Ethics

When people run for office, they solicit and receive campaign contributions from people in many lines of work. It can cost a lot of money to run for public office. But what are the expectations once the election is over? Is it realistic to expect someone who makes a major contribution to a candidate to stand back for four years and expect that elected official to do what the contributor thinks is the right thing? Is it OK for the office holder to meet regularly with the contributor to review legislation that directly affects the contributor?

When Orioles right-hander Freddy Garcia was left without a job just a week before the regular season began this year, there was no doubt in his mind that he would pitch in the major leagues in 2013 if he was given the chance. Garcia - a 15-year major league veteran who won the World Series with the Chicago White Sox in 2005 and is the winningest Venezuelan-born pitcher in baseball history (152 career wins) - didn't need to prove anything after the San Diego Padres released him in late March.

Congrats to Christopher Dreisbach on his thoughtful presentation of the logical and ethical considerations necessary to the anti-abortion argument ("Abortion ethics not so simple," Aug. 28). What gets my blood boiling though, is that he apparently misses the same "elephant in the room" that Rep. Todd Akin missed. Mr. Akin jumped right from the punishment of the rapist to the punishment of "another innocent victim" - meaning the fetus. What both he and Mr. Dreisbach missed was the woman in the middle.

Just hours after The Baltimore Sun broke the news that a longtime Towson University professor, Benjamin Neil, was under investigation for allegations that he plagiarized several of his academic articles, the city schools ethics panel webpage underwent a rapid revision. The Sun had been investigating several of Neil's papers for more than a week when it received word that Neil, who had denied any wrongdoing in a March 25 interview, had resigned his post as the chair of the school district's ethics panel.

In regards to on legislation that seeks to "clamp down" on elected officials found guilty of serious charges ("Bills aim at guilty officials," Feb. 13), I would like to see our lawmakers take it a step further: If you violate ethics rules, you lose everything, including your pension, no matter when you broke the law. Admittedly, it's a bit Draconian. On the other hand, if you're an elected official and you play it straight, you've nothing to worry about. It's a no-brainer. I should think all elected and other government officials would leap at this opportunity to be the first to endorse such legislation.

The ethics measures signed into law Wednesday by Baltimore Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake may not be as "sweeping" as the mayor claims, but they are an important step forward. Not least of all because they should help restore public trust in City Hall, something Ms. Rawlings-Blake had pledged to make a top priority. Baltimoreans will long remember that the ethics board found no fault with the actions of former Mayor Sheila Dixon up to and including the moment she was criminally indicted.

Perhaps the only welcome consequence of state Sen. Ulysses Currie's disgrace and censure over his apparent use of his public office for private gain was Senate PresidentThomas V. Mike Miller's creation of a special work group on ethics. The bipartisan committee, formed in the aftermath of Mr. Currie's acquittal in court, was charged with finding legislation to improve ethics practices in state government and to do so during the current General Assembly session. It is a disappointment, then, that one of its first recommendations is for a bill that would actually weaken ethics standards.

John Fritze's article, "Bartlett fumbles finance reports," (June 25) serves to point out once again the problems arising with politicians taking campaign contributions. There is only one answer to such a fiasco. Politicians should do what I do as a teacher of political science. In my last two campaigns, for governor in and for U.S. Senate, I made a commitment to refuse any campaign contributions whatsoever. On a budget by design of $450 for the 2010 campaign and $280 for the 2012 campaign, my vote total was 22,828 votes.

Amid all the hoopla about the budget and gambling, some significant bills that had been held up until the last day began making progress through the General Assembly. Among the bills whose proponents were trying to beat the clock was the administration's effort to write new rules governing public-private partnerships (P3s) and a Senate-originated effort to put legislators' ethics disclosures on line. The House agreed to the Senate's decision to leave a controversial amendment off the P3 bill but made other changes that required the approval of both the House and Senate before midnight.

I agree with letter writer Bill Miller ("Currie trial reveals flawed political system," Oct. 27) that a system in which a legislator can be personally compensated for assisting a constituent presents an obvious conflict of interest. At least it should, but I know that in Maryland state government, that doesn't seem to be the case. It's very disheartening to the voters and taxpayers as we have no influence to change this system. Most legislators have full-time jobs outside of the General Assembly, but when it is in session and they are doing the people's business, it is unseemly that they get to make laws and be compensated by others.

