EDITORIAL SLEEPING WATCHDOG DON'T LOOK TO THE CITY ETHICS COMMISSION FOR CAMPAIGN-FINANCE REFORM.THE City Ethics Commission In the United States, an Ethics Commission is a commission established by State law to discourage dishonest practices by their public employees and elected officials. Almost all American states have such a commission. finally seems to have caught on that Los Angeles' elected officials look after their friends by steering them city contracts and then counting on those businesses to supply them campaign funds that keep them in power. The commission promises to examine this ``vicious circle'' and consider reforms - in April. That's after the primary elections when most of the damage has been done. Once again, L.A.'s ethical watchdog snoozes while the political wolves raid the public henhouse. It only wakes up, barking and drooling drooling the discharge of saliva from the mouth. A normal feature in some breeds of dogs such as St. Bernard, Newfoundland and English bulldog, presumably because of their loose, pendulous lips. , long after the damage has been done. The newly formed Coalition for Political Reform reports that a small number of companies doing business with the city gave local candidates at least $250,000 in the last three months of 2000. Even though the city's ethics code caps personal or corporate donations at $1,000, the fat cats get around it by bundling their checks. The biggest givers were law firms This list of the world's largest law firms by revenue is taken from The Lawyer and The American Lawyer and is ordered by 2006 revenue:[1]
James Kenneth "Jim" Hahn (born July 3, 1950) is an American politician from the Democratic Party. He was the Deputy City Attorney (1975-1979), City Controller (1981-1985), City Attorney (1985-2001) and Mayor of Los Angeles, California and Antonio Villaraigosa Antonio Ramon Villaraigosa (born Antonio (Tony) Ramon Villar, Jr. on January 23, 1953) is the mayor of Los Angeles, California. He is the first Latino mayor of Los Angeles since Cristobal Aguilar in 1872. . This shady practice is nothing new, and it's an issue that the Ethics Commission should have addressed long before this year's elections - instead of waiting until afterward. The coalition - which includes groups as diverse as Common Cause and the Howard Jarvis Foundation - proposes banning campaign contributions from corporations with business before the city. But don't count on the Ethics Commission to do anything that bold. Drawn from the very pool of insiders it's called to monitor, the commission's main function is giving the public the false impression that someone is enforcing the rules in City Hall. In November, it fined City Councilman Hal Bernson a mere $3,000 for illegally accepting $4,604 worth of legal representation - netting Bernson $1,604 for breaking the law. And while the watchdog sleeps, wasteful practices continue at City Hall, benefiting no one except the contractors and politicians. Now that the coalition is making some noise, the city's ethics watchdog has been startled star·tle v. star·tled, star·tling, star·tles v.tr. 1. To cause to make a quick involuntary movement or start. 2. To alarm, frighten, or surprise suddenly. See Synonyms at frighten. to attention. It might offer a few growls and maybe some toothless legislation, but if the past is any guide, these reforms will be too late for this election, and too little to make a difference in the future. Then the old mutt will go back to sleep. |
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