by ELIZABETH SUMAN and FERN SHEN
With Baltimore’s mayor-in-waiting Stephanie Rawlings-Blake proposing ethics reforms that still allow the mayor to stack the deck in his-or-her favor, here’s a look at five cities whose watchdog panels are set up so they might actually have some independence and backbone.
- SEATTLE – The Ethics and Elections Commission is an independent committee made up of seven citizen volunteers. The Mayor and the City Council appoint the first six Commisioners, who then select the final member of their team. All commissioners are confirmed by the City Council, serve three-year terms and may be re-appointed.
- MINNEAPOLIS – The Ethical Practices Board consists of three members appointed by a committee consisting of the Chief Judge of Hennepin County District Court, the Dean of the University of Minnesota Law School, and the Dean of the University of St. Thomas School of Law.
- SAN FRANCISCO - The Ethics Commission consists of five members serving six-year terms. Officers are appointed by the Assessor, Board of Supervisors, Mayor, City Attorney, and District Attorney.
- HOUSTON – The Ethics Committee consists of seven Houston citizens “of good moral character” nominated by the City Council, the Houston Bar Association, the Central Labor Council of the AFL-CIO, and the Harris County Medical Society. The City Council confirms final appointments and each member serves for two years.
- MIAMI – The Ethics Commission is an independent agency consisting of five members serving staggered four-year terms. Members are appointed by the Chief Judge of the Eleventh Judicial Circuit; the Dean of the University of Miami School of Law; the Dean of St. Thomas University School of Law; the Director of Florida International University’s Center for Labor Research and Studies; and the Miami-Dade League of Cities.The need for real reform was glaringly apparent in the run-up to Mayor Sheila Dixon’s indictment on corruption charges. During the two-year investigation, Baltimore’s five-member Ethics Board was widely criticized for its toothlessness. Asked to rule on Dixon’s actions in the Utech matter (in which Dixon appeared to have steered business to a company that employed her sister) the board decided to not even formally investigate the allegations before dismissing them. Taking gift cards meant for the poor? Taking fur coats from developers with business before the city? Silence from the Ethics Board.
The obvious concern, as Dixon leaves and her successor steps in, is the stacked-deck nature of the panel: its members include the Mayor, the City Solicitor (who is appointed by the Mayor and serves at her pleasure) and three other members appointed by . . . the mayor!
City Council President Rawlings-Blake, who will become mayor when Dixon steps down next month as part of her plea deal, has come up with changes that, while arguably an improvement, don’t really solve the problem. Rawlings-Blake’s reforms still still allow the mayor to appoint three members of the board. The main change? The other two would be appointed by the comptroller and the City Council president.
Rawlings-Blake also suggests prohibiting lobbyists and those who work for any branch of state or local government from serving. Her other proposal is to stagger the terms on the board, so that a new mayor could not instantly take control of the body.
Perhaps we can make a real change, so the fox isn’t guarding the henhouse?
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