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Omnibus ethics reform passed the Legislature this year, but it's clear that it will be a while before Alaskans completely resolve what constitutes a conflict of interest.
The issue today is whether it's a conflict for Gov. Palin that her husband, Todd, has gone back to work for BP on the North Slope.
Lots of references are being made to a published report last October which paraphrased Palin as saying Todd would quit his slope job if she were elected.
Not to dispute the report, but personally I don't think I ever heard her say this through numerous interviews and forums last fall.
And in fact, this is what she told us for our profile of her, broadcast just before the election, on Nov. 1: "Elected officials, appointed officials, have got to let the public know what their financial interests -- where they lie. You know, for me, even in this campaign, I'm going to keep telling folks: My husband works up on the North Slope, he's a union hand up there. We're commercial fishermen. We have these interests personally outside here. People just need to know where we are coming from."
Todd's employment was not a campaign issue, and as I recall, he hadn't made a decision about his job at the time his wife was inaugurated.
Yet former House Minority Leader Ethan Berkowitz -- a candidate for lieutenant governor last fall -- now says it's a problem that Todd Palin is going off leave and back to work.
There's an interesting mix of comments from Republicans on this. One legislator called me today to say that Todd actually was involved in the legislative process last year, and referred me to two colleagues. But in talking with those two legislators, there was no indication of the sort. Each reported one instance in which the First Dude was present at a meeting, but in one case so were the couple's children, and in the other, he reportedly didn't say anything. Sharon Leighow, the governor's deputy press secretary, says Todd played absolutely no role in any legislative business last session.
The obvious thing to point out is that Sarah Palin, before and after her election, has taken a tough approach to the oil industry. She spoke out against improper slope maintenance and corroded pipelines as a candidate and in her State of the State address, and has opposed tax deductions for them. BP and the other producers fought her AGIA every step of the way and said they would not bid for a gas pipeline license. The governor has called a special session for Oct. 18th in which the industry's stated fear is that its taxes will get jacked up. It's hard to imagine how the relationship could be more adversarial.
One legislator, though, says that the conflict might work in a different way than normal. Rather than make Palin more sympathetic to BP because her husband draws a paycheck from the corporation, this person suggests that as a union member Todd might be inclined to give a negative portrayal of management, thereby increasing his wife's opposition to BP, rather than lessening it.
Republicans also are questioning how Todd was able to go on leave for an extended period, claiming he would have needed to work for the union itself in order to do so. But arguably that would be relevant only to the extent he was involved in labor issues at the Capitol, which the legislator who called me asserted but has failed so far to verify.
Some Republican legislators are super-sensitive on this subject because of conflict of interest questions raised about Reps. Mike Chenault, Kevin Meyer and Mike Hawker, all key players on oil taxes and all with some connection to the oil industry. The three at various times have declared a conflict, but have voted and otherwise participated, with the consent of their colleagues.
As far as I know, the governor has not slammed Chenault, Meyer or Hawker on these conflicts. But Speaker John Harris has said he might ask Chenault and Meyer, the co-chairs of finance, to yield the gavel to Vice Chair Bill Stoltze during this fall's special session.
Today Chenault said he doesn't think he has a conflict. While his construction company has provided services to the industry, he says everyone is involved with the oil and gas, if only to collect a permanent fund dividend. Chenault says he runs an open meeting, and there's no reason for him to stop.
But he says it's a subject he will discuss with his colleagues.
So as a group, Alaska politicians are still feeling their way forward.
