About the Commission

Current Commission Members:

Chair
Judson Brown

Commissioner Judson Brown was appointed by Supervisor Vincent Sarmiento, Second District, at the May 7, 2024 Board of Supervisors meeting and was approved unanimously. He is currently serving his first term that expires on May 6, 2027 and was unanimously elected as Vice-Chair for the 2025 term. 

Commissioner Brown currently serves as the Housing Manager for the City of Santa Ana and has over 15 years of experience in affordable housing development.  Through his leadership, the City of Santa Ana was one of only 18 jurisdictions statewide to provide units for all income levels for the 5th Cycle Regional Housing Needs Allocation (RHNA) and the City has already issued 74% of the building permits for new housing units required of it for the 6th Cycle RHNA.  From 2019 to 2024, the City reduced homeless by 19%, more than every other City combined in Orange County. He served as the previous Chair of the Orange County Continuum of Care (CoC) and currently serves as the Chair of the CoC Housing Opportunities Committee. 

Commissioner Brown is also fluent in Spanish and volunteered for two years in Bolivia where he created a child sponsorship program for child workers.  He has a Master’s in Public Administration from Texas A&M University and a Master’s in Urban and Regional Planning from Cal Poly Pomona. 

Vice Chair 
William Halle

Commissioner William Halle was appointed by Supervisor Don Wagner, Third District, at the November 2, 2021 Board of Supervisors meeting. His term expires on November 1, 2027. Commissioner Halle served as the Commission's Vice Chair in 2022 and 2023.

Commissioner Halle is a private attorney. His practice focuses in the areas of land use, real estate, employment and commercial litigation. His trial and appellate experience includes a wide range of business-related disputes before administrative and public agencies, arbitration panels, state courts, federal courts and bankruptcy courts.

In addition to being a litigator, Commissioner Halle served as an executive member of the Board of Directors for the National Down Syndrome Society from 2004 through 2010, and as the President of Down Syndrome Association of Orange County during his tenure from 2000 through 2008.

Commissioner Halle received his Bachelor of Arts from University of California, Los Angeles, and his J.D. from University of Michigan Law School.

Dr. Reza Karkia

Dr. Reza Karkia is a First District representative appointed at the June 27, 2023 Board of Supervisors meeting. He is currently serving his first term that expires on June 26, 2026 and was unanimously elected as Chairman for the 2024 and 2025 terms. 

Commissioner Karkia served as the President of the American Institute of Higher Education Resources (AIHER). He is the Emeritus Executive Director of Academic Affairs at California State University, and has more than 39 years’ experience in education, senior management, and leadership.

Commissioner Karkia has served the State of California under four Governors (Governor Pete Wilson, Gray Davis, Arnold Schwarzenegger, and Jerry Brown) as a Commissioner on the California Council on Criminal Justice. He also served as a Commissioner for the California Health Policy and Data Advisory for two terms under Governor Schwarzenegger and Governor Brown.

Commissioner Karkia has served on numerous non-profit organizations as a Board of Directors member and Advisory Council Member. The organizations he has served on includes OC 211, MECCA and OMID. He also has experience working on public and private grants.

Judge Franz Miller (retired)

Honorable Judge Franz Miller (retired) was appointed by Supervisor Chaffee, Fourth District, at the September 29, 2020 Board of Supervisors meeting. He is currently serving his second term that expires on September 25, 2026. Commissioner Miller served two terms as the Chairman of the Commission.

Commission Miller is also currently an associate at JAMS Mediation, Arbitration and ADR Services. Before entered private mediation he gave 16 years of service to Orange County on the Superior Court. His tenure at the court was equally divided between the Family Law Panel and the Civil Law Panel, where he was supervising judge during the last two years of that assignment. Prior to being appointed to the bench Commissioner Miller was a senior staff attorney at the Court of Appeal. He also taught at local law schools as an adjunct professor for over 20 years. 

During his legal career, Commissioner Miller was very active in the Orange County legal community, serving as president of the Orange County Bar Association in 1997, and in his local community, where he was a planning commissioner.

