PITTSBURGH -- It's a telling sign that it's been hard to pin down through much of the day who, if anyone, is on the five-member Pittsburgh's Ethics Hearings Board.

The latest word is nobody, and that it's been dormant for more than a decade.

But it appears that will soon change.

Councilwoman Twanda Carlisle's controversies are bringing heat to her City Council colleagues and the O'Connor administration to revive Pittsburgh's Ethics Hearings Board.

Former Republican candidate for mayor Joe Weinroth testified he doesn't want to see more video of city officials running from television cameras. He's asking the council and the mayor to fill the five ethics board vacancies.

"There's a need for this now in Pittsbugh. You need to step up and meet a higher standard," Weinroth said.

It turns out the City Council passed Pittsburgh's own ethics code of conduct back in the early 1990s.

But the council and then-mayor Murphy let appointments to the panel lapse.

City Solicitor Susan Malie was the one who reviewed Carlisle's activities and decided to refer them to the district attorney and the State Ethics Commission.

She admits that in any future investigations, the ethics panel would have had powers she lacks, like subpoena power.

"They would have a variety of alternatives available to them. They would make recommendations for example of public admonition, public censure. And they could make a recommendation to the mayor of impeachment," Malie said.

Pittsburgh Councilman Bill Peduto said he'll introduce a resolution next week to fill out the ethics board within 30 days.

"If anything, recent events have brought forth the need for this commission. And that's why we really need to have something in place sooner rather than later," Peduto said.

A spokesman for Mayor Bob O'Connor said he hopes to have nominations to fill all of the vacancies on Pittsburgh's Ethics Hearing Board before the council within a month.

Council President Luke Ravenstahl introduced his tougher spending oversight proposals Monday and said he hopes to see final passage in two weeks.