Mayor Walsh announces formation of ethics committee

Mayor Martin J. Walsh announced today the formation of an Ethics Committee, which will be tasked with reviewing any relevant changes to the City’s Ethics Policy, implementing a new Statement of Financial Interest for all City employees, creating continuing education programs around ethics issues, and analyzing existing practices and procedures.  

"The City of Boston is fortunate to have an experienced and talented, diverse group of individuals to review and make recommendations about our ethics policies," said Mayor Walsh.  "They will work diligently to reassess our internal policies and procedures. All through the campaign, we talked about establishing an even stronger culture of ethical behavior and transparency in City government. The citizens of Boston and those who interact with our government should be absolutely confident that their government is working for them, at the highest ethical standards."  

The Mayor has appointed the following individuals to the Ethics Committee:  

Eugene L. O’Flaherty, Corporation Counsel for the City of Boston, will Chair the Committee. Prior to joining the City of Boston, Attorney O’Flaherty served in the Massachusetts House of Representatives for seventeen years. He has been practicing law for 20 years. O’Flaherty served for 12 years as Chair of the Judiciary Committee for the Massachusetts Legislature. During his 12-year tenure at the helm of the Judiciary Committee, O’Flaherty was responsible for the drafting, implementation, review and strategy associated with the largest number of legislative proposals before the Massachusetts Legislature. He was the chief architect of the overhaul of impaired driving statutes, court reorganization legislation, stronger sex offender statutes, tougher penalties for violent habitual offenders, and CORI reform and human trafficking, while also repeatedly defeating attempts to reinstate the death penalty in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.   

Elissa Flynn-Poppey is a partner with Mintz Levin and Chair of the firm’s Government Law Practice Group. Prior to joining Mintz Levin, Flynn-Poppey served as Deputy Legal Counsel to the Governor of Massachusetts and was the Executive Director of the Judicial Nominating Commission. Flynn-Poppey previously worked for Congressman J. Joseph Moakley and was clerk to Judge Joseph Nolan of the Supreme Judicial Court. Flynn-Poppey has lectured and written extensively on ethics, campaign finance, public records law, lobbying, and open meeting law. She has also served as a Special Assistant Attorney General representing and defending various government entities.   

Peter Sturges is a member of the Massachusetts Contributory Retirement Appeal Board and is the Chair of Common Cause Massachusetts. Sturges has been practicing law in the private and public sectors for over 35 years. His public service includes 10 years as General Counsel to the Office of Campaign & Political Finance and seven years as Executive Director of the Massachusetts State Ethics Commission. He also served as legal counsel to the Department of Mental Health, Department of Education and the Office for Children.   

Chancellor J. Keith Motley is the eighth chancellor of the University of Massachusetts Boston. He oversees strategic planning initiatives to enhance the university’s academic offerings and research enterprise, grow enrollment to meet the increasing demand for a well-educated workforce, and build involvement in community service. Prior to appointment as chancellor, Dr. Motley served as vice president for business, marketing, and public affairs at the University of Massachusetts’ President’s Office, and has served in many other leadership capacities in his more than 20 years in higher education.  Dr. Motley is a founder of the Roxbury Preparatory Charter School and chair emeritus of the school’s Board of Trustees. He is also founder and education chair of Concerned Black Men of Massachusetts, Inc., and the Paul Robeson Institute for Positive Self Development, an academic and social enrichment program for school-aged children of color. Dr. Motley serves on numerous boards of community organizations with local, regional, and national reach, including Carney Hospital, Freedom House, the Boston World Partnership, the Boston Municipal Research Bureau, the Boston Sports Museum, the United Way of Massachusetts Bay, the Commonwealth Corporation, and the John F. Kennedy Library Foundation.