Posted on 06/23/2009 5:55:48 PM PDT by DB9
Tuesday, June 23, 2009 Fifteenth Ethics Complaint Dismissed! Andree McLeod's Latest Complaint Bites the Dust! By R. A. Mansour
Here's the governor's press release:
Fifteenth Ethics Complaint Dismissed
June 23, 2009, Anchorage, Alaska – The 15th ethics complaint filed against the governor 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.
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.”
“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.”
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.”
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.”
“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.”
In the past two years, the state of Alaska has spent millions of dollars processing ethics complaints, public records requests, and related lawsuits.
We'll try to get a copy of the AG's report if it's available.
In the meantime, donate to the Alaska Fund Trust to retire her legal debt racked up because of these frivolous complaints.
You can read my earlier coverage of the complaint against Kris Perry here and here.
UPDATE by RAM: Sean Cockerham at the ADN's Alaska Politics Blog has a post on this:
The dismissal said there was no evidence "suggesting that Perry misused her state time in any substantial way or did not intend to benefit the public interest when accompanying the governor on her trips."
It said the purpose of Perry going with the governor on the vice presidential campaign trail -- and later to Georgia when Palin campaigned there for Sen. Saxby Chambliss -- was to ensure Palin remained in contact with state business. That required Perry to be at political events, it said.
"We would not have been surprised to learn that, during the fall campaign period, or even the day in Georgia, Ms. Perry did something that may appear to be a campaign activity. But the appearance of impropriety does not establish an ethics violation. ... 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," said the dismissal.
It was signed by Julia Bockman, ethics attorney in the attorney general's office.
Cockerham also has reactions from Andree:
McLeod called the dismissal of her complaint a "whitewash" done in-house by the governor's team and said she was told she couldn't appeal.
"Beyond a shadow of a doubt this dismissal demonstrates a breakdown in the complaint process. All the evidentiary documents I have point to Kris perry campaigning on the public's dime and time," McLeod said.
McLeod has had multiple ethics complaints against Palin dismissed, although, in response to one of her complaints, a personnel board investigator did recommend ethics training for a close aide of the governor.
All of Andree's complaints have been tossed out. Period. End of story. She needs to get a new hobby (or some better meds).
Her "evidentiary documents" included this photo of Kris Perry holding baby Trig while the Palins were eating pizza on the Straight Talk Express last fall...
And this photo of Kris Perry and the governor having lunch poolside during a break in the RGA meeting last November...
Shocking, isn't it. How on earth could the attorney general not immediately arrest Kris Perry for that?
Cockerham zeroed in on the statement from the governor's press release that the state has spent "millions of dollars processing ethics complaints, public records requests, and related lawsuits."
That's the first time I've heard the state use the word "millions" to describe the costs.
I'll ask the governor's office for a breakdown of how they figured it.
You do that, Sean. Think Pulitzer, buddy.
When does anyone on our side ever counter sue for harassment? These suits against Palin are obviously bogus. At the very least, get some attorneys in trouble for bringing the cases to court.
But no, always on the defensive, our side.
Sarah Palin just plain scares Liberals sh1tless. Ya gotta love her.
I agree, stop farting around with these people and take them to court and make them pay
If Sarah runs I’m behind her 100%.
Donate to Sarah’s legal defense fund. I got an email today saying they had only raised a little over 5k and the debt is a little over 500K. I was surprised that she didn’t raise that much the first week.
I donated again tonight.
[cue Freddie Mercury]
“...Another one bites the dust!
“...Another one bites the dust!
“And another one gone,
“And another one gone,
“Another one bites the dust!
“Hey! I’m gonna get you too!
“Another one bites the dust!”
Some notes on our FRiend Andree - found on the web
Andree McLeod—a registered Republican who was once a close political associate of Palin’s and who has worked at a variety of jobs in Alaskan government...
Andree McLeod, the Anchorage activist who's usually busy second-guessing the governor's ethics, is unhappy with the way some state workers dress
According to Kyle Hopkins at the Anchorage Daily News, in an interview with Governor Palin about the complaint she said, “This is the same Andree McLeod that follows us around at public events and camps herself out in our waiting area and hounds us for a job, asking us if there's a way she can go around Workplace Alaska and not have to go through the system to get a job with this administration,”
And from the Andy Halcro blog - and Andy is no fan of the Governor
Andrew, I have great respect for you. Therefore, I hope you have the wisdom to disassociate yourself from the “falafel lady.” Andree is a bright, but misguided, woman. She is a bit like a female version of Ray Metcalf: a true political gadfly who loves “stirring the pot.” She's run, quite unsuccessfully, for several public offices. The only difference between Ray and Andree is that Andree's allegiance seems to change as the wind blows. If we want to talk ethics, has anyone looked into Ms. McLeod's track record: Are you aware she gave $1,000 to Frank Murkowski for the 2006 State Primary. Perhaps it's JUST a coincidence, but she later became a State employee. Open and transparent she is not. Lest you think this is mere mudslingling on my part, it is not. These are statements of fact. I've watched Ms. McLeod from the sidelines since about 1999 trying desperately to gain attention. Hopefully, she's gotten her fill for now.
Locally, the lady is viewed as a nut or gadfly at best. Which is to say - no cred and going downhill fast.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.