O RGANIZATION AND F UNCTION OF S TATE G OVERNMENT Local Government Unit 9 Town Hall Seminar.

ORGANIZATION AND FUNCTION OF STATE GOVERNMENT

Local Government

Unit 9 Town Hall Seminar

LOCAL GOVERNMENT

Big city mayors have significant capacity to influence the course of events on a national scale. Mayors like Rudy Guiliani and Michael Bloomberg are strong personalities who occupy the entire stage when talking about New York City and, to a degree, the state of New York.

Seldom does the legislative body of a large city become a prominent and public focus in discussions about city direction and priorities. With such commanding power over such a large population, big city mayors loom large as a political force in the United States.

LOCAL GOVERNMENT

Their decisions often begin the debate and initiate movements on issues of national import that have yet to be addressed by national government. One example of this is the decision of the Mayor of New York City to outlaw the use of trans fat in restaurant cooking. Since his action, food companies and other cities have taken similar action to limit or eliminate the use of trans fat in human food.

LOCAL GOVERNMENT

The mayor of San Francisco, by his stance to allow same sex marriages to be performed and recognized in the city of San Francisco, sparked a more national debate on the subject. More cities and some states have begun to adopt more accommodating policies toward this question.

Similar initiatives have occurred in the environmental area as well, such as smoking bans in restaurants and public places.

LOCAL GOVERNMENT

Occasionally, we see two sides of being a big city mayor. Kwame Kirkpatrick, at one time mayor of Detroit, was a highly regarded leader when he first took office. He was viewed as the leader who could help the city to begin a strong upswing which it needed. Shortly into his first term as mayor, however, liaisons with a female staff member led to a corruption investigation which resulted in his leaving office and serving jail time. Having an almost unchecked ability to impose your will on others can lead to an abuse of power.

QUESTION

What areas of city government responsibility are most vulnerable to unethical and corrupt activity?

ETHICS AND THE LOCAL GOVERNMENT

When we talk about ethics in local government we tend to talk about codes of conduct and not doing bad things: stealing, lying, cheating, favoritism, self-aggrandizement, profiting from our positions. Most of us, thankfully, do not need a code of ethics to keep from doing obviously bad things.

Nonetheless, some people do bad things regardless of ethics codes and criminal codes. Why they do so varies: greed, arrogance, stupidity, and sometimes merely bad judgment. Regardless, the conduct is bad and the people who do it, know it.

QUESTIONS FOR GOVERNMENT OFFICIALS

Are we, the senior leaders of government, fulfilling our oversight responsibilities? Do we have people in our organizations engaged in unethical behavior? Do we have people in our organizations not performing their jobs? How do we know? What are we doing about it? Are we complacent, intimidated, too trusting, or too busy?

If a major case of unethical conduct surfaced in our governments, what impact would it have on our organizations and on the public trust? Would the public say, "They should have known?"

WHY IS CHICAGO SO CORRUPT?

City government experts point to a political culture that's been in place for more than 100 years. This culture dates back to the late 19th century, when a gambling-house owner named Michael Cassius McDonald created the city's first political machine. Under machine-style rule, those in power would hand out contracts, jobs, and social services in exchange for political support.


Chicago's large immigrant population made it easier for political machines to grow in power. Poor ethnic communities could be played off against one another and manipulated with petty gifts. In exchange for political support, ethnicities would be given virtual fiefdoms within city government; the Irish, for example, were given police work, and the Italians jobs at the transit authority.


Of course, none of this was unique to Chicago. New York City had large immigrant populations and the notorious political machine at Tammany Hall. But machine politics faded away in New York, due in part to external pressure from former New Yorker Franklin Delano Roosevelt, who was elected president in 1932.


In Chicago, corruption persisted, to some degree because the city never had the benefit of a reformist mayor like New York City's Fiorello LaGuardia, who had political ties to FDR. Instead, Chicago moved towards a one-party system that made it even more vulnerable to corruption: The city's last Republican mayor left office in

1931. Today, not even the Democratic primaries are competitive—for the most part, once you're in office, you stay there. The weak campaign finance laws in Illinois probably helped to stave off competition in recent years.


