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Kai,<br><br>I think the difference is that she and McCain proclaim her as a reformer who won't do business as usual.<br><br>Sunil<br><br>> From: editor@lataheagle.com<br>> To: vision2020@moscow.com; thansen@moscow.com<br>> Date: Fri, 24 Oct 2008 10:03:52 -0700<br>> Subject: Re: [Vision2020] Palin Appointed Friends and Donors to Key Posts inAlaska<br>> <br>> Don't all politicians appoint friends, family and donors? For some reason I <br>> highly doubt that it is endemic to one party or person....<br>> <br>> --------------------------------------------------<br>> From: "Tom Hansen" <thansen@moscow.com><br>> Sent: Friday, October 24, 2008 9:25 AM<br>> To: <vision2020@moscow.com><br>> Subject: [Vision2020] Palin Appointed Friends and Donors to Key Posts <br>> inAlaska<br>> <br>> >>From the Los Angeles Times at:<br>> ><br>> > http://tinyurl.com/5ns4e3<br>> ><br>> > --------------------------------------------------<br>> ><br>> > Palin appointed friends and donors to key posts in Alaska, records show<br>> > 100-plus jobs went to campaign donors or their relatives, sometimes<br>> > without apparent regard to qualifications. Several donors got state-<br>> > subsidized loans for business ventures of dubious public value.<br>> > By Charles Piller<br>> ><br>> > October 24, 2008<br>> ><br>> > Reporting from Anchorage - Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, plucked from relative<br>> > obscurity in part for her reform credentials, has been eager to tout them<br>> > in her vice presidential campaign.<br>> ><br>> > "I took on the old politics as usual in Juneau when I stood up to the<br>> > special interests and the lobbyists and the big oil companies and the good<br>> > old boys," Palin told the Republican National Convention in her acceptance<br>> > speech. She said that as a new governor she "shook things up, and in short<br>> > order we put the government of our state back on the side of the people."<br>> ><br>> > By midway through her first term, she had signed an ethics reform bill,<br>> > increased oil profit taxes and tweaked Big Oil again by awarding a gas<br>> > pipeline contract to a Canadian company.<br>> ><br>> > In some other respects, a Los Angeles Times examination of state records<br>> > shows, her approach to government was business as usual. Take, for<br>> > example, the tradition of patronage. Some of Palin's most controversial<br>> > appointments involved donors, records show.<br>> ><br>> > Among The Times' findings:<br>> ><br>> > * More than 100 appointments to state posts -- nearly 1 in 4 -- went to<br>> > campaign contributors or their relatives, sometimes without apparent<br>> > regard to qualifications.<br>> ><br>> > * Palin filled 16 state offices with appointees from families that donated<br>> > $2,000 to $5,600 and were among her top political patrons.<br>> ><br>> > * Several of Palin's leading campaign donors received state-subsidized<br>> > industrial development loans of up to $3.6 million for business ventures<br>> > of questionable public value.<br>> ><br>> > * Palin picked a donor to replace the public safety commissioner she<br>> > fired. But the new top cop had to resign days later under an ethics cloud.<br>> > And Palin drew a formal ethics complaint still pending against her and<br>> > several aides for allegedly helping another donor and fundraiser land a<br>> > state job.<br>> ><br>> > Most new governors install friends and supporters in state jobs. But<br>> > Alaska historians say some of Palin's appointees were less qualified than<br>> > those of her Republican and Democratic predecessors.<br>> ><br>> > University of Alaska historian Steve Haycox said Palin has been a<br>> > reformer. But he said she has a penchant for placing supporters, many of<br>> > them ill-prepared, in high posts. He called it "cronyism" far beyond what<br>> > previous governors have done and a contradiction of her high-minded<br>> > philosophy.<br>> ><br>> > Terrence Cole, an Alaska political historian, said Palin had in some cases<br>> > shown "a disrespect for experience."<br>> ><br>> > Administration officials disputed such criticism. They said campaign<br>> > contributions were not a factor in state appointments. Frank Bailey, the<br>> > state's directorof boards and commissions, in speaking for Palin, who was<br>> > not available to answer inquiries from The Times, said, "We are always<br>> > seeking the best-qualified folks."