An Ethics Guide for Local Government Officials
Produced by the Fourth Cohort of the
Northern Virginia Public Service Fellows Program
George Mason University
Fairfax, Virginia
In the Spring of 2007, the Virginia Municipal League and the Virginia Association of Counties provided encouragement and
support for a graduate class in public administration at George Mason University, comprised of senior employees of Northern
Virginia local governments, to create a guidebook, tool kit, and other support materials for Virginia local government officials
on ethics. The students elected to accept this challenge and selected three outstanding editors to lead this effort: Megan Kelly,
an Assistant County Attorney from Prince William County; Kara Van Graafeiland, of the Arlington County Fire Department;
and Tracy Gordon, Senior Aide to Prince William County Supervisor Marty Nohe.
This publication and related materials are an extraordinary testament to their work, their commitment, their creativity, and their dedication to local government. It was an exceptional honor to be able to learn so much from these public servants and students who gave so much more than was asked or even expected.
It is difficult to imagine any issue more essential to good government than trust and respect. To gain those requires elected and appointed servants of the people to embrace ethics in creative, responsive, and positive ways -- rather than to put together a list of 'Thou shalt nots." Our democratic values are premised on honor and respect -- values to be earned. This publication seeks to help find ways to constantly help all local officials earn such trust.
We hope these pages, these tools, and these materials will help you to demonstrate how very, very good local governments can be.
| Frank Shafroth Professor, Ethics in Local Government George Mason University Fall 2007 |
Authors |
|
Erin Akins, Fairfax County Ailsa Burnett, Fairfax County Andrew Duke, Fairfax County Jesse Ellis, Fairfax County Craig Fifer, City of Alexandria Tracy Gordon, Prince William County Megan Kelly, Prince William County William Marsh, Loudoun County |
Paul Miller, City of Alexandria Joe Robertson, Prince William County Allen Scarbrough, Prince William County Erin Schaible, Fairfax County Kara Van Graafeiland, Arlington County Matt Vaughan, Fairfax County Michelle White, Loudoun County Kim Williams, Town of Leesburg |
Acknowledgements
The authors would like to thank and acknowledge the contributions of Arlington County Board member and President of the Virginia Municipal League, Jay Fisette; Mark Flynn of the VML staff; and Joseph Bowman, Assistant Bar Counsel of the D.C. Office of Bar Counsel for their time, insights, and perspectives; and the following organizations for their generous contributions: the Virginia Municipal League, the Virginia Association of Counties, Prince William County, Arlington County, Fairfax County and the Local Government Attorneys of Virginia, Inc.
Rev. Mar. 19, 2008
© 2007-2008 Northern Virginia Public Service Fellows Program Fourth Cohort