Ethics Commissioner Kelly Leben,

Despite questions and some objections, state leaders say local officials are eligible to serve on the North Dakota Ethics Commission. 

Burleigh County Sheriff Kelly Leben was selected last week to fill a vacancy on the board left by former chair Cynthia Lindquist, who resigned to pursue a new job out of state.

Some observers questioned this choice, pointing to language in the state constitution that says public officials may not serve on the commission.

Members of the three-member committee that chose Leben and the Ethics Commission director say his appointment is legal.

They note that the constitutional amendment that created the Ethics Commission, Article XIV, defines “public official” as any elected or appointed official of the North Dakota executive or legislative branch. 
“The commission has interpreted the language of Article 14 to preclude the appointment of elected or appointed individuals within the executive or legislative branches at the state level, not local officials,” Ethics Commission Executive Director Rebecca Binstock said in a statement shared with the North Dakota Monitor.

Retiring Burleigh County sheriff to join North Dakota Ethics Commission

Senate Minority Leader Kathy Hogan, who serves on the Ethics Commission Selection Committee with Senate Majority Leader David Hogue and Gov. Kelly Armstrong, said the committee came to the same conclusion.

“It wasn’t controversial to any of us,” Hogan, D-Fargo, said of the decision to pick Leben.

Sen. Tim Mathern, D-Fargo, said even if it’s legal, he still has reservations about any elected official serving on the commission.

“It isn’t just the law I’m concerned about,” Mathern said.

Counties are political subdivisions of the state, so county officials may feel a sense of loyalty to state officials under the jurisdiction of the Ethics Commission, he said.

Leben told the North Dakota Monitor he consulted with his office’s human resources personnel and the Burleigh County state’s attorney before applying to the commission to confirm his eligibility. He said his track record throughout his decades in law enforcement demonstrates his ability to serve in public office fairly.

“I don’t think I’ve ever had my integrity called into question,” he said.

Leben will remain sheriff until he retires at the end of the year. 

He will serve the remainder of Lindquist’s term on the Ethics commission, which ends in August 2027.

Leben told state leaders last week that he also intends to apply to be the state’s next U.S. marshal after Dallas Carlson’s retirement in September. Selection committee members said they weren’t concerned this would interfere with his Ethics Commission duties, since the federal appointment process is routinely lengthy.

The Ethics Commission Selection Committee still needs to appoint a replacement for Commissioner Ron Goodman, who recently announced he will retire once a successor is named. Goodman’s term also expires in August 2027.

The next commissioner will be selected out of two finalists, West Fargo attorney Lisa Edison-Smith and North Dakota Insurance and Securities Department attorney Garrett Bryan.

Bryan is a special assistant attorney general, a position appointed by the Attorney General’s Office. Hogan said the selection committee will discuss at its next meeting whether his status as an executive branch appointee affects his eligibility for the commission.

The Ethics Commission Selection Committee will next meet on July 7.