them to put themselves in citizen shoes in order to see whether their conduct might appear improper.<br>
<br>

Undisclosed conflicts can cause a lot of problems, but rarely are they
a matter of life and death. In Collin County, TX, north of Dallas, an
undisclosed conflict could have been responsible for a man's death
sentence (and, perhaps, many more sentences).<br>
<br>

Privatizing local government functions can cause conflict of interest
problems, but at least contractors can be held to contracts and
replaced when they run afoul of ethics or other laws or requirements.
The same is not necessarily true when non-profit organizations take
over local government functions not as contractors or grant recipients
(as with social service agencies), but as partial or full replacements.<br>
<br>

Accusing someone of a conflict of interest can lead to trouble,
especially if the person you accuse is a litigious lawyer and you do it outside of an ethics proceeding. This is what
one can read from a $5 million suit filed by a former town attorney
against the town of <a>Victor, NY</a> 
(pop. 10,000) and a member of the town's planning board.<br>
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