Ethics Hearing Board

Also know as City of Pittsburgh Hearing Ethics Board and City Ethics Board
==Background ==
For many years now the citys Ethics Hearing Board has been defunct. 
During the terms of Mayor Murphy, questionable acts took place among some elected officials. Perhaps an Ethics Hearing Board would have prevented some of those acts. At least, the board could have questioned and publicly investigated them.
Residents of the City of Pittsburgh need to know that they can have trust in their elected officials. The Ethics Hearing Board can restore some trust.
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* Ethics Hearing Board-plank-PghGOP, the Republican Committee of Pittsburgh requested Pittsburgh's new Mayor, Bob O'Connor, to reinstate the Ethics Hearing Board in January, 2006. 
* Planks on the Ethics Hearing Board from Mark Rauterkus
==History==
The Ethics Hearing Board was created by Mayor Sophie Masloff in response to the conviction of extortion of City Council President Ben Woods. It hasn't met in over a decade, and Mayor Murphy has so little faith in it he's never appointed enough members for the Board to have a quorum -- so it hasn't met since 1994.
In 2004, Gene Ricciardi sponsored a resolution calling on the Mayor to revive the Board, but this led nowhere. Mayor Murphy's position was that the City prefers to handle complaints "internally" through the Office of Municipal Investigations.
==Details==
===Questionable Ethical Issues===
* http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/news/mostread/s_497777.html from March 2007 about Luke Ravenstahl's use of city photos on his campaign site
==Links==
* http://docs.google.com/Doc?id=ddznxj6h_246hb9rx7 Official Ethics Hearing Board Complaint Form in a Google Document file.
* Politicians: Beware of petitioners bearing gifts on April 14, 2008 by Rich Lord and Dan Fitzpatrick, Post-Gazette 
===Media===
* Ethics board releases Ravenstahl letter Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, September 2007
* http://thebusmansholiday.blogspot.com/2007/02/ethics-panel-february-thaw.html from Bob Mayo on Feb 1, 2007
* http://pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/news/rss/s_491377.html from Feb 1, 2007. 
* http://www.thepittsburghchannel.com/news/10890884/detail.html from January 2007 from WTAE-TV.
* Ethics board lies dormant despite charges - Pittsburgh Tribune-Review by Jeremy Boren, November 4, 2006 -- Members of Pittsburgh's 3-month-old Ethics Hearing Board still haven't met despite several charges against city employees of ethical wrongdoing. In late July, 2006, City Council members and then-Mayor Bob O'Connor appointed five people to revive the long-dormant ethics board, prompted by an investigation into Councilwoman Twanda Carlisle's questionable discretionary spending on outside consultants, some of whom were close friends and political allies.
* City ethics board finally getting members, July 17, 2006, by Rich Lord, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette -- Pittsburgh Mayor Bob O'Connor's office nominated five people to the city's long-dormant Ethics Hearing Board. The mayor gets two picks on the board. His choices are Mount Washington attorney David Scott, of LeClaire, Griewahn & Scott, and Shadyside resident Kathleen Buechel, who is a senior consultant to the Alcoa Foundation.
* David Scott
* Kathleen Buechel
* Tom Solomich reported to be a long time member of the Ethics Hearing Board along with Janet Berkowitz.
* The mayor picks three members from a list of nine provided by City Council. Bob O'Connor's picks from council's list were all religious professionals.
* The Rev. John Welch is the pastor of Bidwell Presbyterian Church in Manchester. He was suggested by Councilwoman Tonya Payne.
Rabbi Dr. Daniel Schiff of Shadyside is a community scholar at the Agency for Jewish Learning and was suggested by Councilman William Peduto.
Councilman Jim Motznik suggested Sister Patrice Hughes of Beechview. She is the manager of Beechview Manor Inc.
The board is part of the city code. It hasn't met for approximately 16 years. The ordinance creating the board was passed in 1990. The board has never taken any action. Could meet as soon as September, 2006, but it didn't.
===Blogs===
* http://rauterkus.blogspot.com/2007/03/ravenstahl-site-drops-photos-ethics-n.html
* http://rauterkus.blogspot.com/2007/02/peduto-calls-for-ethics-meeting-good.html from Feb 2007
category: democracy