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New commissioner faces rocky start

by Jason Moore
Tuesday, July 15, 2008

ANCHORAGE, Alaska -- Alaska's new public safety commissioner had his first public appearance Tuesday.

Chuck Kopp addressed his priorities for the department and questions about a sexual harassment complaint filed against him while he served as the Kenai Police Chief.

Kopp is entering a department in turmoil after the abrupt dismissal of Commissioner Walt Monegan.

"We're only building on the good things of the past and looking forward to further refining our approach our fiscal responsibility our accountability," Kopp said. "We're just looking forward to moving forward and having a credible approach to public safety."

While Kopp talked vaguely about wanting to improve recruitment and retention and crack down on alcohol and drug abuse in the Bush, he didn't exactly spell out a new direction for the department, which is why Gov. Sarah Palin says she wanted to replace Monegan.

The union that represents Alaska State Troopers says the rank and file supported Monegan's vision of improving law enforcement and boosting budgets.

Union officials say they want to know what the governor means by new direction.

"If we're not going down the road that Commissioner Monegan had set out than we'd like to know what it is," said John Cyr of the Public Safety Employee's Association. "I think the public has a right to know. This is an administration that ran on open and transparent government. We were all supposed to know not just what the decision were but how the decisions were made."

Then there's the issue of a sexual harassment complaint filed against Kopp three years ago in Kenai. His assistant says she filed a complaint after an incident that involved physical contact.  

"There has never been a sexual harassment allegation that resulted in a lawsuit or a settlement by the city of Kenai and there is nothing in my record that would give me a black eye or anything that would hinder me in my role as commissioner of public safety," Kopp said.

The complainant says while she didn't file a lawsuit or seek a settlement the city council substantiated the complaint by assigning her a new supervisor.

The governor's office says it was aware of the sexual harassment complaint, looked into it and found it to be baseless.

As for an explanation of what Gov. Palin meant by a new direction for the department,  staffers say the governor is still out of state the National Governor's Association Conference and unavailable for comment.

It won't be an easy first week for a new commissioner leading hundreds of employees who still don't know why their last leader was let go.

Contact Jason Moore at jmoore@ktuu.com