Longtime civic champions appointed to King County Board of Ethics

King County residents will soon benefit from the insight and historical knowledge provided by two new members of the King County Board of Ethics. King County Executive Ron Sims has appointed Mr. Bruce Laing and Ms. Gunbjorn Ladstein to the board, filling two vacancies on the five-member citizen advisory board.

Laing previously served as a King County councilman and as a county hearing examiner. Ladstein is a past president of the Seattle League of Women Voters and has participated in numerous league activities on county issues and ethics in government. She is a past King County transportation planner and has served on numerous community boards and commissions around the Pacific Northwest.

In making the appointment, Executive Sims noted Laing and Ladstein's judgment, integrity and professional experiences. They will serve three year terms.

The other three board members are Mr. Roland Carlson, a former Washington State legislator and former Boeing executive, and Ms. Anne Watanabe, City of Seattle deputy hearing examiner. The board's chair, Lois Price Spratlen, Ph.D., is emeritus ombudsman at the University of Washington and a nursing professor.

Created by ordinance in 1972, the King County Board of Ethics is a five-member citizen advisory, administrative, and quasi-judicial board. Its purpose is to ensure proper implementation of the code of ethics, to interpret the code through advisory opinions, and to manage a disclosure program of financial and other interests for employees and elected officials.

The board's mission is to ensure the highest standards of public service by developing, disseminating, and promoting readily understandable ethics requirements for King County employees and agencies. Its first goal is education and its teaching program extends throughout King County helping employees understand their obligations and guiding them when faced with ethical decisions on the job.

For more information, contact the King County Board of Ethics, at 206-296-1586, or visit the Web site, at http://www.kingcounty.gov/ethics.