You know you're in trouble when a grand jury foreman says about you,
"They need an independent organization to be an oversight ..., not just
the grand jury doing it once every few years."<br>
<br>
Of course, the "they" here are local government agencies:  five
community college districts in San Diego County, whose boards of
trustees are elected.<br>
<br>

Talk about the appearance of impropriety is, as Congressman Charles B.
Rangel of New York is quoted in <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/18/nyregion/18rangel.html&quot; target="”_blank”">a
recent New York <span>Times</span> article</a>
as saying, “annoying.” Why should there be anything more than a
decision of his peerless peers on the House Ethics Committee, guilty or

In ethics codes, campaign contributions are sacrosanct. Nearly every ethics code excepts
them from the definition of "gift," "personal benefit," "anything of
value," or whatever they call money and goods given to government
officials and employees. Limiting campaign contributions is a matter
for campaign finance laws, because there is no conflict of interest
involved.<br>
<br>
Or is there? It is a conflict of interest to accept (and, not often

I <a href="http://www.cityethics.org/node/462&quot; target="”_blank”">recently reported</a> that the Oklahoma Ethics Commission was considering suing the legislature for more funds, on the ground that the state constitution requires adequate funding for the EC, and the legislature had, among other limits, permitted it to have only one investigator.

One goal of campaign finance reform is to end the appearance and reality
of corruption that comes with large campaign contributions. This
appearance is attached especially to large contributions from those
doing business with the city or trying to change its laws --
contractors, lobbyists, and unions. This appearance is most serious when the position has fiduciary obligations and is supposed to be independent rather than representative, such as the New York City Comptroller.<br>
<br>

One of the interesting things about the attorney-client privilege in a
government setting is that the privilege -- which is, of course, the
client's, not the lawyer's -- is held by the office, not by the
individual
holding the office at the time of the communication. This is a major
reason why the attorney-client privilege is
different in a government context:  whenever a government
official tells something to a government attorney, the official knows
that his or her successor might waive the privilege and disclose the

[This blog entry has been substantially changed based on a response from the Phoenix City Manager, who provided information about the reasons for the City Attorney's position and the relationship of the City Attorney with the mayor.]<br>
<br>
Phoenix's City Attorney determined, according to <a href="http://www.azcentral.com/community/phoenix/articles/2008/07/04/20080704…; target="”_blank”">an

According to a <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/23/nyregion/23empire.html&quot; target="”_blank”">New
York <span>Times</span> article</a> last
week, hundreds of lawyers in New York State who have done consulting
work for local school districts allowed themselves to be listed as
part-time employees and allowed themselves to be enrolled in the school

Last week, <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/25/washington/25epa.html&quot; target="”_blank”">the New
York <span>Times</span> reported </a>that
for six months the White House refused to open an e-mail from the
Environmental Protection Agency, a report stating that greenhouse gases
are pollutants that must be controlled. The White House considered the EPA report to

The Internet provides all sorts of opportunities for both transparency
and citizen feedback. One way, which <a href="http://www.cityethics.org/node/453&quot; target="”_blank”">I pointed out recently</a>,
is for local government officials to have blogs that allow them to
present their news and views, and allow citizens to respond and ask
questions.<br>
<br>
Two other approaches have just been taken by towns near where I live.<br>