Kentucky Legislative Ethics Commission

Tony Goetz

Mr. Goetz was appointed to the Commision by the LRC in April, 2017. He is a native of Daviess County, and a graduate of Brescia University in Owensboro.  He began his graduate work at George Peabody College for Teachers in Nashville, and completed his Master’s Degree at UK in 1970.  He has served as Executive Director of the Owensboro Council for Retarded Children (1965-1967) and the Blue Grass Association for Mental Retardation (1967-1973).  From 1973-1975, he was Executive Director of the Blue Grass Regional Health Planning Council and then served as Executive Director of the East Kentucky Health Systems Agency from 1976-1980.  In 1980, he was named Associate Dean in Administration and Finance of the UK Medical School, and served in that and various other administrative positions at the University through 2003.  His last position at UK was Director of Government Relations. In 2004-2005, he served as the Governor’s Legislative Liaison.  He and his wife, Nancy, reside in Nicholasville.

Tanya Pullin​

Judge Tanya Pullin was appointed to the Commission by the Senate President in May 2020. She graduated from Greenup County High School and received a B.S. from the University of Kentucky. She received an M.A. from Duke University and a J.D. from the University of Kentucky College of Law. Judge Pullin served in the Kentucky House of Representatives from 2001 to 2016. From 2016 to 2019, she served as an Administrative Law Judge in the Department of Workers’ Claims. Judge Pullin currently resides in South Shore in Greenup County.​

David L. Nicholas, Chairman of the Commission​

Mr. Nicholas was appointed to the Commission by the Senate President in October, 2018.  He has worked for 15 years for the General Assembly as Staff Administrator of the Administrative Regulation Review Subcommittee.  Prior to that, he was Director of the Division of Occupations and Professions in the Finance Cabinet for 18 years.  Mr. Nicholas has a Master’s in Public Administration and a Bachelor’s in Business Administration from Eastern Kentucky University.  He is a member of Buck Run Baptist Church and member of the Board of Directors of the Kentucky Golf Association.  He and his wife Pat live in Frankfort and have four children and five grandchildren. 

Sheldon Baugh

Former State Representative Sheldon E. Baugh of Russellville was appointed to the Commission by the Senate President in July 2017.  Mr. Baugh has an insurance agency in Russellville, and he served in the House of Representatives from January 1995 to January 2008.  He attended Western Kentucky University, and served in the U.S. Air Force from 1962 to 1966.  Mr. Baugh was a Magistrate on the Logan County Fiscal Court from 1977 to 1981, and he served as Midwest Director and two-term President of the Federation of Historical Bottle Collectors.  He is a member and former President of the Russellville Rotary Club, and he and his wife Brenda have two children. 

Michael Noftsger was appointed to the Commission by the Speaker of the House in November, 2019. He serves as the Executive Vice-President, Bank Administration, for Forcht Bank.  He grew up outside of Xenia, OH and later attended Georgetown College, receiving a BS in Marketing & Finance.  Since the summer of 1992, he has worked in the banking industry. Mr. Noftsger has served on many community boards, including the Somerset-Pulaski (morning) Rotary Club, Somerset Christian School Board, Pulaski County Alzheimer’s Respite Center Board, the Cornelia Dozier Cooper Foundation and the Somerset-Pulaski County Development Foundation.  He is a former member of the Kentucky Judicial Conduct Commission. He married Hope King in 1995.  Hope is a graduate of the University of Kentucky and works as a Physical Therapist.  They have one son, Riley, who attends Somerset Christian School.  As a family, they are members of Oak Hill Baptist Church in Somerset, KY. 

Phil Huddleston

Mr. Huddleston was appointed to the Commission by the Speaker of the House in August, 2017.  He’s a native of Albany, and served more than 30 years in state government in a variety of roles, including as a legislative and policy analyst as well as chief of staff to the President of the Senate and chief of staff to the Lt. Governor.  Mr. Huddleston has served on the board for the Lexington Hearing and Speech Center, the Kentucky Commission for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing, the Human Services Coordination Alliance, and the Frankfort Salvation Army.  He and his wife Pat live in Frankfort and have a daughter and two grandchildren.

Paula Sherlock

Judge Sherlock was appointed to the Commission by Speaker of the House in 2018. She served as a Family Court Judge in Jefferson County from 2005 until her retirement as Chief Judge of Family Court in 2017. She was selected as Judge of the Year by the Louisville Bar Association in 2015, the Women Lawyers Association in 2016, and the American Academy of Matrimonial Attorneys of Kentucky in 2014.  In 2013, Kosair Children's Hospital selected her as Child Advocate of the Year.  In 2017, Judge Sherlock was appointed by the Kentucky Supreme Court to serve on the Child Fatality and Near Fatality External Review Panel, which reviews all child deaths and near deaths due to caregiver abuse and neglect.  She was on the Board of Directors of the LBA, the Domestic Violence Fatality Review Committee, the Domestic Violence Coordinating Council, and the Family Court Rules Committee.  Judge Sherlock has been active in community organizations such as Volunteers of America, Operation Open Arms, and Dress for Success. She earned her undergraduate degree at the University of Northern Colorado, a Master’s at Campbell University, and her J.D. from Washington & Lee University.  She and her husband, Ike, reside in Prospect.