[Vision2020] Complaint Targets Palins' Travel

[Tom Hansen]

>From the Anchorage Daily News at:

http://www.adn.com/sarah-palin/story/572474.html
 
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Complaint targets Palins' travel
TICKETS FOR KIDS: Personnel Board will review accusation.

By KYLE HOPKINS
khopkins at adn.com

A new complaint accuses Gov. Sarah Palin of breaking state ethics rules by 
charging the state for her kids' airline tickets to various events. 

Frank Gwartney, a retired electrical power lineman from Anchorage, filed 
the complaint with the attorney general Friday. The state Personnel Board -
- which is currently investigating the governor's firing of her former 
public safety officer -- will review this accusation too. 

"It's just such a blatant misuse of state money," Gwartney said Wednesday.

Palin's office says the state considers the kids' publicly funded travel 
as official First Family business and that Palin only takes her kids to 
events they're invited to.

The Washington Post and Daily News reported in early September that the 
state has spent tens of thousands of dollars on Palin family travel. The 
topic grabbed headlines again last week when The Associated Press reported 
that the state paid $21,000 for commercial flights for Palin's daughters. 

Some event organizers were surprised to see the children arrive, or agreed 
to a request from the governor to allow them to attend, the AP reported.

Gwartney's complaint says Palin broke rules that forbid state officials 
from using their jobs for personal gain -- in this case buying tickets 
that she would otherwise have to pay for herself. It cites various news 
reports as evidence. 

Palin, a Republican, is running for vice president. Gwartney is a 
registered Democrat and said he has donated to Sen. Barack Obama's 
presidential campaignbut is not working for the Obama camp. 

His complaint also criticizes the governor for amending travel records to 
say that family members were on official business while on the road. 

Palin spokeswoman Sharon Leighow said the reports were amended to make 
them more accurate, not to mislead.

Assistant Attorney General Dave Jones said any pending ethics complaints 
are considered confidential and couldn't confirm the state had received 
the complaint. In general, he said, accusations against the governor are 
handled by the Personnel Board rather than by the Department of Law.

A McCain-Palin spokesman dismissed the complaint.

"This is a purely political stunt less than six days from the election 
that not only violates the law that requires Personnel Board complaints to 
be confidential, but raises serious questions about the motives of Mr. 
Gwartney, a stated Obama supporter," said campaign spokesman Taylor 
Griffin. "Governor Palin has always acted with the highest standards of 
ethics."

Another ethics complaint, filed in August by former state employee Andree 
McLeod, alleged the state circumvented hiring practices to help a 
Fairbanks Palin supporter get a job. In that case, Palin has said the 
state fixed a "glitch" that prevented an applicant from moving through the 
hiring process.

An investigator hired by state legislators reported on Oct. 10 that Palin 
abused her power in pressing for the firing of a state trooper who was 
once married to her sister but acted within her authority firing her 
former public safety commissioner. 

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Seeya at the polls, Moscow.

Tom Hansen
Moscow, Idaho
 
"We're a town of about 23,000 with 10,000 college students. The college 
students are not very active in local elections (thank goodness!)."

- Dale Courtney (March 28, 2007)


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