[StBernard] St. Bernard Parish receives its first ethics board nomination, from Tulane University

[Westley Annis]

St. Bernard Parish receives its first ethics board nomination, from Tulane
University
 By Benjamin Alexander-Bloch, NOLA.com | The Times-Picayune 
on January 18, 2013 at 6:16 PM, updated January 18, 2013 at 6:17 PM Print

When St. Bernard Parish Chief Administrative Officer Jerry Graves came to
work on Friday morning, he had an email message from Tulane University
President Scott Cowen waiting for him. Tulane became the first university to
respond to the parish's request for nominations to its new ethics board.

"He has nominated a (St. Bernard Parish) resident to represent Tulane on the
ethics board," Graves said. "And so now we are going to be reaching out to
other university presidents and chancellors so that they can follow his lead
and give us their people so we can move forward."

On Nov. 6, St. Bernard voters overwhelmingly approved a measure to create a
parish ethics board.

The board will have five members, selected among people nominated by the
presidents or chancellors of the University of New Orleans, Loyola
University, Tulane University, Xavier University and Nunez Community
College. The members will serve four-year terms.

The ethics board is an outgrowth of the efforts by Parish President Dave
Peralta and the Parish Council to push for ethics reforms and transparency
in local government.

Graves said he and Peralta sent the five chancellors and presidents letters
right before the holidays. They asked them to submit a nomination, provide a
resume for that person and explain why he or she is qualified for the
position.

Graves said he just sent the Tulane nominee a letter asking if he would
accept the position. Graves said he will release the man's name if he
accepts the offer.

Once five members are selected, Graves said he plans to have a hands-off
approach and "just make sure that the members have each other's contact
information so they communicate between themselves."

"We are hoping this is the first step in something that will be in place
forever," Graves said.