Meet the Board of Ethics and its Chair Beth Griffin Matthews
In this series, MyRye.com will introduce readers to the boards and commissions of the City of Rye and the residents who run them. All volunteers, these residents give their time and expertise to keep our city running. The series is intended to bring visibility to what each board and commission does, its priorities and what might prompt a resident or another person or company to interact with the group.
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Meet the Board of Ethics and its Chair Beth Griffin Matthews.
Your Name: Beth Griffin Matthews
Name of the Board or Commission you chair: Board of Ethics
Your role: Chair
MyRye.com: What is the charter for your Board?
Griffin Matthews: The Board of Ethics renders advisory opinions on specific situations to officers and employees of the City with respect to the City’s Code of Ethics. The opinions are rendered pursuant to the written request of any officer or employee.
The Board consists of the City Manager, Corporation Counsel and three public members appointed by the Mayor with the approval of the City Council. Public members serve three-year terms and the Chair is elected from among the public members.
Looking at 2024, what will be your top initiatives?
Griffin Matthews: The Board of Ethics does not take initiatives. It is responsive to requests made by officers and employees of the City.
Who is the City Council liaison to your Board for 2024?
Griffin Matthews: There is no City Council liaison to the Board of Ethics.
Tell us about the residents or others you interact with at your Board.
Griffin Matthews: Because the Board is established to render advisory opinions to officers and employees of the City and does so at the request of officers and employees of the City, the Board does not interact with residents.
When was your Board chartered by the City of Rye?
Griffin Matthews: The Board of Ethics was established in 1966 when the Code of Ethics was adopted. The 16-point Code begins with this “declaration of policy”:
“The proper operation of the City government requires that its officers and employees be independent, impartial and responsible to the people; that government decisions and policy be made in the proper channels of the governmental structure; that public office not be used for personal gain; that public officers and employees observe in their official acts the highest standards of morality and discharge faithfully the duties of their office regardless of personal consideration; and that the public have confidence in the integrity of its government and the officers and employees thereof.”
The Code has been amended several times, most recently in 2013.
Looking back across 2023, what were your Board’s top achievements?
Griffin Matthews: The Board of Ethics issued a single opinion in 2023, at the request of three councilmembers, relating to the timing of a proposed tree cutting moratorium.
Tell us about you:
How long have you been in the role?
Griffin Matthews: I have served on the Board of Ethics since 1999 by appointment of Democrat, Republican and Independent Mayors. I have served as Chair during the past decade.
How much time does your role require in a typical month?
Griffin Matthews: The Board of Ethics meets only as needed, when asked to render an advisory opinion. In some years, we do not meet at all, however when we are working on an opinion, we are fully engaged for as long as it takes, especially if the request is time-sensitive. The members of the Board work well together and are dedicated to providing thoughtful, considered advisory opinions.
What is your day job?
Griffin Matthews: I am a free-lance journalist in semi-retirement after a rewarding career.
How would your friends and family describe you in one word?
Griffin Matthews: Steadfast
Where do you live in Rye and how many years have you lived in the City?
Griffin Matthews: My husband and I are fortunate to live in the Lea Place house where I grew up.
Thanks Beth!