<br>> ><br>> > In a little-noted sequel to Palin's controversial dismissal of her public<br>> > safety commissioner, the governor replaced Walt Monegan with former small-<br>> > town Police Chief Charles Kopp of Kenai. The appointment unraveled almost<br>> > immediately in what Cole called a vetting catastrophe.<br>> ><br>> > A previous sexual harassment complaint came to light and Kopp had to<br>> > resign two weeks after taking over. Alaska paid him $10,000 in severance.<br>> ><br>> > After another of Palin's campaign donors and fundraisers landed a civil<br>> > service job with the state department of transportation, GOP activist<br>> > Andree McLeod filed an ethics complaint against the governor and several<br>> > aides, alleging that improper pressure was used to help Tom Lamal.<br>> ><br>> > Lamal, a public school teacher in Fairbanks until he retired in 2006, was<br>> > hired as a right-of-way agent despite reports of internal conflicts over<br>> > whether he was qualified under state law.<br>> ><br>> > E-mail messages between Palin aides, obtained by McLeod under the state<br>> > public records act, indicate that the hiring was pushed "through the<br>> > roadblocks" by a deputy to one of Palin's appointees. And Palin aide<br>> > Bailey sent Lamal a congratulatory note saying, in part, "Well now your<br>> > foot's back in the door and maybe we can tap you for other things."<br>> ><br>> > Lamal declined to be interviewed for this article.<br>> ><br>> > Palin spokesman William McAllister declined to comment because of an<br>> > ongoing state personnel board inquiry.<br>> ><br>> > Palin told the Anchorage Daily News in August that her office merely<br>> > worked to fix a "glitch" that prevented Lamal's hiring because of outdated<br>> > job requirements, and that no favors were given.<br>> ><br>> > In other state appointments, records show that all five Palin selections<br>> > for the powerful Natural Gas Development Authority, which oversees a<br>> > proposed gas pipeline project, were donors. They included Kathryn Lamal,<br>> > wife of Tom Lamal.<br>> ><br>> > She appointed Kristan Cole, a school friend and a campaign donor, to the<br>> > Board of Agriculture and Conservation, a farm regulatory position that by<br>> > state law must go to people with strong business experience. Cole is a<br>> > real estate agent.<br>> ><br>> > All three appointees to the Board of Public Accountancy, which oversees<br>> > the accounting industry, gave to her campaign for governor, as did all<br>> > three appointees to the Local Boundary Commission, which regulates<br>> > contentious land annexations by local governments.<br>> ><br>> > Palin reappointed donor Steve Frank to the Alaska Permanent Fund Corp.,<br>> > which manages Alaska's $29-billion oil revenue nest egg. Frank, a former<br>> > Republican legislator, is married to another leading donor, Linda<br>> > Anderson, a lobbyist for power and tourism companies, among others.<br>> ><br>> > The Permanent Fund position earns a $400-a-day honorarium. Most other<br>> > board and commission appointees receive per diem and travel expenses.<br>> > Regardless of compensation, experts said, such appointments are coveted<br>> > for their power and prestige, or as a political stepping stone.<br>> ><br>> > Palin spokesman McAllister said that most Cabinet-level officials she<br>> > appointed were not donors. In every state, he added, people who "apply to<br>> > serve in a voluntary role are typically supporters of the governor."<br>> ><br>> > Records show that Palin donors obtained state-subsidized business loans<br>> > from the Alaska Industrial Development and Export Authority, or AIDEA,<br>> > whose mission is to encourage "economic growth and diversification of the<br>> > state, including expansion of small businesses."<br>> ><br>> > In one case, Jae G. Lee, a former Los Angeles businessman who is the<br>> > proprietor of Party Time, a rundown grocery store and bottle shop in<br>> > Anchorage, sought a $2.7-million state loan to buy an aging strip mall in<br>> > midtown Anchorage. It was on the market because of a glut of similar malls<br>> > in the area, all of them losing customers to big-box stores.<br>> ><br>> > Lee and his wife, who had contributed $3,000 worth of office space to<br>> > Palin's 2006 campaign, won the low-interest, state-backed mortgage<br>> > although it was unclear how the old mall would add jobs. Lee said he did<br>> > nothing to improve his acquisition, but with the cheap loan his profits<br>> > have been robust.