Perspective from the 19^th Hole 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 to 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 my professional positions, including as press secretary in Washington, D.C. for a Democrat Congressman from Oregon (Les AuCoin), as an Oregon state government manager in Salem and Portland, as press secretary for Oregon’s last Republican governor (Vic Atiyeh), and as 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.  I could have called this blog “Middle Ground,” for that is what I long for in both politics and golf.  The middle ground is often where the best public policy decisions lie.  And it is where you want to be on a golf course.

And, this note:  I have been away from this blog for a time, but, alas, I like to write, even if not well on certain occasions, so here goes again.

I have reached the end of two terms as an Oregon Government Ethics commissioner because there is not more room for me to serve beyond eight years.

Let me say this:  So be it.  Eight is enough. 

And, for me, all the years have been good ones.  Not perfect, for nothing in government is perfect, but good.

Along the way in my eight-year tenure, I have firmly believed that no one should set out to dominate a government institution such as the Ethics Commission.

I never set out to do so.  It is time for someone to take my place – and I know nothing will be lost in the transition.

But, as I come to the end of my tenure, three major thoughts stick out:

1. First, when I was asked by Governor Kate Brown to serve in this role several years ago, it didn’t take long for me to say “yes.”  I thought it was a high calling to be part of an effort to promote ethics awareness and conduct in government in Oregon.  My eight years lived up to those early aspirations. 

• Second, when I began serving, I suspected then what has been true for eight years — supporting ethical conduct in Oregon government is not a “one person does it all” effort.  As a commissioner, I always was part of a team – all members of the Commission, all staff members, and all Oregonians who watched and supported our work.

• And, third, the nine commissioners during my tenure have come from different backgrounds, not to mention different political affiliations.  On that latter point, let me say that I have never known for sure the political affiliations of any of my colleagues.  Nor did I ask.

What’s more important is that politics never entered directly into our discussions or decisions — and that’s a good thing in Oregon.

So, as I step aside, my challenge for the Commission is to continue all it can do to support ethics in government in a bi-partisan, fact-based, and even-handed all fashion. 

I’ll be rooting for the Commission from the cheap seats in Salem, including, often, in my golf cart.