Alaska’s Tea Partier Joe Miller’s Day of Wreckoning for His U.S. Senate Bid?
In summary, Joe Miller would like to make an unequivocal statement about the circumstances surrounding his resignation from public service with the Borough:
“There was no personal scandal, nor were there any negative performance issues relating to my voluntary resignation. I resigned voluntarily and, as demonstrated by the attached documents, there is no truth to any of the charges, salacious or otherwise, being spread by the opposition’s whisper campaign against me. It is time for the slander and lies to stop. Saul Alinsky has no place in a Republican primary.” Joe Miller, candidate for U.S. Senate-Alaska – from Miller Speaks to FNSB Issues, 7-14-2010
North to Alaska. Tea Party U.S. Senate candidate Joe Miller probably hoped he could put this off until November 3rd, the day after the midterm election, but tomorrow, under a court order, the Fairbanks North Star Borough (FNSB) will release some of his personnel files, with some documents redacted.
Though Miller fought to delay the court order, on Sunday, Superior Court Judge Winston Burbank ordered their release Tuesday afternoon (to allow the parties to appeal to the Alaska Supreme Court). The files may disclose facts related to his disciplining for a 2008 ethics violation while he served as a part-time attorney for FNSB from 2002 to 2008.
During an October 19th CNN interview, and again during a public debate Sunday night, Miller admitted to violating the FNSB Code of Ethics in 2008. His ethical faux pas: a one-time use of FNSB computers for political purposes (an attempt to vote in an online opinion poll regarding the Chairman of the Alaska Republican Party, about whom Miller disapproved). [For more background on this issue see my post here.]
How this yet unresolved scandal will play out – and whether, in the end, it will be viewed as a scandal at all – depends, of course, on what is revealed in Tuesday’s release of Miller’s FNSB personnel records. Since polling data has not yet truly reflected the controversy, unknown is the affect on the campaign, which appears to have narrowed the race to a toss up between incumbent Republican Lisa Murkowski (running as a write-in) and Joe Miller. Democrat Scott McAdams trails by double digits, but is perhaps in a spoiler’s roll. (Miller 37% to Murkowski 37% to MCAdams 23% with 2% “no opinion,” and 1% indicating “neither,” as of Oct. 19, via a CNN/Time poll [likely voters]).
Which, What and Where? Which FNSB Code of Ethics rule did Mr. Miller violate? What’s the wording of the code section(s)? And where is it written? Well, here’s the link to the FAIRBANKS NORTH STAR BOROUGH CODE website where you can investigate. Once there,
- go to the sidebar on the left and click the plus (+) to expand the entries;
- then go to and click on Chapter 2.25: CODE OF ETHICS FOR MAYOR AND BOROUGH EMPLOYEES
- Have a look at the subsections, browse around, but see the sections below:
2.25.120 Misuse of official position. A. The mayor or a borough employee may not use, or attempt to use, his or her official position for personal gain, and may not intentionally secure or grant unwarranted benefits or treatment for any person.
[Section] B. The mayor or a borough employee may not:
(Unrelated subsections omitted, notes in brackets [ ] are mine)
3. Use borough time, property, equipment, or other facilities to benefit personal or financial interests; [Miller admitted to using FNSB computer equipment for personal interests, as defined below]
7. Use or authorize the use of borough funds, facilities, equipment, services, or another government asset or resource to include borough letterhead or logo with the intent to differentially benefit or harm a candidate or potential candidate for elective office or a political party or group. [At Sunday night’s debate, Miller admitted that he had participated in a “private [political] poll during his lunch hour,” allegedly to harm the reelection prospects of the then Chairman of the Alaska Republican Party.]
[Section] C. A borough employee who, during his scheduled work hours, engages in political campaign activities shall take approved leave for the period of campaigning. [Arguably, Miller’s actions may be construed as “campaign activities,” although, as to “during his scheduled hours” in section C above, he maintains he did so during a single lunch hour in 2008.]
From the Definitions section: “Personal interest” means an interest held or involvement by the borough mayor or employee, or his immediate family member or parent, including membership, in any organization, whether fraternal, nonprofit, for profit, charitable, or political, from which, or as a result of which, a person or organization receives a benefit; [Bolding added]
We can expect to hear much of this tomorrow afternoon after the documents are released, unless one of the parties dicides to appeal to the Alaska Supreme Court, in which case we’ll hear a lot about that. In any event, it’ll be an especially cold day in Alaska for someone.
