Corruption and American Cities

Joaquin Jay Gonzalez III, Ph.D., is vice provost for global affairs as well as chair and Mayor George Christopher Professor of Public Administration at Golden Gate University. He founded GGU’s law enforcement and security program and is a San Francisco advocate for the safety and security of Filipino American kids and their families. Roger L. Kemp, Ph.D., ICMA-CM, has been a city manager on both the East and West coasts for more than 25 years. He is presently Distinguished Adjunct Professor of Public Administration at Golden Gate University and a Fellow of The Academy of Political Science.

“This is an outstanding compilation of data addressing government corruption. A must read for anyone wishing to hold their local government accountable.”—Edward Hazel, Prosecutor; “If you care about good governance, you need to read this examination of one of its most difficult issues.”—James Nordin, Treasurer, City of Rio Vista, California; “An essential resource for practitioners and academics committed to curbing corruption and promoting ethical governance.”—Donald C. Menzel, Past President, American Society for Public Administration; “This is a remarkable collection of stories and analyses of corruption and anti-corruption attempts in the United States...America leads the world in anti-corruption legislation but it lags in enforcement. This volume underscores the challenges and opportunities facing reformers on the look-out for the public good.”—Emil Bolongaita, Professor, Carnegie Mellon University; “The book touches upon a very sensitive issue to Americans—public integrity! America was already tormented before by a ‘Spoils System’ of government and the book does a fine job of highlighting similar ethical issues and providing inspiring anti-corruption practices.” —Lt. Carlos Sanchez, San Francisco District Attorney’s Office; “Very interesting and timely book, with a unique mix of analysis and relevant case studies… demonstrates the problem of corruption and mismanagement from an angle not always analyzed in the literature in such lucid terms.”—Gambhir Bhatta, Technical Advisor (Governance), Asian Development Bank; “This is an important work. Shinning a light on corruption in America is essential for the health of our democracy.”—Ruth S. Astle, Administrative Law Judge (retired), State of California.

• Table of ContentsAcknowledgmentsPrefacePart I: The State of Corruption1. The Town That Can’t Seem to Govern Itself (Daniel C. Vock)2. Drained (Josh Goodman)3. Dilemmas Faced When Contracting Out Public Services (Andrea Headley)4. Chicago and Illinois, Leading the Pack in Corruption (Dick Simpson et al.)5. The Dark Side of Awards and Accountability (Ken Miller)6. Public Corruption: An Ethical Challenge (Dulce Pamela Baizas)7. Corruption—An Enlightened ­Self-Interest? (Ravi Subramanian)8. When Does Politicians’ Unethical Behavior Become a Crime? (Alan Ehrenhalt)9. Managing Public Mistrust of Government (Brynne VanHettinga)10. Coffee and Doughnuts: Building Accountability (John J. Carroll)11. Can Police Departments Reduce Implicit Bias? (Paul Figueroa)Part II: Practices and Possibilities A. Classic12. Cuyahoga County’s Road to Recovery from Corruption delete(Josh Goodman)13. How Public Professionals Stay Politically Neutral delete(Roger L. Kemp)14. How Would It Look in the Paper? delete(Bob Stone)15. Charlotte Mayor Resigns After Arrest on Corruption Charges (Mark Washburn, Jim Morrill and Michael Gordon)16. The Costs of Public Corruption delete(Patrick Fitzgerald)17. Whistleblowers Anonymous delete(Tom Arrandale)18. Regaining the Public’s Trust delete(G. Edward DeSeve)19. New York Corruption Investigation Trends delete(Chelsea A. Binns)20. Lack of Oversight Led to ­Ex-Water Agency Head’s Conviction delete(Dan Ivers)21. How We’re Losing the War on Corruption delete(Mark Funkhouser)22. Municipal Employees Retirement System Faces Questions (Kevin Litten)23. Responding to an Ethical Crisis (Kevin Duggan)24. Ethics: Focus on the Fundamentals (Martha Perego)25. Ethics, Front and Center (Troy Brown)B. Contemporary26. Local Government Ethics Reform (Robert Wechsler)27. Assessing the Ethical Culture of Your Agency (JoAnne Speers, Jan Perkins and Arne Croce)28. Building a Strong Local Government Ethics Program (Michael W. Manske and H. George Frederickson)29. Ethics: Alive and Well delete(Elizabeth Kellar and Jan Perkins)30. Ethics in Public Management Education delete(Alicia Schatteman31. Key Elements to Building Transparent Communities International City/County Management Association32. A Dose of Transparency (Penelope Lemov)33. Introducing the Cycle of Transparency (Paul Blumenthal)34. Council-Manager or Strong Mayor? International City/County (Management Association and California City Management Foundation)35. A ­Cost-Effective Way to Bust (and Prevent) Contractor Fraud (Jim Sullivan)36. City-State Oversight of Funds Given to Nonprofits Lacking (Zach Patton)37. Vigilance Required for New York Government Employees (Chelsea A. Binns)38. Lessons of Bell, California (Michael McGrath)39. Where Our Profession Is Making a Difference (Kevin Duggan)40. Prudent Options for Balancing Public Budgets (Roger L. Kemp)41. The Seven Deadly Sins of Public Finance (Liz Farmer)42. Body-Worn Cameras: Using the Wealth of Data Effectively (Paul Figueroa)43. Report Grades Cities’ Spending Transparency Websites (Mike Maciag)44. Using Technology to Increase Access and Transparency (Brian A. Moura)45. Unlike Zoos, Public Health Departments Don’t Need National Accreditation delete(Mattie Quinn)Part III: Caveats and the Future46. Speak Out, Do the Right Thing and You’re Fired! (Brynne VanHettinga)47. Dealing with Public Mistrust delete(Dana K. Lee)48. When Transparency Fails to Produce Accountability delete(Pospere Charles)49. When Transparency Becomes the Enemy of Accountability (Stuart C. Gilman and Howard Whitton)50. How to Embed Transparency into Collaborative Governance (Jusil Lee and Erik W. Johnston)51. Corruption, Ethics and Accountability (Rod Erakovich et al.)52. Anti-Corruption Effort Targets All the States (Neal Peirce)53. States Disclose Economic Development Subsidies (Mike Maciag)54. Why It Might Finally Get Easier to Access Public Data (Liz Farmer)55. The Truth about Public Employees in California (Sylvia A. Allegretto and Jeffrey Keefe)56. Disclosing Public Employee Pay Troubles Some Officials (Mike Maciag)AppendicesI. Professional Code of Ethics (Government Finance Officers Association)II. Code of Ethics with Guidelines delete(International City/County Management Association)III. Proposed Code of Ethics for Municipal Officials (State of Connecticut)IV. Transparency in Government Procurement (National Institute of Governmental Purchasing)V. Glossary of ­Anti-Corruption Practices (Joaquin Jay Gonzalez III)About the Editors and ContributorsIndex