Word: code
(lookup in dictionary)
(lookup stats)
Dates: during 1980-1989
Sort By: most recent first
(reverse)
When Los Angeles Mayor Tom Bradley appointed a special commission in April to come up with a new city ethics code, critics dismissed it as a face-saving device. After all, Bradley had just narrowly won re-election after a campaign that centered on his alleged ethical lapses -- including his serving as a paid adviser to two banks that did business with the city. But last week the seven- member panel proved it was no rubber stamp. It proposed a code of conduct for city employees and elected officials that may be the most stringent in the country...
...code would outlaw all outside earned income, including honorariums, for decision-making officials. Former officials could not lobby city departments for one year after leaving the payroll, and would be permanently barred from acting as lobbyists or advocates on matters directly related to their government employment. Candidates for city office would be forbidden to raise campaign funds until nine months before an election, and partial public funding would be available for hopefuls who agreed to spending limits...
...Angeles proposals do not make up for banned outside income with salary increases. This leads some critics to wonder whether many Angelenos, faced with relatively low city wages and the prospect of having to reveal their most intimate financial affairs, won't avoid public service if the code goes into effect. Says Michael Harmon, a professor of public administration at George Washington University: "The implicit message is one of distrust...
Bradley, who is under investigation by state and federal agencies for possible conflict-of-interest and insider-trading violations, pledged to work for passage of the code by the city council. But that body is writing its own ethics rules and is said to be lukewarm toward the recommendations. Even if the council balks, however, the commission has vowed to take its proposals to the voters as a ballot initiative, which may assure victory since Californians tend to approve such measures. Once enacted, Los Angeles' no-nonsense ethics rules could become the model for municipalities like New York City...
...cartel have become folk heroes for their ability to escape the relentless pursuit of government security forces. Last week Pablo Escobar Gaviria, 39, a leader of the drug ring that controls 80% of the cocaine entering the U.S., pulled off one of the most impressive getaways. In an operation code named Against the Fortress, some 600 police and army troops raided a ranch 70 miles outside Medellin, but Escobar managed to elude them...