I am interested in getting some feedback on this point:
In a recent incident, there was perhaps no legal issue, but there was an undeniable perception that something unethical had occurred. What are your views on the thin red line between these points (i.e. "legal" and "perceived as unethical")

Should we try to step up to the plate and keep to the high moral ground where we even avoid the perception of unethical behaviour ?

How can we do this without moving far from what the average elected official can think with ?

I saw on the web that Miami-Dade has a "cone of silence" rule (love the name), which prohibits contact with government personnel including elected officials while contract solicitation responses are under evaluation.

I would like to hear from or about any other cities that have communication restrictions rules regarding the contract selection process, and any challenges against such rules. Thanks.

Helen Valkavich
City of San Antonio

Has any one had any experience where the government unit has oursourced what would normally be considered a government activity and then imposed the government's ethics policy on the contractor?

<a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/01/26/AR20060… src="http://media.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/ssi/globalnav/wpdotcom_190x30.gi…; alt="washingtonpost.com" border="0" height="30" vspace="2" width="190"></a>

<a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/01/11/AR20060… src="http://media.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/ssi/globalnav/wpdotcom_190x30.gi…; alt="washingtonpost.com" border="0" height="30" vspace="2" width="190"></a>
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<h1>COGEL Task Force -- Local and Municipal Ethics Initiatives</h1>
<h3>Members</h3>
<p>
<strong>CHAIR</strong>: Carla Miller, Ethics Officer, City of Jacksonville, Florida
<strong>VICE-CHAIR</strong>: John Steiner, Austin, TX Ethics Commission
<strong>Mark Davies</strong>, New York City Conflict of Interest Board
<strong>Helen Valkavich</strong>, City of San Antonio, TX
<strong>Robert Meyers</strong>, Miami/Dade Ethics Commission

<div>
<img src="http://charactercounts.org/gif/cclogo.gif&quot; alt="CHARACTER COUNTS!" height="100" width="100">
<p>Character Counts ! - National Office<br />
<br>Josephson Institute of Ethics<br />
9841 Airport Blvd., Suite 300<br />
Los Angeles, CA 90045<br />
Tel: (310) 846-4800<br />
Fax: (310) 846-4858</p></div>

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<p><i>This story ran on <a href="http://nwitimes.com/articles/2005/11/24/news/lake_county/3f3a3a82756141…;
nwitimes.com</a> on Thursday, November 24, 2005 2:07 AM CST</i></span></p>

<h1>Charbonneau named to state ethics panel</span></h1>
<p>Times Staff Report</span></p>

<img src="http://www.cityethics.org/img/ce-noah.gif&quot; alt="" height="91" width="200" />

<h1>Municipal Programs</h1>

<h2>Sunday, Dec. 4: 2:00-4:00pm </h2>
<h2>Local Agency Roundtable</h2>

<h2>PKS prods govt over antigraft drive</h2>
<cite>Jakarta Post</cite>, 01 August 2005
<p>Wrapping up its week-long national conference on Sunday, the Prosperous Justice Party (PKS) criticized President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's administration for its less than satisfactory performance in fighting corruption and enforcing the rule of law.

However, the party also said that the policies being carried out by the current administration were still tolerable as the economy was not reverting to pre-crisis conditions.