Virginia really is for lovers—of unlimited campaign contributions and other practices that make the Old Dominion a honeypot of political corruption, according to a new report gauging the public integrity of the states. more ›

Mayor Vince Gray announced today that the soon-to-be-formed D.C. Board of Ethics and Government Accountability is looking for members. The best part? You can apply. more ›

Two of the strongest provisions of a new D.C. ethics bill likely won't go into effect until later this year, if not early 2013. more ›

Phew! It's been quite the year, huh? In this periodic end-of-the-year series, we look at the people and places that made 2011 what it was. In this installment, it's SUVs and CSFs. more ›

The D.C. Council approved a sweeping ethics reform package today that would establish a new Board of Ethics and Government Accountability, tighten transparency requirements for elected officials, bar felons from running for office, strengthen oversight of city employees, and give the attorney general the power to charge elected officials accused of ethical offenses. more ›

The D.C. Council yesterday approved comprehensive ethics legislation on a first vote, moving the city closer to establishing a Board of Ethics and Government Accountability, tightening reporting requirements for elected officials and government employees, barring elected officials convicted of felonies from serving and giving the District's Attorney General additional powers to go after scofflaws. more ›

Ethics are good and all, but policing the unethical isn't cheap. more ›

As we wrote yesterday, there's really not much that the D.C. Council can do about Councilmember Harry Thomas, Jr. (D-Ward 5). A meeting between councilmembers only further proved that point. more ›

Despite the scandal faced by Councilmember Harry Thomas, Jr. (D-Ward 5), many of his colleagues have remained quiet on his fate. Even if they speak up, though, there might not be much they can do to him. more ›

Legislation that seeks to strengthen the District's ethics laws moved forward today, though its progress might be slowed by members of the D.C. Council who want more time to discuss, digest and debate it. more ›

Good morning, Washington. Today is my last day as your weekend editor. I have a new full-time job, and unfortunately I won’t have time for this awesome gig. I imagine you’ve always known what I only recently learned -- that this group of readers is made up of some of the brightest people in and around the District. more ›

The District needs ethics reform, but it also has an election coming up. It was only a matter of time before the two started to mix. more ›

When a D.C. Council committee gathers tomorrow to consider comprehensive ethics legislation, it will do so in the midst of continued disagreements as to how far the proposal goes in addressing ethics violations that have marred the District's government this year. more ›

Constituent Services Funds exist to allow D.C. councilmembers to help constituents in times of need. The problem is that the funds aren't really being used for that. more ›

The 58-page comprehensive ethics bill Councilmember Muriel Bowser (D-Ward 4) previewed late last week would certainly put some muscle into enforcing ethics in the District, but the measures she proposed don't go far enough for some. more ›

Just as she promised at a hearing in late October, a new three-person Board of Ethics and Government Accountability is the centerpiece of comprehensive ethics legislation Councilmember Muriel Bowser (D-Ward 4) has drafted and will put to her colleagues before the end of the year. more ›

Ramping up from the previous efforts of...a poster, Mayor Vince Gray's office announced this afternoon that all Gray cabinet members would sign an "ethics pledge," confirming their "commitment to the highest ethical standards by avoiding conflicts of interest, use of public resources for personal benefit and other violations of the public trust." more ›

After mounting a spirited defense of his second job last week, Councilmember Jack Evans (D-Ward 2) is again facing uncomfortable questions about conflicts of interest related to his positions as a legislator and an attorney at Patton Boggs. more ›

When it comes to talking about D.C. government ethics, it's easy to beat up on one group -- the councilmembers with second jobs. Yesterday, they rose to defend themselves. more ›

During a lengthy hearing yesterday, members of a D.C. Council committee discussed how best to address the ethical scandals which have plagued the District's elected leaders this year. Still, little consensus emerged on the next steps to take. more ›

After what has been a rocky year for Mayor Vince Gray and various members of the D.C. Council, city legislators are sitting down today to start the work of sorting out how to improve the District's ethics-related laws and enforcement mechanisms. more ›

With reminders like this, who needs ethics reform? more ›

Did Vincent Orange (D-At Large) gain more in having his emergency ethics bill voted down than he would have had he won the support of the majority of the Council? more ›

On "The Kojo Nnamdi Show" this afternoon, Councilmember Muriel Bowser (D-Ward 4) defended the D.C. Council's decision to meet privately yesterday, while at the same time laying out her vision for ethics reform and criticizing a colleague facing legal troubles. more ›

After a rough-and-tumble Tuesday, the D.C. Council did little to help itself today when its members opted to close a meeting to the press. Journalists present protested the move, which they claimed violated the District's Open Meetings Act. more ›

In the D.C. Council's first meeting since their August recess, ethics appeared to be the first issue on everyone's mind. Three councilmembers introduced distinct measures addressing government hiring practices, campaign finance and Constituent Services Funds, while another quickly back-tracked on a controversial pay hike for legislators. more ›

Sometime in the future, members of the D.C. Council may only serve two consecutive terms, but they'll get paid a lot more for their troubles. more ›

Earlier this week it was D.C. Council Chair Kwame Brown pushing for ethics reform, and today's it's Councilmember Vincent Orange (D-At Large). more ›

D.C. Council Chair Kwame Brown has been buffeted by scandal since earlier this year. In recent days, though, Brown has taken to flying the flag of ethics reform, proposing strict new internal disclosure rules for the D.C. Council and telling the Washington Times this week that he'd also like to see changes to how Constituent Service Funds are used. more ›

Earlier this week, we reported that the Office of Campaign Finance's interpretation of laws regarding donations to partisan organizations by Councilmembers clashed with a complaint made by the D.C. GOP, which argued such donations were against regulations. But that doesn't mean that OCF won't be proceeding with an investigation. more ›