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Commissioner Dave Fiskum, in his own words:What changes have surprised you the most during your time with the Commission?A major issue revolves around a recent change in the range of Commission business when, in 2023, the Oregon Legislature gave us responsibility to enforce the state’s long-standing Public Meetings Law. This came on top of Government Ethics and Lobby Law assignments.
No state agency had responsibility for the Public Meetings Law, so, for us, taking the job increased our workload substantially. For one thing, it meant that we needed to meet once a month, not every six weeks. And it also has raised a lot of questions about how to work within the law, including what are now called “serial public meetings,” enough so that the Commission is involved in a legislative work group to consider further changes in the law.
I say this as someone who has been involved in state government in Oregon for about 40 years. And, in all those years, I lived within the Public Meetings Law, which I value highly as a hallmark of transparent government in our state. And that makes it even more important for the Commission to enforce the law carefully and with discretion. What's different now than it was when you got here?The easiest and best answer is to refer to the time when Covid arrived as a pandemic several years ago. At that time, good work by Commission staff put in place a system that enabled everyone – commissioners and the public alike – to participate in all our processes remotely rather than always having to be on-site in Salem.
That meant, for emphasis, that citizens involved in our agendas did not have to travel to participate in Commission meetings; they could do so on-line in a system which worked well at the start and has continued to improve.
As Covid receded, our staff kept the remote capability and it has become an excellent way for us to emphasize effective public participation in government. If you could hope for one thing for the next generation of Commissioners, what would it be?First, for each of my eight years on the Commission, a critical component of our work is that we don’t play politics as issues come before us. The fact is that I haven’t known for sure the political affiliation of any of my Commission colleagues over the last eight years. In good faith, we attempt to handle issues that come before us based on facts, not perceptions, including perceptions that might flow from political affiliations.
I hope that important distinction continues.
I also hope the Commission will continue to treat those who appear before us with deference and respect. It can be an emotional experience for citizens to appear before the Commission in response to an ethics or public meeting complaint. I know those who follow me will continue this approach. Return to Ethics Matters Newsletter |