Gov. Kathy Hochul has made her final appointment to the state's under-fire ethics commission, which she has publicly and privately vowed to overhaul and replace.
Hochul's office on Monday announced Terryl Brown was appointed to the Joint Commission on Public Ethics, her third appointment since taking office on Aug. 24.
Brown is the chief legal counsel and deputy commission for legal affairs and administration at the Fire Department of New York City. She is also the first woman to serve as the executive vice president and general counsel for the New York Power Authority.
"To restore trust in government, we need strong, independent ethics oversight," Hochul said. "Terryl Brown is highly qualified, respected, and ethically impeccable, and I am proud to appoint her to serve our state."
Calls to replace the ethics commission in New York have grown from state lawmakers in recent weeks as the panel has come under scrutiny for its close ties to former Gov. Andrew Cuomo. The commission declined to investigate a former close aide to the ex-governor, Joe Percoco, who was convicted in a sweeping bribery case.
The commission last year approved a $5.1 million contract for Cuomo to write a book about the pandemic, and this month voted to investigate the circumstances surrounding the approval process.