Commissioner Miller received his Bachelor of Arts from the University of California, Los Angeles and his J.D. from the University of California, Los Angeles School of Law.

James Lawson

Commissioner James Lawson was appointed by Supervisor Katrina Foley, Fifth District, at the October 14, 2025 Board of Supervisors meeting. He is currently serving his first term that expires on October 13, 2028.

Commissioner Lawson, a seventh-generation Californian, was born and raised in the Fifth District. A seasoned professional in real estate and community development, Commissioner Lawson’s background spans acquisitions, land use planning and entitlement, due diligence, and project management, with a specialized focus on senior housing that addresses the needs of older residents. He is also a member of the American Institute of Certified Planners (AICP), reflecting a commitment to professional excellence and ethical standards in planning.

Commissioner Lawson received his Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of California, Irvine.

Staff:

Denah Hoard, Executive Director

Denah Hoard has been practicing law in Southern California for 30 years. Her career has almost entirely been spent in the public sector first serving as a research attorney to a federal judge, spending a short time at a firm specializing in public entity defense and then 10 years with the Santa Ana City Attorney’s Office. After five years with the Cal State system, she returned to municipal law by working for the City of Orange where she spent 4 years. She only left the beautiful City of Orange to take the position of Executive Director of the Campaign Finance and Ethics Commission. She has held this position since April of 2017 and has been responsible for establishing the office from the ground up.    

Jasmine Mo, Business Services Administrator 

Jasmine Mo graduated from UCLA in 2010. She began her career in the private sector until 2017 when she joined the County of Orange. Her first position in the County was with the Social Services Agency. Thereafter, Jasmine was promoted to the Registrar of Voters, under the accounting department. In 2021, Jasmine accepted a promotion to the Office of Campaign Finance and Ethics Commission. Her responsibilities include budget, accounting, program oversight, ASR drafting, auditing of campaign filings as well as representing the Office in County meetings. 

About the Commission:

The Commission shall consist of five (5) appointed members. Appointments to the Commission shall be made by each Board District and confirmed by a majority vote of the Board of Supervisors. Commissioners shall serve three-year terms which shall be staggered. The initial Commissioners shall be appointed to terms of one, two and three years respectively. Two of the initial Commissioners shall be selected by random lot to serve a three-year term; two Commissioners shall be selected by random lot to serve a two-year term; and one initial Commissioner shall be selected to serve a one-year term. Thereafter, all Commissioners shall serve a term of three years, except that members selected to fill a vacancy caused by other than the regular expiration of a term shall serve only for the remainder of that term. The terms of the initial commission members can be viewed here: Terms for members of the Campaign Finance and Ethics Commission.

Commissioners may not serve more than two full terms. A full term shall be defined as a remaining term of 548 days or more. No member who has served two terms shall be eligible for reappointment. A Chairperson and Vice-Chairperson of the Commission shall be selected by majority vote of the members of the Commission. The Chairperson and Vice-Chairperson shall each be elected for a one-year term and may be re-elected for not more than a second one-year term.

The Commission shall have responsibility for the impartial and effective administration and implementation of the provisions of the County Campaign Reform Ordinance, Lobbyist Registration and Reporting Ordinance, the Gift Ban Ordinance and Sections 6 and 9 of the Code of Ethics.

Specifically, the Commission shall have the following duties, powers, and responsibilities:

1. Notwithstanding anything herein to the contrary, the Commission shall only have jurisdiction over alleged violations by a person of the County Campaign Reform Ordinance, the Lobbyist Registration and Reporting Ordinance, the Gift Ban Ordinance and Sections 6 and 9 of the Code of Ethics.
2. The Commission shall serve as the appellate body for Statement of Decisions.
3. The Commission shall review the Executive Director’s quarterly reports of activity before submission to the Board of Supervisors.
4. The Commission shall review the Executive Director’s annual training program and manual before submission to the Board of Supervisors.
5. The Chair of the Commission shall prepare an annual report summarizing Commission activities. This report shall be reviewed and approved by a majority vote of the Commission and presented to Board of Supervisors as an agenda item at a regularly scheduled Board meeting.
6. A Commissioner shall not initiate, permit, or consider ex parte communications, that is, any communications to or from the Commissioner outside the presence of the parties concerning a pending or impending investigation, enforcement proceeding, or appeal, and shall make reasonable efforts to avoid such communications.