A longtime Towson University professor has resigned his post as the head of the city school system's ethics panel amid allegations that his published academic articles contain content from dozens of sources without proper - or in some cases any - attribution. University officials and journal publishers say they are reviewing several articles submitted by Benjamin A. Neil, a legal affairs professor, after a librarian at another university alerted them to the issue. A Baltimore Sun review of five papers published by Neil shows passages with identical language and others with close similarities to scholarly journals, news publications, congressional testimony, blogs and websites.

The members of Baltimore's ethics board wrote an email to Councilman James Kraft Friday chastising him for comments made in The Sun and the City Paper regarding a dispute between the board and members of the council over a piece of ethics leglsiation.  At issue is legislation - sought by Council President  Bernard C. "Jack" Young   - that would loosen conflict-of-interest restrictions that have sometimes prevented City Council members from...

Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake says she will neither sign nor veto legislation to loosen conflict-of-interest restrictions that have sometimes prevented City Council members from voting on bills. The legislation - sought by Council President Bernard C. "Jack" Young - has been approved by the council, and it is expected to become law without the mayor's signature. The bill, sponsored by Young, would lift some ethics restrictions to allow him to vote on matters involving city agencies where his family members work.

If you're in a business that seeks to influence government policies in Baltimore, chances are you've hired the lobbying firm of Harris Jones & Malone. Various companies have on file with the city ethics board a total of 56 forms stating that they are paying a lobbyist to represent them before the municipal government. Twenty-three of those - about 41 percent - come from Harris Jones & Malone, according to the most recent documents available. That's noticeably more than any other firm.

The Anne Arundel County Ethics Commission says County Council member Derek Fink should not participate in the selection of a new county executive because of his business relationship in Greene Turtle restaurants with Del. Steve Schuh, who is seeking the position. The commission opinion, released Wednesday, said Fink has a conflict of interest, and "the law prohibits you not only from voting for the applicant, but from any participation in the selection process. " The council is scheduled to interview a field of 16 candidates and vote tonight on a replacement for John Leopold, who resigned as county executive this month.

With the deadline looming Friday, only one person has applied to replace John R. Leopold as Anne Arundel County executive as other potential candidates weighed their options. Tom Angelis of Davidsonville, a former candidate for county executive and the county Recreation and Parks Department director in 1997 and 1998, said he filed shortly before offices closed Wednesday. At least a half-dozen other candidates may apply, and if some of them bid for the job, it might affect which council members can cast votes.

The City Council on Monday night passed a pair of ethics reform bills, a signature initiative of Mayor Stephanie C. Rawlings-Blake. The bills, which seek to limit the mayor's influence on the board, allow the council president and city comptroller to each nominate one member to the five-person board and gives the board the power to elect its own chairman. Under the new law, state, city and county employees and lobbyists would be prohibited from serving on the board and terms would be staggered to halt the current system of a new mayor's appointing an entirely new board.

Maryland's Senate gave preliminary approval Thursday to legislation that would require the state to put lawmakers' ethics forms online.  The legislation was supported by watchdog group Common Cause in the wake of a federal corruption trial that starred Sen. Ulysses S. Currie, a Prince George's County Democrat. Currie was found not guilty of bribery charges, but the Senate censured him for failing to disclose payments from a grocery chain on his ethics forms. Currently, anyone wishing to view state lawmakers' ethics forms must visit an office in Annapolis, provide an ID that includes a home address, and sign a form showing which lawmakers' records are to be inspected.

Stevenson has earned the No. 1 ranking during the regular season on several occasions, but this winter is the first time that the program has been deemed the top team in Division III in the preseason. Accompanying that lofty ranking is usually the pressure of living up to that billing, but Mustangs coach Paul Cantabene said that's not the case. “We've been No. 1 in the country before. We've been there and done all that stuff,” he said. “I think in the end, it's no different than what we've been through before.

Del. Emmett C. Burns Jr. said Tuesday he “accepted” his admonishment by the General Assembly's ethics committee for using legislative stationery last year in trying to silence Baltimore Ravens linebacker Brendon Ayanbadejo's outspoken support for same-sex marriage.  But the Baltimore County Democrat insisted he had nothing to apologize for in speaking out. Burns said the ethics panel wrote him chiding him for using official stationery to write...