I know Jim Martin. Not well, but we live in the same town and I know him to be an honest man. He works hard and is respected at his profession. I have no doubt that he was not aware of the revolving door provision or if he was, that he did not see his involvement in the contracts as substantial.
read more ››Archive for March, 2009
Case was unintentional, but “substantial” none-the-less
Sunday, March 29th, 2009Hindsight and Budget Crisis Make a Sensitive Lens
Monday, March 23rd, 2009We discover that even those with the best intentions and expert knowledge in ethics laws can find themselves under the microscope of the media and political scrutiny when it comes to expenditures.
read more ››Loved this article from the NY Times
Sunday, March 22nd, 2009about Baby Boomers using Facebook.
read more ››Dodd’s Blame Game
Saturday, March 21st, 2009Connecticut’s Senior Senator yesterday fought back against the media maelstrom accusing him of slipping language into an amendment that would protect the bonuses of companies receiving federal bailout funding. He claimed that the Treasury Department came to him with language that was technical in nature and, because it was never revealed to him to have anything to do with AIG, he took them at their word and allowed it into his bill. If he didn’t know it would have that effect, he should have.
read more ››Well Done New Britain!
Monday, March 16th, 2009Congratulations to the New Britain City Council who passed a new city ordinance requiring the disclosure by city officials of real estate holdings and employer and business interests. This new ethics code, if signed by the Mayor, will provide the citizens of New Britain with financial information necessary to determine if a conflict of interest has arisen. The council should be commended for taking this step and for providing a reporting mechanism and penalty for lack of compliance.
read more ››For Politicians, It’s not enough to Tweet or Use Facebook
Friday, March 13th, 2009A recent article on CT Newsjunkie reported that Governor Rell uses social networking tools like Facebook and Twitter to communicate with her constituents (Rell Enters the World of Social Media – Christine Stuart, March 13, 2009). The Governor’s public affairs director, Adam Jeamel, made great fanfare of the fact that Connecticut’s popular Governor tweets. The article goes on to quote a professor of Journalism from UConn who criticized the Democrats for not making similar use of technology
read more ››Lobbyist Gift Ban Trend Continues – Connecticut Ahead of the Curve
Friday, March 6th, 2009Connecticut is ahead of the curve in its regulation of lobbying activities. The beginnings of the statute that became the Ethics Code were born in 1977 and flushed out in 1991 when the definitions of the term lobbyist were put into law. Although there have been revisions, advisory opinions and regulatory machinations to alter and interpret the statute, the intent remains the same – transparency of government.
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