D.C. Mayor Vincent Gray said Wednesday that his office is seeking residents to serve on the city’s new ethics board, opening the application process one week before he is supposed to make his picks.
“A strong ethics board is a foundation of good government and essential to ensuring public confidence,” Gray said in a statement. “I’m asking eligible, committed, civic-minded residents to consider applying to serve on this board.”
The three-member panel, created through legislation Gray signed in January, will probe allegations of unethical conduct in District government and write new ethics guidelines for the city’s more than 32,000 employees.
Prospective board members must be registered voters in the District who has lived in the city for at least a year prior to appointment. Among other restrictions, board members can’t hold a District job or an office in one of the city’s plentiful political organizations or endorse or oppose candidates for office.
They also can’t be lobbyists or felons.
The clock is ticking for Gray to make his selections. Under the ethics law, he must make his appointments by March 14, 45 days after the law went into force.
Asked Wednesday if he’ll meet that deadline, Gray replied, “Hope so.”
