Special districts are an important and growing form of local
government, and yet they often fly beneath the radar. In fact, I've
only <a href="http://www.cityethics.org/node/449&quot; target="”_blank”">mentioned them once</a>
in my blog. And most citizens have no idea what they are or that they
exist in their area (I myself can't name one in my area). For this reason,
conflicts of interest involving special districts also remain, for the

Sacramento recently had an interesting situation, which set off
accusations of conflicts of interest. According to <a href="http://www.sacbee.com/734/story/1488169.html&quot; target="”_blank”">an article in the
Sacramento <span>Bee</span></a>, the
newly-elected weak mayor came into office with a volunteer transition
team, consisting primarily of people who have business with the city or

The Baltimore mayor's attorney has, only days after <a href="http://www.cityethics.org/node/606&quot; target="”_blank”">his client was
indicted</a>, given a course to drafters of local government ethics codes
on how not to define "doing business" with a local government.<br>

When the entire ethics commission of a major county resigns,
something is seriously wrong. This is what recently happened in Jackson
County, MO, home of Kansas City and Independence.<br>

According to an article in <a href="http://www.nevadaappeal.com/article/20090110/NEWS/901109978&quot; target="”_blank”">yesterday's
Nevada </a><span><a href="http://www.nevadaappeal.com/article/20090110/NEWS/901109978&quot; target="”_blank”">Appeal</a>,</span>

<a href="http://www.cityethics.org/node/463&quot; target="”_blank”">Last June, I wrote</a>
about the state prosecutor's investigation of Baltimore Mayor Sheila
Dixon, which was being taken before a grand jury. I focused on a series
of ethical problems Mayor Dixon had in her pre-mayoral days and how
they built toward these more serious alleged offenses. A little more

“There’s no conflict,” the mayor said last night. “It wouldn’t be a
story if his name wasn’t Menino.” (from <a href="http://www.bostonherald.com/news/politics/view.bg?articleid=1143360&quot; target="”_blank”">a
recent Boston <span>Herald</span> article</a>)<br>
<br>

The status of a local government attorney is important. An
external local government attorney, that is, one not employed full-time
by the government, is still seen as the top legal official in town,
someone whose word is effectively law, especially at government
meetings. Such an attorney is also seen as representing the public
interest whenever the government is involved.<br>
<br>
But part-time, external local government attorneys have mouths to feed,
and they are often approached by clients for their expertise and for

Here's an interesting case study from Council Bluffs, IA.
According to <a href="http://www.southwestiowanews.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=20234973&BRD=2703…; target="”_blank”">an

Self-promotion is the ultimate form of placing one's own interests over
the public interest, but we expect it from politicians. It's an ego
thing. It has no place in an ethics code.<br>
<br>
But the four-term-plus sheriff of Maricopa County,
AZ (which includes Phoenix and Scottsdale) has turned self-promotion into an extreme sport.<br>