Ethics Commission Member Withdraws to Serve Another Term

Commissioner Murray Sagsveen, right. (Photo by Michael Achterling/North Dakota Monitor)

(North Dakota Monitor) – North Dakota Ethics Commission member Murray Sagsveen has withdrawn his application for another term after a selection committee deadlocked over his reappointment.

Sagsveen withdrew in a letter to Gov. Kelly Armstrong, obtained by the North Dakota Monitor. However, Sagsveen says he’ll continue serving until his seat is filled.

Armstrong, part of a three-person Ethics Commission Selection Committee, had refused to reappoint Sagsveen. The other two committee members, the Senate majority and minority leaders, want Sagsveen to remain on the commission. The positions are required to be filled by a unanimous consensus, leading to a stalemate.

“It has dragged on for several months and it’s in the best interest of the Ethics Commission that a person be appointed for a full four-year term,” Sagsveen said in an interview Friday. “It was obvious to me that it was an impasse.”