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Fed-up North Dakotans, led by a group of women calling themselves the BadAss Grandmas, voted to amend the constitution and establish a state Ethics Commission six years ago. Their goal was to investigate and stop unethical conduct by public officials.

But the watchdog agency has achieved less than the advocates had hoped, undermined in large part by the Legislature the commission is charged with overseeing, an investigation [...] has found.

The commission has not substantiated any of the 81 complaints it has received. It has dismissed 47, most because it lacked the authority to investigate them. Thirty complaints are pending, some for more than a year. Numerous tips don’t get investigated because the agency can’t proceed without a formal complaint, and complainants have said they fear retaliation if they file one, the commission’s executive director said.

“I certainly was hoping for something more rapid,” said Carol Sawicki, one of the North Dakota residents who sponsored the ballot initiative that created the commission. Creating an ethical culture in government is “going to take time,” said Sawicki, who is also treasurer of the state’s League of Women Voters branch. “Much more time than I wanted it to.”

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Ethics reform advocates say a vigorous commission is crucial in a state where politics and the energy industry are intertwined. A North Dakota Monitor and ProPublica investigation last year detailed how Gov. Kelly Armstrong, who has extensive ties to the oil and gas industry, could face significant conflicts of interest as chair of two state bodies that regulate the industry. Armstrong said in an interview last year that he doesn’t believe his ties will present a conflict of interest, but rather that his experience will benefit the state.

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