Mayor's Committee on Integrity and Trust in Local Government (San Antonio, Tex)

The Mayor's Committee on Integrity and Trust in Local Government was formed on October 23, 2002 in response to a series of public scandals involving San Antonio city councilmen. Mayor Edward D. Garza charged the committee with "providing specific recommendations to correct weaknesses in existing ethics ordinances and codes with the ultimate goal of strengthening a culture of service, integrity, trust and accountability that instills public confidence." (From the Introduction of the Commission's final report issued on January 29, 2003.) The Committee, consisting of twelve members and chaired by former mayor Lila Cockrell, was divided into four research team subcommittees: Campaign Finance, Character Education, Discretionary Contracts and Zoning and Ethics Code Review. The overall committee and its four subcommittees interviewed city staff, current and former city officials, members of the business community and citizen groups and convened four public town hall meetings around the city. In its final report issued on January 29, 2003, the Committee offered the Mayor a number of short and long term recommendations.