Qualifications of Commissioners

1. Each Commissioner shall be a registered voter of the County.
2. During his or her tenure, a member of the Commission and the Executive Director may not hold an elected or appointed public office, including, without limitation, any elective office in any jurisdiction and shall not be an employee of any holder of an elected or appointed public office, any member of a public body whose members are appointed by an elected official, or any employee of such public body.
3. If a Commissioner, during their term of office, desires to participate in the campaign of, or publicly support or oppose, a County Candidate or Elective County Officer, such Commissioner shall first resign from the Commission. Failure to resign before such participation or support shall be grounds for removal from the Commission.
4. No Commissioner shall during their term as Commissioner or during the previous ten (10) years prior to their commencement of their term employ or be employed by a person who is acting as a County Lobbyist, as that term is defined in the County Lobbyist Registration and Reporting Ordinance or have been a registered State Lobbyist or Federal Lobbyist.
5. No Commissioner shall have been, during the previous ten (10) years, an Elective County Officer, a County Agency/Department Head, or a County Executive Manager.
6. No Commissioners shall have been, during the previous ten (10) years, an elected or appointed official of a national, state or local partisan political (central) committee.
7. A person who has been convicted of a felony or misdemeanor involving dishonesty, untruthfulness, or any crime involving an election law violation is disqualified from serving as a Commissioner.
8. No person may serve as a Commissioner whose profession, occupation, or employment consist of (i) providing services to candidates for public office or to elected officials within the County of Orange; (ii) engaging in public affairs or legislative liaison services for an employer doing business with the County of Orange, or with any Joint Powers Authority or with any Special District operating within the County of Orange; and (iii) employment within the past ten (10) years with the County of Orange, or with any Joint Powers Authority or with any Special District operating within Orange County, or with any employee representative organization whose members are employees of the County of Orange.
9. No Commissioner who has served on the Orange County Grand Jury may serve on the Commission for ten (10) years from the date of this article’s enactment.
10. No person who proposed, sponsored or co-sponsored the measure establishing the Commission may serve on the Commission for ten (10) years from the date of this article’s enactment.

Removal of Commissioners

Commissioners may be removed for substantial neglect of duty, misconduct in office, inability to discharge the powers and duties of the office or violation of the provisions of this article. A Commissioner who is the subject of a removal proceeding will be given an opportunity to address the Commission at a public hearing after written notice of the grounds on which the removal is sought and an opportunity for the Commissioner to present his or her case against removal to the Commission. If the Commission votes in favor of removal, the Commission will recommend to the Board of Supervisors that the subject Commissioner be removed. Upon recommendation of the Commission, the Board of Supervisors may remove a Commissioner by a majority vote. Notwithstanding the foregoing provision, if the Commission fails to hold a removal hearing as described in this section, the Board of Supervisors may, by a four-fifths vote, remove a Commissioner at any time, with or without cause.

Compensation; Expenses

The members of the Commission shall serve without compensation and shall be reimbursed for travel and other expenses incurred in the performance of their official duties in accordance with Board of Supervisors policy, as amended from time to time.

Apply to be a commissioner:

If you meet the 10 qualifications to be a Commissioners please fill out the following form here.

Pursuant to the County of Orange Language Access Policy, the Office of Campaign Finance and Ethics Commission will provide critical program documents and information in the most prevalent languages spoken in the County as determined by the most recent United States Census. Please contact the Office with the request via telephone 714-645-3844 or email info@ethics.oc.gov. The documents will be provided via email as soon as practicable.