Press Release - Sept 6, 2007
OFFICE OF GOV. BILL RITTER, JR.
THURSDAY, SEPT. 6, 2007
CONTACT: Evan Dreyer, 720.350.8370
RITTER MAKES APPOINTMENT TO ETHICS COMMISSION
Gov. Bill Ritter announced today he has appointed Nancy E. Friedman of Evergreen to the Colorado Independent Ethics Commission for a term expiring on July 1, 2009.
Friedman is currently a managing member of the Lariat Group, a business consulting and training company with an emphasis on business ethics. From 1977 to 1995, she served in a variety of capacities for the New York City Council, including as chief ethics counsel to the 51-member council and 700 staff members, and as counsel to the Committee on Standards & Ethics.
The Colorado Independent Ethics Commission was established by voter-approved Amendment 41 and Senate Bill 07-210, which the Governor signed into law on April 26.
Among its duties, the five-member Commission will provide state and local government officials and employees with advisory opinions on ethics issues. Other members have been appointed by the House and Senate. The chief justice of the Colorado Supreme Court will appoint the commission's fourth member. The four commissioners will then convene to select the fifth member, who must either be a local government official or local government employee.
From 1996 to 2003, Friedman was executive director of the Rocky Mountain Land Use Institute at the University of Denver. Since 2003, Friedman has been the managing member of MBD Publishing, which publishes an annually updated e-book titled, "Who Needs It? Tax-Exempt Organizations in Your Neighborhood That Need What You Have to Donate."
Friedman earned her bachelor's degree in political science from Pennsylvania State University in 1976 and her law degree from St. John's University School of Law in 1985.