Ethics reform's long and winding road

MYRL THOMPSON/Capitol Watch

March 18, 2007

JUNEAU - Listening to some staff and newer members of the Legislature talk about ethics reform reminds me of history in general. History indeed becomes &#8220his story” - the story of the victor or the last soul standing.

It's certainly interesting to hear all the different takes and opinions, but like written history itself, much of the truth falls to the wayside.

Let's go back - way back - to the year 2003. One might think that is not very far back in time, but in terms of ethics reform, it was the Dark Ages. It was a time when even the mention of ethics reform brought stern rebukes from some red-faced legislators.

The suggestion that ethical problems even existed brought on endless bouts of righteous indignation. The mere questioning of a legislator's ethics could get you kicked out of his office, forever!

Almost no one here in Juneau even talks of those days now. How easily the march of history sheds it old skin and flashes the new.

However, the chairman of the Select Committee on Ethics did mention that first real event, that initial awakening of the need for ethics reform, during an ethics seminar earlier this session. He knew about it because he, like I, was there.

In fact, I could this very day name every Alaskan present at that moment, including the folks who sent in written testimony. There were quite a few regular Alaskans there, but I doubt any legislator could name more than a couple involved throughout the entire span, from then to the present.

They were everyday Alaskans, fed up with unethical behavior by public officials. They came to Juneau at great expense of time and money to let their voices be heard.

They were generally ignored. Some were belittled and others chastised.

Much of what they said fell on deaf ears. The citizens were correct in their assertions about the need for ethics reform, but it was painfully obvious that little help was going to come their way.

Some went on to take matters into their own hands and managed to remove a senator - Scott Ogan - from office because of his unethical actions as a legislator. The majority party looked down on the citizens involved in that effort, and even the minority party was less than moved.

Still, there was no attempt at ethics reform. In fact, a watering down of the already inadequate existing ethics laws took place, ushered in by the majority party.

There was action taken by another Alaskan - Sarah Palin - who at the time sat on the Alaska Oil and Gas Conservation Commission. She was fed up with unethical behavior and resigned in protest.

Only after that event, and much public uproar, did an unethical majority party member lose his position on the AOGCC board. Remember Randy Ruedrich? He was also the head of the Alaska Republican Party, and remains in that position to this day.

Then, Attorney General Gregg Renkes resigned, following ethical lapses of his own - but only after constant pressure by the press and citizens.

By this point, some members of the legislative minority were indeed stepping up with proposed ethics legislation. The majority members wanted little part of it, and were still trying to water down ethics laws whenever possible.

One senator - Gene Therriault - even tried to add a soft-money amendment to a late-session bill. I, personally, shined a light on it and testified against that matter when it was being proposed, and the added scrutiny soon caused its demise.

Another majority senator - Renkes crony Ralph Seekins - tried to pass a shameful piece of bogus ethics legislation. He originally wanted to fine and jail Alaskans who told anyone about ethics complaints against a legislator. I testified against that bill as being unconstitutional - and was pretty much laughed at until legislative attorneys later said the same.

My testimony was the only testimony on these bills.

With the exception of one brave woman - Sarah Palin again - it was regular citizens, not lawmakers, ringing the warning bell. In the end, they got the last word on this one. They separated that senator from his job.

With the majority party deep within the borders of that great state of denial, the minority party was just starting to act in earnest. Then another majority senator - Ben Stevens - was brought up on a series of unethical behavior charges.

His challenge came not from the Legislature, though. Once again, it was regular Alaskans who took up the fight.

Stevens faced a recall effort that didn't manage to outmaneuver him, but he did get caught up in a series of APOC violations. He is finally and currently under more serious scrutiny. Perhaps seeing the writing on the wall, he removed himself from office.

Most of the legislators know the rest of the story: Murkowski getting dumped, the FBI raids, a majority legislator - Tom Anderson - indicted, ongoing investigations. All of a sudden, everybody in the Legislature is talking ethics reform in 2007.

To hear the legislators tell it, especially the majority, ethics reform was something that they had come up with. They were the start-all and end-all in the ethics movement.

While they were indeed the genesis of the problem, they have barely begun to resolve it.

Would you like to know how many of the original citizens, who all but begged for ethics reform four years ago, have been asked for their input?

You don't have to ask, do you?

And what about Palin, who resigned in protest from the AOGCC because of Ruedrich's unchecked unethical behavior then stood up to Seekins and his transparent attempt to protect his buddy Renkes? How much of her advice do you think the legislators are taking?

You can bet on this: If she weren't governor now, they would be relying on even less of her input than they are.

What about a Governor's Ethics Commission of citizens? That went over like a lead balloon with legislators. It just wouldn't fit into their legislative rewrite of history very well.

Yes, history is a malleable thing, and it all depends on whose hands are shaping it.

Will the legislators be able to come together and finally create real ethics reform? From the looks of how the process is panning out, it seems less than likely. There will be positive changes, but without citizens being included, the &#8220solution” from within seems likely to be inadequate.

History, as always, will be the final judge. But you can bet that the feet currently trodding the road to ethics reform were not the ones who blazed the trail.

The funny thing is, the trailblazers, supported by a host of regular Alaskans of all political stripes, don't want any credit. They just want a finished road.

Myrl Thompson is a citizen lobbyist and former independent candidate for the Legislature. His Capitol Watch column appears every two weeks. He also writes a weekly Juneau Report, an e-mail newsletter about goings-on in the Capitol. For information about receiving it, e-mail myrl@ak.net.