Additional changes to ethics process proposed
The Associated Press
JUNEAU – The state could be asked to pay the cost of private attorneys hired by a governor accused of breaking ethics laws, under a bill proposed by an Anchorage Democrat.
The bill introduced Friday by Rep. Max Gruenberg Jr. applies to current and former officials accused of executive branch ethics violations. It would leave the state open to paying unspecified “reasonable” fees if the official accused was cleared in the matter or the case was dismissed.
Gruenberg did not immediately return a call seeking comment.
Ethics questions hounded former Gov. Sarah Palin before she stepped down last year, and she’s complained the state ethics process helped push her from office.
At least two other lawmakers have cited Palin’s situation for their concerns about the ethics process. They’ve proposed barring people who lodge complaints against executive branch officials from saying so.
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January 15th, 2010 at 12:55 pm
Why should the average joe pay for this? This is all a part of the political game that you play once you run for office. If a poor man was able to run for office I could see paying the money but as long as political office is held by the upper class, the lower classes should not have to foot there bill. We already have enough that we have to pay for.
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January 15th, 2010 at 3:18 pm
This is wrong. I also agreed with all of the ethic complaints that were filed against Sarah Palin and I don’t think the process should be changed because of Sarah Palins lack of ethics.
I also think the public should be part of this process if any changes are going to be made.
And I think the idea that an ethic complaint would be tossed out if it became public knowledge is wrong, because the public has a right to know if complaints are being filed.
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January 15th, 2010 at 3:40 pm
Antipalin: how is it you are paying for this? Your state income tax? And only make it for the poor legislator/senator, because they are all millionaires? So by your logic, you should get a bigger break on your trailer and lot space than I would with my house and 1/2 acre of waterfront because you have enough to pay for now and it’s not fair?
Hendricks: This is right. you agreed with the complaints because you don’t like her, doesn’t make them right. they were a joke, the Anti-Palin crowd was using that avenue to make noise, period. How about if police reports were public knowledge prior to your conviction? your neighbor doesn’t like you, calls the cops and tells them you are molesting kids as they walk by your trailer, it gets printed in the paper now everyone knows about you, wait, it was untrue? unbelievable!! what now?
If there is no violation, there shouldn’t be a public record, and I think at least issuing gag orders until the investigation is over should be the first step.
Maybe the bill should be paid for by the losing party, that is the way it is in other legal matters and this is a legal process, maybe then we won’t have to worry about Betty Pantiesinawad filing a complaint when she sees a nike logo on the governor’s socks.
And this bill is coming from a democrat so it’s not all about Sarah.
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January 15th, 2010 at 3:47 pm
Public officials should work on understanding the ethics they have to abide by so they don’t violate them, rather than retooling the system so that it suits them.
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January 15th, 2010 at 3:53 pm
Frank n beans – actually you are wrong. I agreed with the complaints because I felt her actions were unethical, as did many other Alaskans.
And the police does report infractions of the Public before that person has a day in court, via the police blotter and all the radio stations, it should not be any different for someone who holds a public office.
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January 15th, 2010 at 4:10 pm
Actually you are wrong, If i called the police right now and told them you are selling oxy out of your trailer it would not be in the police blotter or on the news until there was some kind of action taken, and if they investigate it and find nothing the general public would never know you may be a drug dealer. Now if they raid your house, pull you over, arrest you, it will probably be in the paper, seeing how they are cracking down on oxy dealers. And almost all of the complaints were a joke.
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January 15th, 2010 at 5:00 pm
well not to argue with you Beans, but I know for a fact that I am right and it does happen all the time.
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January 15th, 2010 at 7:54 pm
I disagree with having lawyers and charades. State employees are required to bring ethics concerns, but most squelch or retaliate. Why even bother with more lies and lawyers twiddling their thumbs until they get a chance to make up a bunch of lies?
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January 15th, 2010 at 8:07 pm
MILA COSGROVE had a good deal ignoring ethics complaints during the murky days. Even as the statute says inaction proscribed, lawbreaking was a consensus between Joel Casto, Art Chance and the revolving door mimes at the AFSCME . All the free lawyers for as much and as many laws as she could break.
And the AG managers say scheming PERJURY is a ‘healthy option.’
http://www.juneauempire.com/stories/112005/sta_20051120003.shtml
Division of Personnel Director Mila Cosgrove said there has been no mass elimination of employees, though work experiences can vary in each department.
Cosgrove said the study of a half year of payroll records is the first of its kind for the state.
Jennifer Ditchario, an office manager in the Department of Law, said work conditions are satisfactory.
“I haven’t lost anyone to the private sector,” she said. With many law firms in the state not hiring, the Department of Law is a healthy option for those in the legal field looking for work, she said.
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January 16th, 2010 at 12:14 am
The rest of the leggies need to be on this conflict/self deal like white on rice:
According to FollowTheMoney.org ,Max Gruenberg Jr. (listed at Alaska Bar Association) financed his own campaign to the tune of nearly a quarter million in 1992.
http://www.followthemoney.org/database/search.phtml?searchbox=Max+Gruenberg+Jr.+&CurrentType=Contributors&so1=r#sorttable1
And it shows individual contributions to his campaigns are mostly attorneys and lawfirms.
