Makes me wanna holler...

From New York City's Gotham Gazette e-letter:

Council Member Resigns

City Councilmember Miguel Martinez resigned abruptly yesterday amid reports that he is facing federal charges in connection with the City Council slush fund scandal. Martinez left his post as part of a deal with federal prosecutors investigating whether he had improperly funneled money to the Upper Manhattan Council Assisting Neighbors, according to the Manhattan Times. Martinez reportedly will plead guilty as early as today to charges involving the misuse of taxpayer dollars. Assuming such accounts are true, Martinez would be the first City Council member toppled by the scandal surrounding how the council allocates discretionary funds, known as member items. Martinez had been planning to seek election to a third term in the fall. His resignation leaves as many as nine other candidates vying to represent District 10, which includes Washington Heights and Inwood.

From "Barry Says Hiring Was Legal" in the Washington Post:

D.C. Council member Marion Barry said yesterday that there is nothing wrong with city lawmakers hiring girlfriends or boyfriends and added that he would do it again.

In his most extensive public comments since a controversy erupted last week around his relationship with Donna Watts-Brighthaupt, Barry said in an interview that the people criticizing him don't understand how things work in the District.

"You all think it is inappropriate to hire a girlfriend. I don't think it is. In fact, there is no law against it," Barry told The Washington Post. When asked whether he would hire another woman he becomes romantically involved with, Barry said, "Unless the law changes, why not?

From "Barry Involved in Suspect Nonprofit Dealings" in the Washington City Paper:

Like all of his colleagues on the D.C. Council, Ward 8 Councilmember Marion Barry has made ample use of the city's legislative earmarks—grants that politicians can steer toward their favorite nonprofit groups. Yet few have shown Barry's mastery in funneling those earmark monies to organizations that share his agenda. City records show that Barry has directed nearly $1 million in city funds to six groups under the apparent control of his own staff.

WRT the City Paper story, I think that the way that DC Council funds community organizations is fraught with problems, even if according to the story, the Ward 8 Councilmember takes the problems to new levels.

Earlier in the year, instead of substantively dealing with the problem, they decided to not allow earmarks in consecutive years. See the Washington Post editorial, "Earmarks Are the Wrong Way to Get City Services Delivered."

What needed to be done is the creation of a transparent, open and fair system--putting out tenders, and receiving proposals, which are then fairly assessed, and grants, if projects are found worthy, awarded.

One of the problems with the newly "reformed" system is that the organizations that do good work aren't allowed to continue the work in consecutive years, or to build the overall capacity of the organization, because of the discontinuous funding.