MEA postpones decision on Shattuck campaign disclosure

PALMER -- Any decision by the Matanuska Electric Association board as to how to address potential campaign disclosure violations revealed in a recent deposition by Linda Shattuck have been put on hold for the time being.

The MEA board met for a special session Friday afternoon to discuss the apparent campaign disclosure violations, but the meeting adjourned without the board taking any action. Steven Ellis, MEA's chief corporate counsel, presented a memo to the board outlining four potential campaign disclosure violations, and explained why a second meeting was necessary.

According to Alaska Rules of Civil Procedure rule 30(e), Shattuck may review and potentially make changes or corrections to her sworn deposition before the document becomes official. According to MEA spokesman Mike Pauley, Shattuck has 30 days from the date she is provided with a copy of the transcript to make changes.

"She can change anything," Ellis said after the meeting.

That is, she can change anything to the extent that, when someone makes substantial changes or corrections to a deposition, it raises issues of credibility, he added.

One change that will likely be made, Ellis said, could be construed as a matter of life or death. In the deposition transcript, Shattuck appears to state that she was appointed to her seat after previous board member Craig Campbell died, when in reality Campbell resigned.

In his report to the board, Ellis pointed out four concerns the board may address after Shattuck completes her review of the transcript.

Ellis pointed out that Shattuck seemed to know about flyers sent out on her behalf before she filed her pre-election report, but didn't mention them until her post-election report. Shattuck's failure to open a specific campaign account, as well as not maintaining a list of contributors of less than $100 were also issues raised by Ellis.

Lastly, on her post-election report, Shattuck indicated having no campaign expenses, but her deposition revealed that she apparently incurred an expense of nearly $1,000 as a personal reimbursement of funds she contributed to her campaign.

Shattuck was not present at Friday's special meeting. No date was set for the board to readdress the issue, but Pauley said a meeting would likely be in mid-February, if the issue is not addressed at the board's next scheduled meeting, at 7 p.m. Feb. 11.