"Ever since the New York City Charter was revised in 1989, public officials have been warned about trying to parlay their official positions into personal gain. And the powerful,m if largely anonymous, body that keeps those officials in line, using the threat of hefty fines and even job termination, is the city's Conflicts of Interest Board. ... One member, Monica Blum, testified at a recent City Council hearing in favor of a project that would benefit the Lincoln Square Business Improvement District, a group for which she serves as president Another member, Angela Mariana Freyre, was once a registered lobbyist who, city records show, tried to influence both the mayor's office and the City Council while on the board--even though the City Charter forbids that. Several members--including the newest one, Burton Lehman, a former general counsel at the real estate developer Tishman Speyer--sit on boards of nonprofit groups that have received city contracts or have accepted charitable money fronm Mr. Bloomberg. ... Dick Dadley, executive director of Citizens Union, a nonprofit government watchdog, said, 'There may be reason to question how strongly they are monitoring the activities of senior administration officials, given that they ruled against a number of lower-level city employees for rather minor mistakes or judgments and then appear not to be as equally fair-minded in their review of higher-level folks'," David Chen at the NYT, 7 September 2009, link: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/07/nyregion/07conflicts.html.
Is anyone surprised by this? Does this board need its own PCAOB?
3 comments:
"There may be reason to question how strongly they are monitoring the activities of senior administration officials, given that they ruled against a number of lower-level city employees for rather minor mistakes or judgments and then appear not to be as equally fair-minded in their review of higher-level folks',"
If you are "high-up" you get excused? Seems so.
How about a little "equal opportunity" ethics enforcement?
That might do as much for our country as "gay rights" or any other class of equal rights...
Anonymous:
Do you remember Leona Helmsley, the "Queen of Mean"? In 1983 she supposedly said, "We don't pay taxes. Only the little people pay taxes". That's the way it is. Most of the time.
IA
"Only the little people pay taxes". That's the way it is. Most of the time.
Not good IA... not good...
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