State election regulators are investigating whether Gov. Sarah Palin violated state law when she said in front of TV cameras last summer that she would vote no on a controversial ballot measure that sought stricter limits on water pollution discharges from mines.
Six days before the election last August, someone asked Palin during a press conference for her opinion on Measure 4. She responded: "Let me take my governor's hat off just for a minute here and tell you, personally Prop 4, I vote no on that."
On Friday, the Alaska Public Offices Commission held a hearing on the Palin issue. The five-member commission has 11 days to issue a decision in writing.
State law says that a governor cannot spend money or "provide anything of value" to influence the outcome of a ballot measure unless the Legislature has appropriated money for that purpose.
Palin's statements provided Measure 4 opponents with "valuable aid" -- free publicity -- just before the vote, prompting a flurry of ads featuring her picture and saying "Gov. Sarah Palin Personally Opposes Measure 4."
"Palin's one minute of sharing her opinion on Measure 4 after someone asked her what she thought about it does not meet that criteria; also, Palin's right to express her own opinion is enshrined in the state's Constitution," said Mary Ann Lundquist, the state's senior assistant attorney general, in her brief defending the governor.
Some argue that if Palin had come out in favor of Measure 4, the mining industry would have cried foul just like its supporters have.
The way I see it, Sarah Palin exercised her right to free speech not as a citizen, but during a press conference in her capacity as governor, even though she took "her governor's hat off". She violated state law in the process, so the only thing left to say is that she should have kept her mouth shut!
This is the same Sarah Palin who wouldn't tell reporters how she voted on November 4!
Sarah Palin seems unable to abide by the law. Add to that her inability to control her tongue, many attorneys will be kept very busy for some time to come...
ADN report
Recall Sarah Palin
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When one's press flacks say the Governor is "on duty 24/7," one is always speaking as Governor.
ReplyDeleteIs that the level of legal competence among Talis Colberg's office staff? Legal violations are OK if they "only last a minute" (and then, of course, are milked and propogated for much longerby those the Queen agrees with)? New flash for the AG staff: if a murder takes under a minute to commit, that's not a defense. I can't think of any crime or violation whose duration is an element of the crime.
Her highness has rights of "expression" which allow her to violate legal requirements for her elected position--the legal requirements she agreed to when she took her oath of office? Just how easy is the Alaska bar exam, anyway?
Question: if the AG's office is saying she wasn't acting as governor here, why are Alaskan taxpayers on the hook for an official state agency to defend her as GOVERNOR at no cost to her?
ReplyDeleteOnce again, how can she possibly have it both ways? If any law really permits her to take off the GINO hat and speak as a private citizen, then in defending that "expression" she's a private citizen and should pay for her private legal defense.
GINO 24/7??? In name only!
ReplyDeleteShe only wears the governor's hat to collect per diems and travel with her family!
KW
Is there a support group for the ethically challenged?
ReplyDeleteSarah never takes responsibility for anything. So what will she say about this? I haven't seen her statement yet, but one will come, and it will be another one blaming others. Sarah does no wrong (in her mind) ever!
ReplyDeleteA hallmark symptom of NPD
Could we just get some trut with that tongue?
ReplyDeleteYou know, eventually she will do something SO egregious that it will be impossible to ignore, cover up or alibi, or just outright lie about.
ReplyDeletePeople with this track record eventually wake up with nothing.
She isn't looking too good right now...a bit harried and haggard. Maybe she's forgetting where she hid the evidence.
First of all, did she get her Governor's hat at Macy's?
ReplyDeleteSecondly, Sarah needs the "Employee Handbook For Governors" to figure out what it means to be a public servant, not just self serving.
Or perhaps she needs to get "Being a Governor For Dummies".