<br>> ><br>> > Lee said he did not seek Palin's help to obtain the loan.<br>> ><br>> > Two other state-backed loans with favorable terms and questionable<br>> > development benefits went to Palin contributor and local dentist Scott<br>> > Laudon and his partners. The investors got $1.2 million to refinance debt<br>> > on Northern Lights Village -- a gritty collection of shops including<br>> > massage and tattoo parlors, a secondhand-clothing store and a video<br>> > arcade. Its neighbors along a 1 1/2 -mile stretch of Northern Lights<br>> > Boulevard in midtown Anchorage include a dozen strip malls.<br>> ><br>> > Laudon and other partners also received $3.6 million to buy two automated<br>> > car washes in Anchorage. The benefit to Alaska, according to the approval<br>> > documents, was the retention of five jobs -- which would have remained<br>> > without the subsidy. Laudon declined to comment.<br>> ><br>> > The Times requested documentation on the Lee and Laudon loans, including<br>> > interest rates, from AIDEA on Sept. 25, but the agency has not released<br>> > the materials and has declined to discuss details.<br>> ><br>> > The agency "probably looked at it this way: 'This is a good loan that will<br>> > be paid back,' " said Bob Poe, former AIDEA chief. "That helps them<br>> > produce income to make other loans, much like a bank." As economic<br>> > development, however, both loans sound questionable, he said.<br>> ><br>> > Three Palin appointees to the AIDEA board also gave to her campaign for<br>> > governor. This year the board picked Palin donor Ted Leonard as chief<br>> > executive of the $1.2-billion agency. His principal credential was having<br>> > been financial manager of tiny Wasilla, Alaska. Palin appointed him to the<br>> > city post when she was mayor.<br>> ><br>> > Agency spokesman Karsten Rodvik said that Palin was not directly involved<br>> > in the selection and that Leonard was the top applicant because of his<br>> > long and diverse experience in finance and economic development. He also<br>> > said that AIDEA managers were "not aware" of any influence by Palin or her<br>> > aides on any loans.<br>> ><br>> > Some of Palin's other appointments have been controversial.<br>> ><br>> > Franci Havemeister, one of several of Palin's childhood friends tapped for<br>> > leadership jobs, heads the state agriculture division. A former real<br>> > estate agent, she was ridiculed in Alaska after it was reported that she<br>> > had cited among her qualifications for the job a childhood love of cows.<br>> ><br>> > And Palin's choice for attorney general, Talis Colberg, stirred<br>> > considerable puzzlement: He was virtually unknown beyond her circle near<br>> > Wasilla. Colberg, who had a solo law practice and little management<br>> > experience, now oversees 500 professionals.<br>> ><br>> > Colberg was criticized by both Republican and Democratic legislators for<br>> > his handling of the recent investigation of Palin's actions in a<br>> > controversy involving her ex-brother-in-law -- a state trooper -- and<br>> > Monegan. A Superior Court judge overruled Colberg's move to quash<br>> > investigative subpoenas in the case.<br>> ><br>> > --------------------------------------------------<br>> ><br>> > Seeya round at Farmers' Market and the Homecoming Parade, Moscow.<br>> ><br>> > Tom Hansen<br>> > Moscow, Idaho<br>> > UI '96<br>> ><br>> > "We're a town of about 23,000 with 10,000 college students. The college<br>> > students are not very active in local elections (thank goodness!)."<br>> ><br>> > - Dale Courtney (March 28, 2007)<br>> ><br>> ><br>> > ---------------------------------------------<br>> > This message was sent by First Step Internet.<br>> > http://www.fsr.com/<br>> ><br>> ><br>> ><br>> <br>> <br>> <br>> > =======================================================<br>> > List services made available by First Step Internet,<br>> > serving the communities of the Palouse since 1994.<br>> > http://www.fsr.net<br>> > mailto:Vision2020@moscow.com<br>> > =======================================================<br>> Kai Eiselein<br>> Editor, Latah Eagle <br>> <br>> =======================================================<br>> List services made available by First Step Internet, <br>> serving the communities of the Palouse since 1994. <br>> http://www.fsr.net <br>> mailto:Vision2020@moscow.com<br>> =======================================================<br></body>
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