Kentucky Legislative Ethics Commission

Commission Members

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.

Mike Shull, Vice-Chairman of the Commission

Mr. Shull was appointed to the Commission by the Speaker of the House in September, 2023. He is a partner with the law firm of Frost Brown Todd in the areas of construction law and litigation, also focusing on commercial and public finance/procurement. Mike has represented the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet on its largest project, the Louisville and Southern Indiana Ohio River Bridges Project. He has also represented the Louisville Arena Authority in the construction of the KFC Yum! Center, and acts as general counsel to the Greater Louisville Convention and Visitors Bureau. In addition to his work for public agencies, Mike represents many of the larger construction firms and developers in Kentucky. Prior to his legal career, he was a research engineer for the Kentucky Transportation Center. He has been named to the Best Lawyers in America, Construction Law. He received a B.S., cum laude, from the University of Kentucky, where he was President of the Engineering Student Government and the Chi Epsilon Civil Engineering Honor Society. He also received his J.D. from the University of Kentucky.

Arnold Simpson

Former State Representative Arnold R. Simpson was appointed to the Commission by the LRC in September 2021. He was born in Somerset, Kentucky, and was raised in Covington. He received his BA in Political Science in 1974 from Kentucky State University, and his Juris Doctor in 1977 from the University of Kentucky College of Law. He practiced law from 1978 until his retirement in 2018. He served in the Kentucky House of Representatives from 1994 to 2018. He also served as the Covington City Manager from 1986 to 1989, and the Assistant City Manager from 1984 to 1986. He has served on numerous community boards and organizations. He and his wife Jo Ann reside in Covington.

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.

Marie Rader

Former State Representative Marie Rader was appointed to the Commission by the Senate President in January, 2023. Rader represented a district comprised of Jackson and portions of Laurel and Madison Counties in the Kentucky House of Representatives from 1997 to 2018. She chaired the House Committee on Transportation and was a member of the Natural Resources and Energy, Appropriations and Revenue, and Education Committees. A native of McKee, she served as executive director of the Public Housing Authority, and as a member of the Jackson County Development Association and the Jackson County Industrial Authority. She is a graduate of Berea College. She has been active in the Jackson County Kiwanis, Eastern Kentucky Concentrated Employment Program, Daniel Boone Development Council, Cumberland Valley ADD, and City of McKee Council.

Katherine Gail Russell

Ms. Russell was appointed to the Commission by the Speaker of the House in May, 2021. She has a private law practice with the law firm of Tilford Dobbins & Schmidt PLLC in the area of bankruptcy, banking and collections, and serves on the Uniform Law Commission and on the Visiting Committee of the University of Kentucky J. David Rosenberg College of Law. A former Secretary of the Public Protection Cabinet, she also served as Counsel to the House Speaker, as a member of the Kentucky Racing Commission, the Kentucky Economic Development Partnership Board, the Kentucky 911 Services Board, and as the Small Business Ombudsman for the Public Protection Cabinet. She also has served as a Special Justice on the Kentucky Supreme Court. A native of Murray, Kentucky, she received her B.A. with highest distinction from the University of Mississippi and received her J.D. from the University of Kentucky.

Sal Santoro

Former State Representative Sal Santoro was appointed to the Commission by the Speaker of the House in January, 2023. He is President of Santoro Electric Company Inc. and a former Kentucky State Trooper. Santoro represented a portion of Boone County in the Kentucky House of Representatives from 2007 until 2022, serving as Chair of the House Budget Review Subcommittee on Transportation, and on the Appropriations and Revenue, Banking and Insurance, Licensing and Occupations, and Transportation committees. He has served on numerous civic and non-profit organizations, including the Northern Kentucky Convention Center and Visitors Bureau and the Florence Fire Protection District. He is also involved with the OKI (Ohio, Kentucky, Indiana) Regional Council Government. He received his undergraduate degree from the University of Cincinnati and a graduate degree from Xavier University. He and his wife, Sharon, reside in Union, and have three children and eleven grandchildren.

Christopher Lilly

Mr. Lilly was appointed to the Commission by the President of the Senate in July, 2025. He is currently a practicing lawyer in Boyle County. His prior work included working as an Attorney for the Legislative Research Commission, he was appointed by Governor Ernie Fletcher as Executive Director of the Kentucky Alcoholic Beverage Control, Commissioner of the Department of Public Protection and was the Executive Director for the Office of Charitable Gaming. He is a graduate of Eastern Kentucky University and the University of Kentucky Law School. He resides in Danville, Kentucky.

Vacant

This Commission member spot is vacant. When someone is appointed this will be updated.