Posted by
Ron Devito on Tuesday, June 23, 2009 11:23:39 PM
Editor's Note:
there were 15 complaints in Alaska's system and one with the Federal
Election Commission, which makes the total 16. All have been dismissed.
The
15th ethics complaint filed against Governor Palin or one of her staff
has been dismissed. The complaint, filed by Andree McLeod against
Anchorage Office Director Kris Perry, alleged Perry used her official
position for personal gain by traveling with the governor on three
occasions (Ethics Complaint, 2009, ¶1).
The complaint was filed
even after Perry obtained an opinion from her ethics supervisor, Linda
Perez. In the opinion, dated September 28, 2008, Perez concluded, “By
officially staffing the governor, you will be providing a more
efficient means for direct communication between the state and the
governor. It is in the best interest of the state at this time to have
a state employee provide that staff function to ensure that information
is provided timely to the governor and any decisions, questions or
directions relayed back to the state” (Ethics Complaint, 2009, ¶2).
“It
is outrageous to file an ethics complaint against a state employee who
sought and obtained ethics guidance in advance,” Mike Nizich, the
governor’s chief of staff, said. “This is not about ethics. This is not
about holding the governor or state employees accountable. This is pure
harassment” (Ethics Complaint, 2009, ¶3).
In dismissing the
complaint on June 5, 2009, Acting Attorney General Richard Svobodny
concurred with the conclusions of the investigator that “[t]he evidence
reviewed does not support the alleged violations of the Ethics Act or
suggest the need for further investigation. Under these circumstances,
Ms. Perry was not using her official position for her own personal gain
or to provide an unwarranted benefit to Governor Palin in violation of
AS 39.52.120 (a) because Ms. Perry was traveling on authorized state
business” (Ethics Complaint, 2009, ¶4)
The investigator
continued: “We would also be remiss in not stating for the record that
for the highly unusual situation of the vice presidential campaign, and
even the two other trips, the record clearly shows that Ms. Perry gave
far more of her personal time to the state of Alaska than she may have
used state time, if any, for non-state-related or unavoidable personal
activities” (Ethics Complaint, 2009, ¶5).
“While asserting false
accusations of ethics law violations, the complainant simultaneously
violates the same ethics law by publicizing her malicious accusations,"
Perry said. “These improper actions benefit no one, waste state money
and resources, and only seek to damage reputations” (Ethics Complaint,
2009, ¶6).
In the past two years, the state of Alaska has spent
millions of dollars processing ethics complaints, public records
requests, and related lawsuits (Ethics Complaint, 2009, ¶7).
Commentary
Every
ethics complaint filed against Governor Palin thus far has been
dismissed. Every last one of them shares one, some or all of the
following characteristics: the complainant had a grudge against the
Governor in particular or the State of Alaska in General and chose to
take the grievance out on her; complainant was a Democrat operative,
often with connections that run deep into the Obama administration;
complainant had a financial or other vested interest in pursuing
complaint.
While we are on the subject of ethics complaints, this is a good time to once again ask that you donate to
the Alaska Fund Trust
to retire Governor Palin's legal expenses, which were incurred fighting
complaints like the one just dismissed. Governor Palin has a little
over $385K remaining of her original $500K bill thanks to your help. If
2,567 people each donate the maximum amount of $150, her debt will be
wiped clean. But anything you can afford is greatly appreciated.
References
Fifteenth ethics complaint dismissed. (2009, June 23). State of Alaska, Governor. Retrieved June 23, 2009 from: http://www.gov.state.ak.us/news.php?id=1923