North Dakota Ethics Commission names Pamela Sharp as chair

North Dakota's ethics watchdog has a new chair at a time when public trust in government remains under strain. Pamela Sharp was unanimously selected June 17 to lead the North Dakota Ethics Commission, a role that helps shape how complaints are handled and how ethics standards are enforced for public officials across the state, including the local offices Stutsman County residents watch in Jamestown and beyond.

Sharp began serving immediately after the appointment. A native of Watford City who now lives in Bismarck, she brings a long state-government résumé to the post: she is a certified public accountant, earned degrees in accounting and business administration and in management from the University of Mary, and spent 32 years in North Dakota state government.

Her career included five years as deputy director of the Office of Management and Budget and 15 years as director, serving under Governors John Hoeven, Jack Dalrymple and Doug Burgum. Sharp retired from state service in 2018 and later worked as a lobbyist and consultant through 2023. She was first appointed to the Ethics Commission in late 2025, giving her a relatively short but familiar run with the panel before taking the top job. Commissioner Mark Western nominated her to serve as chair.

The leadership change came after Ronald Goodman said June 11 that he would step down once a replacement was named. Goodman was one of the commission’s five original members, appointed in August 2019, and he became the panel’s first chair at its inaugural meeting. He was reappointed to a four-year term in August 2023. Replacement appointments to the commission are made by a committee that includes the governor, the Senate majority leader and the Senate minority leader.

For local readers, the chair matters because the commission’s work goes to the heart of how confidence is maintained when questions arise about government conduct. In January 2026, more than 1,000 North Dakota residents took part in the commission’s public priorities survey, and the results showed broad concern about ethics in government. Two out of three respondents said public officials do not always act ethically, and the top responsibility they wanted from the commission was investigating complaints and enforcing ethics laws.

Sharp’s background in state finance and administration suggests the commission is leaning on an experienced hand as it faces that skepticism. For communities that expect their public institutions to be accountable, the chair will help steer how seriously those complaints are taken and how firmly the standards are enforced.