The APOC website shows a few more contributors from real estate industry including the Gottsteins who were associated with some of Mark Begiche’s ‘ethical’ land deals and zoning decisions as Mayor.
Why doesn’t the Bar Association just delegate some of it’s attorneys do ethics cases pro-bono instead of setting up another hemmorage of money through the AG office? The state has better things to spend money on than an army of overpaid incomps ginning up lies to protect unethical SOA employees.
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January 16th, 2010 at 9:10 am
The rest of the leggies need to be on this conflict/self deal like white on rice:
According to FollowTheMoney.org ,Max Gruenberg Jr. (listed at Alaska Bar Association) financed his own campaign to the tune of nearly a quarter million in 1992.
http://www.followthemoney.org/database/search.phtml?searchbox=Max+Gruenberg+Jr.+&CurrentType=Contributors&so1=r#sorttable1
And it shows individual contributions to his campaigns are mostly attorneys and lawfirms.
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January 16th, 2010 at 10:40 am
Hendricks has some good points. Because when someone is arrested and before they have their day in court to be found guilty or not guilty by the state, the case is all over the Juneau Empire and the radio stations. I dont see why it should be any different for anyone in the executive branch. When an ethics complaint is filed, the Public certainly has a right to know especially if the employee is of the executive branch of government.
I think Sarah Palin was the most unethical Governor Alaska has ever had to experience. Someone should have clued her into her gross misconduct but Sarah Palin had an incredible flippant attitude about what the public was saying and she did not care.
If anything needs fixing with the ethics process it appears there is a need to make clear to employees what actions fall into the realm of unethical conduct. I would start with compiling the list of complaints filed against Sarah Palin.
…….Carting kids around the country to events that they were not invited to and staying at costly hotels and then having the state pay all the associated bills, running for another office and not taking care of state business and also using state employees and equipment on your campaign for the other job, wearing clothing at events that have logos on them which advertise products for companies that your family receives benefits from…. these are just a few of the very basic ethic violations that anyone in public office should know not to do, but Sarah Palin apparently did not know and she did not seem to care that what she was doing bothered the general public.
So it would seem starting with some basic education on expected ethical conduct is better than tweaking the ethics process so that complaints are hidden from the general Public. And certainly tossing out a complaint just because it becomes public knowledge is clearly wrong. I would say this would have to hold true for the general public and their infractions with state law, if the infraction becomes public knowledge before they have their day in court to determine innocence or guilt, then the states case has to get tossed out, otherwise its a double standard.
Public officials have to be held to the highest of ethical standards and if any conduct falls into a gray area then they should just not do it and if a public official has a problem with this then they should not be in public office.
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January 16th, 2010 at 10:42 am
This bill reeks. I am embarrassed that a fellow Democrat wants to help this process along.
And if it does pass, issuing gag orders is the worst of it all. Imagine the following:
1. The Governor takes a bribe from an oil-friendly executive (like THAT’s never happened before).
2. A concerned citizen discovers it, files an ethics complaint.
3. Attorney General issues gag order pending an investigation.
4. Friend of the Governor “leaks” the information and points fingers at the concerned citizen.
5. Attorney General dismisses the case, protecting his boss, the Governor.
This bill doesn’t pass the smell test. There are ulterior motives everywhere.
Rep Gruenberg, you need to withdraw/kill this bill.
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January 16th, 2010 at 12:20 pm
John.P. Time to grow up and quit your whining and crying! All we here from you is how un-fair everything is, State employee unions, co-workers. If i had to listen to that all day i’d send you packing also!! Have you tried having your mommy call the parents of your employer and co-workers to discourage them from treating little johnny unfairly?
Time to put on your big boy underwear and quit your whining!!!
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January 16th, 2010 at 1:44 pm
Legislation proposed by a lawyer whose campaign donors include lawyers.
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January 16th, 2010 at 1:51 pm
Does this mean I will finally get paid for calling out ethics violations?
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January 16th, 2010 at 3:33 pm
http://www.followthemoney.org/database/search.phtml?searchbox=Max+Gruenberg+Jr.+&CurrentType=Contributors&so1=r#sorttable1
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January 16th, 2010 at 3:40 pm
No cooter, my mom is dead.
Your state is bona-fide corrupt. Now some lawyer wants to make an industry out of creating the illusion that it is not a corrupt state, and you idiots will probably go for it. That’s really going to help the reprehensible behavior?
Too bad you are too stupid to see through the smoke and mirrors to see the self-dealing.
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January 16th, 2010 at 4:23 pm
Does Gruenberg run unopposed? Here’s more of his ‘ethical’ friends.
Int Brotherhood of Electrical Workers $2,000
AK State Employees Assoc Local 52 $2,000
AK Public Employees Local 71 $2,000
Public Safety Employees Assoc $1,500
AK Public Employees Assoc $1,500
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March 11th, 2010 at 12:38 am
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