Ethics Candidates to Face Questions on Agency’s Role in North Dakota Government

 Senate Majority Leader David Hogue, left, talks to Gov. Kelly Armstrong. (Kyle Martin/For the North Dakota Monitor)

(North Dakota Monitor) – Officials tasked with selecting the new members of the North Dakota Ethics Commission said they plan on asking candidates what they think the commission’s role in government should be — a question state leaders have wrestled with for years.

The commission has received 39 applicants for the three open positions. The next commissioners will be selected by a consensus vote of the governor, Senate majority leader and Senate minority leader.

Gov. Kelly Armstrong and Senate Majority Leader David Hogue are among those who have openly disagreed with the commission about the scope of its authority and some of its practices.

“I don’t think it’s a secret that I have some questions I would like answered about the role and guardrails,” Armstrong said during a meeting of selection committee members.