The state ethics commission is close to choosing a new executive director.

Commission Chairwoman Hillary Stringfellow said Tuesday that the board has chosen four individuals to be finalists, out of a pool of more than 70 applicants.

The State Accounting Office, which handles human resources for the commission, did not release the finalists’ names Tuesday, despite a request from The Atlanta Journal-Constitution for the information under the Georgia Open Records Act. The office has three business days to produce the records.

The commission, formally known as the Government Transparency and Campaign Finance Commission, has been without an executive director since September, when the board fired Holly LaBerge.

LaBerge's exit came after a Fulton County Superior Court judge sanctioned and fined her $10,000. Judge Ural Glanville said LaBerge had been "dishonest and nontransparent" over the course of a whistleblower lawsuit filed by her predecessor. LaBerge has appealed Glanville's order.

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