The Ohio Ethics Commission elected a familiar face as its chairman at its last meeting.
Herb Asher, professor emeritus of political science, will serve as the 2003 chairman. Asher has been on the commission for five years, including one year as the vice chair.
“Dr. Asher brings expertise in Ohio politics to the commission, and he has a keen insight to problem solving,” said David Freel, executive director of the Ohio Ethics Commission. Freel has been the executive director for nine years, and said Asher is another great selection in a long line of academic representatives to serve on the commission.
Asher was born in New Jersey, received his undergraduate degree at Bucknell University, and obtained his doctorate in political science from the University of Michigan. He became a faculty member at OSU soon after.
“It has always been fun to teach at Ohio State,” Asher said. “The campaign politics and Ohio politics classes that I teach really give me an opportunity to work with some bright and interesting students.”
Besides teaching two classes at OSU, Asher has served as counselor to the university president for the last seven years. He was also a lobbyist for the university before he stepped down in 1995, and served as the interim director of the John Glenn Institute for two years.
Created in 1973 by the Ohio General Assembly, the ethics commission is made up of six members: three Democrats and three Republicans. The governor appoints all members of the commission, and they are confirmed by the Ohio Senate.
“Former Gov. George Voinovich contacted me about the commission because he knew that I was involved and very interested in Ohio politics,” Asher said. “The commission wanted someone who was familiar with Ohio politics and government. There was a Democratic vacancy and I accepted.”
The commission has four major responsibilities: public information, advisory opinions, investigations and referrals for prosecution and financial disclosure. Asher said education is a big part of the commission.
“We provide free ethics education and programs, and have many informational materials regarding ethics,” Asher said. He said another big part of the commission involve advisory opinions, where people request advice on a certain situation involving ethics.
“The commission chooses its own leadership,” said Freel, when talking about the chairman position. “The members of the commission are committed and care about who they select.”
As far as responsibilities go, Asher said it is a small, democratically-run organization, and his main duties are to conduct meetings, organize responsibilities and to be a spokesman when needed.
“It’s interesting to see the range of issues that come up,” Asher said. “Most people in public life are very ethical, but once in a while we will see a case that really amazes us. Sometimes it’s not exactly fun, but it’s interesting.”
The commision is funded by the state government, so there is concern it may lose money because of shortfalls in the Ohio budget.
“We had a $100,000 budget cut last year, and we are down on personnel by 15 percent because of the state’s budget problem,” Freel said.
“I hope that everything goes smoothly,” Asher said. “We have a very talented staff that does its job very effectively.”
Asher and Freel commented on some goals for the coming year. Freel said the commission has been focused on local government and school systems, and it will probably continue to do so this year.
“My goals as chairman are to keep the organization running smoothly and effectively, while being responsive to our customers, who ask for advisory opinions and people who need educational training,” Asher said. “Maintaining a high level of performance in an environment of constrained resources is very important.”
Asher said if the ethics commission works the way it should, it should be proactive in helping people avoid pitfalls in ethics. “It is much better to make sure people understand ethical behavior, rather than have to investigate unethical behavior,” he said.
