Former Appellate Division Justice Leonard B. Austin is now Chair of the Commission on Ethics and Lobbying in Government (COELIG), after serving as the Commission’s Vice Chair since its inception, while Albany Law School Professor and incumbent COELIG Commissioner Ava Ayers has become the Commission’s new Vice Chair, Executive Director Sanford N. Berland announced today. Commissioner Frederick A. Davie, who served as Chair/Interim Chair for two years, is leaving the Commission to focus on other endeavors and stepped down as Chair at September’s Commission meeting. In addition, Governor Kathy Hochul appointed James Caras to the Commission following the approval of his nomination by the Independent Review Committee of law deans (IRC), which also approved the renomination of incumbent Commissioner Michael A. Cardozo to a full four-year term.   

“My fellow commissioners and I have been incredibly fortunate to have Fred Davie’s leadership, and I hope to proceed with the same wisdom, experience, and gravitas,” Chair Austin said. “We welcome Commissioner Caras to the Commission and are delighted Commissioner Cardozo will serve another four years. As we move forward in fulfilling our mission, their breadth of experience, vigor, and expertise will prove invaluable in holding those who serve our government, and those who seek to influence it, to the highest ethical standards.”   

“I am humbled to be asked by my colleagues to serve as Vice Chair of this body, and I am grateful to our departing and incoming Chairs, who both care so deeply about the mission of promoting trust in government,” Vice Chair Ayers said. “It is an honor to serve on a Commission where all my colleagues, both the Commission and staff, are unwaveringly committed to the vision of a New York where all citizens have confidence that their government is acting in their best interest.”     

“With Chair Austin and Vice Chair Ayers taking over these important leadership roles and Commissioner Caras bringing his experience to the Commission, we will chart a course for ethics and lobbying oversight with renewed purpose and dedication,” Executive Director Berland said. “I thank Chair Davie for his wise counsel and profound insight, which have immeasurably benefited everyone who is affected by state and local government in New York State.”  

“It has been an honor to serve as the Commission’s first Chair, initiating the challenging work to restore trust in New York State government,” Former Chair Davie said. “That mission is not a sprint or even a marathon, but a relay. The first leg has been run, and I pass the baton to Chair Austin, my fine colleagues on this Commission and in the agency, as well as Commissioner Caras, who is joining the pursuit. I thank Governor Hochul for this opportunity and know the important work of the Commission will be successfully carried forward by the many skilled and dedicated people I have been privileged to work with for the last two years.”  

As Vice Chair, Commissioner Austin was elevated to the role of Chair with Commissioner Davie’s departure. Chair Austin nominated Commissioner Ayers for the post of Vice Chair, and she was unanimously elected by members of the Commission at September’s Commission meeting. Their leadership terms will run through March 2025.   

Nomination and Appointment Process 

Under the Ethics Commission Reform Act of 2022, Commissioners are appointed by the Governor, Senate Temporary President and Majority Leader, Senate Minority Leader, Assembly Speaker, Assembly Minority Leader, Comptroller, and Attorney General following public notice and comment and vetting by the Independent Review Committee, comprised of the deans of the state’s 15 accredited law schools. More information on this process is available.  

Chair Leonard B. Austin

Chair Leonard B. Austin was elected as the Commission’s first Vice Chair in March 2023, after serving as Interim Vice Chair beginning in September 2022. Chair Austin was first elected to the Supreme Court of the State of New York in 1998 and re-elected in 2012. He was appointed to the Appellate Division, Second Department in 2009. He taught as an adjunct law professor at Hofstra Law School from 2002 to 2020, has held leadership positions in a number of judicial associations and beginning in 2004 served on the Pattern Jury Instruction Committee of the Association of Justices of the Supreme Court of the State of New York. Retiring from the bench in early 2022, Chair Austin is now an arbitrator/mediator with National Arbitration and Mediation (NAM). 

Vice Chair Ava Ayers

Vice Chair Ava Ayers graduated first in her class from Georgetown Law in 2005 and is currently an associate professor of law at Albany Law School, teaching courses on the law of government, administrative law, legal ethics, and civil procedure. Vice-Chair Ayers previously served for five years as Director of the Government Law Center at Albany Law School and worked for nine years in the office of the New York Attorney General, where she was a Senior Assistant Solicitor General. Vice Chair Ayers clerked for the Honorable Sonia Sotomayor on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit and for the Honorable Gerard Lynch in the Southern District of New York.  

Commissioner James Caras

Commissioner James Caras served more than two decades in New York City government in a variety of counsel roles, most recently as General Counsel and then Special Counsel to the current and former Speakers of the New York City Council until his retirement in 2023. Prior to his work for the City Council, he served as General Counsel in the Manhattan Borough President’s Office and practiced law at the firms of Simpson Thacher & Bartlett and Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld. He currently teaches a class on legislation at New York Law School and recently was designated a Senior Fellow of the Law and Leadership Institute of the law school’s Center for New York City and State Law. Commissioner Caras holds degrees from Dartmouth College and Harvard Law School.  

Commissioner Michael A. Cardozo

Before joining COELIG, Commissioner Michael A. Cardozo served as New York City's longest-tenured Corporation Counsel, leading the City's 700-lawyer law department from 2002 through 2013, serving as legal counsel to the Mayor, the City and all its agencies. In addition to a distinguished career in private practice, he held leadership roles on the boards of many civic organizations including Citizens Union, the Fund for Modern Courts and the Advisory Board of Legal Outreach; he was also appointed by the New York State Chief Judge to chair the New York State Commission on Legislative, Judicial and Executive Compensation.  

About the New York State Commission on Ethics and Lobbying in Government 

Created by New York state law in July 2022, the Commission’s charge is to restore public trust in government by ensuring compliance with the state’s ethics and lobbying laws and regulations. It has jurisdiction over more than 320,000 officers and employees at state agencies and departments, including commissions, boards, state public benefit corporations, public authorities, SUNY, CUNY, and the statutory closely affiliated corporations; the four statewide elected officials and candidates for those offices; employees and members of the state Legislature and legislative candidates; and state and local lobbyists and their clients.   

The Commission administers, enforces, and interprets New York’s ethics and lobbying laws by providing information, education, and guidance regarding ethics and lobbying laws; promoting compliance through audits, investigations, and enforcement proceedings; issuing formal and informal advisory opinions; and promulgating regulations implementing the laws under its jurisdiction.  

The Commission promotes transparency by conducting its proceedings publicly to the fullest extent permitted by law and by making the financial and other disclosures filed by those subject to the Commission’s authority publicly available. These disclosures include, but are not limited to, annual financial disclosure statements filed by over 30,000 individuals, and millions of records contained in activity and expense reports filed by lobbyists and their clients.