How do we know that Chicago's so corrupt? The most straightforward way to measure corruption is to check the number of convicted local officials. Between 1995 and 2004, 469 politicians from the federal district of Northern Illinois were found guilty of corruption. The only districts with higher tallies were central California (which includes L.A.), and southern Florida (which includes Miami). Eastern Louisiana (and New Orleans) rank somewhat further down the list.


But a high conviction count doesn't necessarily mean more corruption. It could mean that a district happens to have very strict transparency laws or a zealous and effective federal prosecutor—like Patrick Fitzgerald in Chicago.

You might try to measure corruption by checking the number of city employees per 1,000 people. (Bigger governments suggest patronage-style politics.) Or you could check to see how long it takes to acquire a construction permit through legal means. (Long delays may reflect a system of rampant bribery.)


Public perception may be the most useful measure. If the inhabitants of a city view corruption as a given, they'll be more inclined to forgive politicians who have already been tainted by scandal.

QUESTION

Should the public abandon the electoral process because of the great amount of corruption by elected leaders? What are the alternatives?

ETHICAL DECISION MAKING: HOW TO MAKE ETHICAL DECISIONS IN 5 STEPS

1. Is it an ethical issue?

Being ethical does not always mean following the law. And just because something is possible doesn't mean it is ethical, hence the global debates about bio-technology advances such as cloning. And ethics and religion do not always concur.

This is perhaps the trickiest stage in ethical decision making, as sometimes the subtleties of the issue are above and beyond our knowledge and experience. Listen to your instincts - if it feels uncomfortable making the decision on your own, get others involved and use their collective knowledge and experience to make a more considered decision.


2. Get the facts

What do you know, and just as importantly, what don't you know? Who are the people affected by your decision? Have they been consulted? What are your options? Have you reviewed your options with someone you respect?


3. Evaluate alternative actions

There are different ethical approaches which may help

you make the most ethical decision. Utilitarian Approach - which action results in the

most good and least harm? Rights Based Approach - which action respects the

rights of everyone involved? Fairness or Justice Approach- which action treats

people fairly? Common Good Approach - which action contributes

most to the quality of life of the people affected? Virtue Approach - which action embodies the

character strengths you value?


4. Test your decision

Could you comfortably explain your decision to your mother? To the man in the street? On television? If not, you may have to re-think your decision before you take action.


5. Just Do It - but what did you learn?

Once you've made the decision, then don't waste time in implementing it. Set a date to review your decision and make adjustments if necessary. Often decisions are made with the best information to hand at the time, but things change, and your decision making needs to be flexible enough to change too. Even a complete about face may be the most appropriate action further down the track.

FINAL PAPER

Europe has been the name used to describe a group of nations sharing a common history in western civilization. The nations of Europe have recently formed themselves into a “European Union,” or “EU.”

For your Final Project, which you will complete and submit by the end of Unit 9, you will take what you have learned about the evolution of the “state” in the United States to analyze and describe the differences and similarities in the development, structure, and function of the “state” in the European Union (EU).

FINAL PAPER

Your Project should: Discuss how, when, and why the concept of

the European Union was formulated; Identify and discuss the initial thinkers and

architects of the EU, along with who would be comparable to those individuals in U.S. history;

Identify “benchmark” successes and failures; Discuss how each has led to the posture of

the EU in its current form; and Provide insight into how the European Union

functions today.

REMEMBER

“Ethics is knowing the difference between what you

have a right to do and what is right to do.” – Potter Stewart

SOURCES

http://www.mftrou.com/ethical-decision-making.html

http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/recycled/2008/12/why_is_chicago_so_corrupt.html

O RGANIZATION AND F UNCTION OF S TATE G OVERNMENT Local Government Unit 9 Town Hall Seminar.

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