NC Ethics Commission names interim director

Kathleen Edwards, who has been a commission attorney, will take the lead role at least until a permanent director is found. Commission members voted for her unanimously after considering a trio of attorneys working at the agency.

The top priority now is trying to recover several positions the commission lost as it was merged with the State Board of Elections then was remade as a stand-alone entity again, Edwards said. A reorganization may also be in the works, she said, as she looks at the staff on hand and the commission's mission.

"And also just start building a team," she said. "We have an excellent staff."

The commission enforces the state ethics act and, in concert with the Secretary of State's Office, parts of the state's lobbying regulations. The agency collects thousands of statements of economic interest filed by government officials – everyone from the governor, his cabinet and General Assembly members down to appointees to obscure state boards. It advises state officials on what the rules require and investigates ethics complaints.

The body was part of a tug-of-war that played out the last two years between Republican General Assembly leaders and Gov. Roy Cooper, who fought over control of the commission and appointments to the State Board of Elections.

Now, the commission is made up of eight appointees: A bipartisan group half appointed by the governor and half by General Assembly leadership. Retired Superior Court Judge William H. Freeman is the body's chairman.

Tuesday was their second meeting, and Edwards said the commission has 18 pending complaints to handle.

Commission members met via conference call, which lead to some confusion. They went into closed session to discuss the hiring decision, which is generally allowed by the state's open meetings law. Freeman said they voted to come back into open session and approve Edwards as interim director, but they failed to notify commission staff first. That left Edwards, other staff and any members of the public monitoring the meeting waiting for the open call to begin again, when in fact, the board had completed its business and adjourned.

Other than staff, it was an audience of two listening on a speakerphone in the board's conference room: WRAL News and an attorney for the Secretary of State's Office.

After it became apparent the commission had voted for Edwards without the public having access, staff got commission members back on the line, and they essentially redid their open session votes, naming Edwards and ending the meeting.

Freeman took responsibility for the mix-up.

"I apologize profusely," he said on the call.