Alaska's House speaker on defensive over state's "most corrupt" status

[Blue_In_AK]

This is rich. This is what we're up against here. Since this is a press release from the Alaska Democratic Party, I think I can copy the whole thing. Someone let me know if I need to shorten this to four paragraphs.



http://alaskademocrats.org/news/1157-chenault-on-defensive-over-alaskas-most-corrupt-statuses

Chenault on Defensive Over Alaska’s “Most Corrupt” Status


FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
June 13, 2014
CONTACT: Zack Fields, 258-3077
Chenault on Defensive Over Alaska’s “Most Corrupt” Status

House Speaker defends conflicts of interest in state legislature

ANCHORAGE: Amidst media scrutiny of Alaska’s status as one of the most corrupt states, Speaker Chenault is on the defensive over his colleagues’ conflicts of interest. Chenault defended Lynn Gattis and Eric Feige, House members who stand to reap major financial benefits from publicly-funded projects they are pushing in the state legislature.

“There are so many conflicts of interest in Chenault’s caucus that the Speaker got winded before he could defend all of them,” said Mike Wenstrup, Chair of the Alaska Democratic Party. “Since the Speaker has taken it upon himself to defend his colleague’s conflicts of interest, I thought I’d provide him a more complete list:”

MORE Conflicts of Interest in the Alaska State Legislature:

Rep. Mike Hawker negotiated a sole-source, no-bid deal with a campaign contributor that increased taxpayer costs by 500% for a legislative building so fancy that it has come to be known as the “Taj Mahawker.”

Rep. Lance Pruitt voted to support Sean Parnell's Oil Giveaway. Now Mary Ann Pruitt, Rep. Pruitt's wife, rakes in money from oil companies defending the Oil Giveaway through her media firm.

Governor Parnell cancelled Alaska Hire, a longstanding goal of Associated General Contractors, and AGC has returned the favor by fundraising for the Governor and members of the legislature, which did nothing to fix the Governor’s cancellation of local hire requirements.

Cruise industry executives pumped hundreds of thousands of dollars into lobbying and campaign contributions for legislators who rolled back the citizen ban on cruise ship sewage dumping. As the Anchorage Daily News reported this week, the Republican cruise ship sewage bill even could allow dumping of partially treated sewage while cruise ships are docked in Alaska communities.

Previously Reported Conflicts of Interest in the Alaska State Legislature:

Two state Senators who are Conoco Phillips employees voted to give billions of dollars in oil tax breaks to their private sector employers by supporting the Oil Giveaway. One of those Senators won election following a gerrymandering orchestrated by Sean Parnell.

Governor Parnell fired an Alaskan so he could appoint Outsiders to the State Assessment Review Board, with the goal of devaluing the TransAlaska Pipeline on behalf of companies that include his former employer. Devaluation of the pipeline would allow oil companies to fleece local governments by tens of millions of dollars.

Speaker Mike Chenault spearheaded gas line legislation for a project that would terminate in his district, where he owns an oil and gas services company that could benefit from contracts associated with the project.

Senator Cathy Giessel pushed a bill to raise DMV fees paid by Alaskans, even though the fee hike wasn’t necessary and the fees would enrich a Republican donor.

Representative Lynn Gattis, is pushing for a Knik Arm Crossing project that would enrich her family. Gattis’ family is the largest land owner near the proposed right of way. Gattis also obtained payments from the Mat-Su borough for railway right of way while she was serving in the Mat-Su local government, even though payments from the Borough violated conditions of agricultural subsidies Gattis was receiving simultaneously from the state of Alaska.

Representative Eric Feige is pushing for state funding of the road to Umiat, a project that would enrich the company for which he wife works. Feige’s wife’s firm Linc Energy has said that state funding of the road is what makes Linc’s project economical. Feige’s wife’s salary doubled and she was promoted at Linc after Feige was elected. Linc also acquired thousands of acres of oil leases at the terminus of the proposed road shortly after Feige’s election.

A new study found that Alaska is one of the most corrupt states in America, based on corruption convictions and a “corruption index” that examines state spending patterns. Following the VECO scandal, Alaska legislators have drawn harsh criticism as they voted to give tax breaks to their private sector employers, push megaprojects that would enrich their own families, and cheat local governments by devaluing the TransAlaska Pipeline.

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- See more at: http://alaskademocrats.org/news/1157-chenault-on-defensive-over-alaskas-most-corrupt-status#sthash.3m21QQQX.dpuf

[blkmusclmachine]

1. Alaska. Home of the Palins. Nuff said.

[hobbit709]

2. When you throw a brick at a pack of dogs, the one that yelps the loudest.

Judging by who's doing the yelping, I'd say the speaker got hit.

[Blue_In_AK]

4. He looks like Jabba the Hut

and oozes petroleum out of every pore.

[secondvariety]

3. Great article.

On a side note-I knew Florida would be on the list.