Ethics Commission member withdraws application to serve another term

BISMARCK, N.D. (North Dakota Monitor) — North Dakota Ethics Commission member Murray Sagsveen has withdrawn his application for another term after a selection committee deadlocked over his reappointment.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 Thursday 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.”

The governor sent Sagsveen a letter on Nov. 19 that did not directly ask Sagsveen to resign, but said his service “is no longer necessary” because the Ethics Commission now has enough members to operate without him. Armstrong told Sagsveen he no longer has “consensus to continue serving past your expired term.”

Sagsveen’s term ended Aug. 31 but he has continued to serve while the commission had three vacancies.

Sagsveen requested an opinion from the Ethics Commission’s general counsel, Logan Carpenter, on whether it was legal to continue serving until he is reappointed or a successor was named. Carpenter concluded it was.

“I was following the guidance of the Ethics Commission’s general counsel,” Sagsveen said. “However, after September, October, November and into December, with no resolution and it appeared there would not be a resolution, that’s when I decided to withdraw my application.”

He said he is hopeful ongoing conflicts between the Ethics Commission and the executive branch can be solved through better communication between the various stakeholders.

“There should be continuing dialogue among everyone,” Sagsveen said. “The legislative branch, executive branch, the governor, the attorney general.”

Armstrong has said the Ethics Commission needs a “general reset.” Armstrong said he strongly disagrees with a response Sagsveen gave during the selection process in which Sagsveen said the North Dakota Legislature has passed laws to limit the commission’s authority, in violation of the state constitution. The governor also has said a recent Ethics Commission advisory opinion encroached on the authority of the legislative and executive branches.

Sagsveen, a Bismarck attorney with extensive government experience, notes in his letter that his public service to North Dakota began in January 1973. He was appointed to the Ethics Commission in September 2024 to fill the remainder of a term for a member who retired.

The legislative leaders supported Sagsveen to promote continuity on the commission, with Senate Majority Leader David Hogue identifying Sagsveen as his “top pick.”

The Ethics Commission Selection Committee has one vacancy left to fill and is set to meet Tuesday afternoon. The next meeting of the Ethics Commission is Wednesday.

The committee also recently appointed former Office of Management and Budget Director Pam Sharp and Fargo attorney Mark Western to positions on the Ethics Commission.

North Dakota Monitor reporter Jacob Orledge can be reached at jorledge@northdakotamonitor.com.