PERSPECTIVE FROM THE 19^TH HOLE: This is the title I chose for my personal blog, which is meant to give me an outlet for one of my favorite crafts – writing – plus use an image from my favorite sport, golf. Out of college, my first job was as a reporter for the Daily Astorian in Astoria, Oregon, and I went on from there to practice writing in all of my professional positions, including as a Congressional press secretary in Washington, D.C., an Oregon state government manager in Salem and Portland, press secretary for Oregon’s last Republican governor (Vic Atiyeh), and a private sector lobbyist. This blog also allows me to link another favorite pastime – politics and the art of developing public policy – to what I write.

What do Neil Gorsuch and I have in common?

Nothing you may say.

Wrong.

Both of us have been confirmed by “The Senate.”

In Gorsuch’s case, it obviously was the high-profile and tense confirmation by the U.S. Senate for a lifetime seat on the U.S. Supreme Court. It took the “nuclear option” for him to be confirmed.

In my case, I appeared before the Oregon Senate Rules Committee in response to my nomination by by Governor Kate Brown to serve on the nine-member Oregon State Government Ethics Commission (OGEC).

It is an honor for me to be asked to serve, as a volunteer, on this important state commission.

But, to put a point on it, my confirmation gained none of the notoriety attached to Gorsuch’s path through the U.S. Senate.   My appearance before Oregon Senate Rules lasted all of three minutes.

But the appearance did give me a brief forum to make a couple points. One is that I believe that ethics, at its base, is a matter of personal commitment and behavior. It’s who you are and how you behave.

Nothing more. Nothing less.

I reached this conclusion after working for state government for 15 years, then serving as a private sector lobbyist for 23 years. During that time, I watched ethical persons behave in an honest, forthright way.  Unfortunately, I also saw the reverse.

The latter is why the Ethics Commission provides a very important function for state government. That’s the second point I made to Senate Rules.

Living up to a clear set of standards – accountability standards in law and rule – is important for legislators, for public officials, and, yes, for lobbyists like myself before my retirement two years ago. It is the OGEC that manages and enforces those ethical standards.

The OGEC was created by vote of the people in 1974. The measure passed with 70 per cent of the votes. One reason was that the proposal made it to the ballot in the immediate aftermath of the Watergate scandal when citizens across the country began calling for greater accountability from those in government.

In response, Oregon was one of the first states to open government to greater scrutiny by creating a commission with authority to hold elected officials, other public officials and lobbyist to high ethical standards.

So, I look forward to joining this important commission. I will do so after confirmation by the full Oregon Senate and, assuming a positive vote there, after taking an oath of office (which, interestingly enough in this technology age, can be done on-line).

Thus, before long, I’ll join Neil Gorsuch in being able to say that I have been confirmed by “The Senate.”