Kansas Governmental Ethics Commission director resigns; search and interim appointment process begins

Mark Scoglin, executive director of the Kansas Governmental Ethics Commission, told commissioners at their Jan. 22 meeting that he will leave the agency in mid-February to take a position as chief financial officer at a nonprofit. "This will be my last meeting with the Ethics Commission. My last day will be, February 14 in office," Scoglin said.

The commission discussed next steps for replacing Scoglin. Scoglin said the vacancy announcement would be posted immediately and described the office's usual practice: appoint a three-member subcommittee to screen applicants, select finalists for interviews by the full commission, then recess to an executive session to interview finalists for a personnel matter. "Historically, the commission has appointed a 3 member subcommittee to do a first round of screeners and then have the finalists meet with the full commission," he said.

Scoglin recommended that Caitlin Bull Steward, the commission's general counsel, be considered as interim director, saying she has been "engaged in legislation, the budget, all the things that you need to be in order to handle being an interim director, especially early in a legislative session." Commissioners discussed whether the chair should appoint an interim director immediately, with subsequent ratification at the next meeting as Scoglin described.

Commissioners asked procedural questions about how pending complaints and investigations would be handled during a transition. Scoglin and counsel said the complainant role in pending matters would be transferred to the interim director or, in cases where the interim director previously served as counsel on a matter, to the agency investigator. "She would not be the complainant in that instance," Scoglin said of Bull Steward; "the complainant would be the investigator, which has occurred in the past as well."

The chair accepted Scoglin's resignation on behalf of the commission and commissioners discussed timing for forming the subcommittee and the logistics of scheduling interviews during an active legislative session. Commissioners agreed to consider volunteers for the subcommittee and to return to the topic later in the meeting. The commission did not name an interim director at the Jan. 22 meeting; Scoglin said any interim appointment would be effective around Feb. 16 and ratified later by the full commission.

Why it matters: The executive director supervises investigations, filings and staff who administer campaign finance and lobbyist disclosure duties. A transition during the legislative session raises scheduling and delegation questions for ongoing complaints and for the commission's statutory responsibilities.

What happens next: The commission expects to post the director position promptly, form a screening subcommittee to evaluate applicants and designate an interim director whose appointment will be ratified at a later public meeting.