Government ethics is a process issue. Process issues appeal more to,
and are better understood by, lawyers. Although corruption may be
seen as a substance issue, the ways to prevent it are considered
procedural. So at election time, most candidates choose not to talk
about ethics reform, at least in any detail. When they raise the
issue, it is usually to portray themselves as clean and ethical, and
sometimes to portray others as corrupt.<br>
<br>
This process-substance distinction is rarely made, at least

<h4>“In Albany, they’re really, really good at coming up with something
that looks like reform, and that they tout as reform, but really
falls short.”</h4><br>

I don't get it. Such a big deal has been made out of the Bell, CA
officials paying themselves big bucks. This was considered the big
local government ethics story of the last few years. The Los Angeles
<i>Times</i> won a Pulitizer Prize for uncovering it.<br>
<br>
Yes, what happened in Bell was appalling. But <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kids_for_cash_scandal&quot; target="”_blank”">what

“Incompatible offices” is a form of
conflict that is usually left out of ethics codes. One reason is
that there is
a common law prohibition against officials holding incompatible
offices. But
whether or not the conflict is common law or in an ethics code, this
is an
important kind of conflict that should be included in ethics
training so that
it is understood. It should also be a topic for which officials may
seek ethics
advice.<br>
<br>
There are

Many people believe that conflicts of interest are in and of
themselves bad, and that government ethics laws should prevent those
with conflicts of interest from becoming public servants. Many
people believe that government ethics is about being good or bad.
When the two come together in one person and one speech, the result can be fireworks.<br>
<br>

A settlement in a Massachusetts ethics proceeding can be used as
an educational opportunity in several ways.<br>
<br>
According to <a href="http://www.mass.gov/ethics/press-releases-meetings-and-publications/pre…; target="”_blank”">a

<b>Police Officer Side Businesses and Revenue Distinctions</b><br>
There's <a href="http://www.newpittsburghcourieronline.com/index.php/featured-news/metro…; target="”_blank”">an
interesting article in yesterday's <i>New Pittsburgh Courier</i></a>
about Pittsburgh police officer side businesses and the sorts of

There's a lot of food for thought in the February 21 decision of the
U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania in the
case <a href="http://www.paed.uscourts.gov/documents/opinions/13D0150P.pdf&quot; target="”_blank”"><i>Lodge No. 5 of the Fraternal Order of Police v. City of Philadelphia</i></a>.<br>
<br>
The suit was brought in order to end the prohibition on police

A "placeholder" is someone who agrees to run on a ticket
with a mayoral candidate or be appointed by him, but has no interest or intention in
actually doing the work required by the position. Such a candidate
does not attend many meetings of the body to which she was elected
(often she is not even in town much of the year) and, when she does
attend, is usually not prepared. When her support is needed, she
will sometimes read a short speech prepared for her by someone else.<br>
<br>