Document drop: Court filing exposes conflicts of interest of Fairbanks borough assembly members

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Savannah Fletcher on duty for the Alaska Interior Democrats

Fairbanks North Star Borough Assemblywoman Barbara Haney, targeted for legal harassment by leftist Presiding Office Savannah Fletcher, has filed a supplemental court brief to her original appeal with the Superior Court, to further assert her innocence in a case involving ethics.

Haney had been fined $1 for an ethics violation by her fellow Assembly members. Her offense? She had written a letter to the editor without saying “this is my opinion as a private citizen.”

Haney’s supplemental filing said, “Assemblywoman Haney did not violate FNSB 6.12.010(O)(2) as entered by Assembly Presiding Officer Savannah Fletcher on July 26, 2024. This code allows Haney to express a personal opinion through a public statement which she did in a letter to the editor through the Fairbanks Newsminer.”

In the filing, Haney detailed the actual and substantive conflicts of interests of some of the Assembly members and exposed the cavalier disregard to fairness in the way conflicts are treated by the Assembly’s presiding officer. 

Haney is a conservative in an Assembly led by radical Savannah Fletcher, who works as an attorney for leftist organizations in Alaska. Fletcher is running for state Senate now.

The Ethics Committee that convened to hear the “no letter to the editor allowed” complaint that had been brought by a financial backer of Fletcher, had deliberated and recommended no punishment for Haney over the letter to the editor.

But the Assembly, in spite of its own conflicts of interest, decided a censure was in order, along with a nominal fine, meant to tar the record of Haney and damage her in the public eye. Haney says the censure is purely political retribution against her conservative stances defending taxpayers in the community.

Fletcher has a financial relationship with the filer of the ethics complaint, Kristen Schupp, the wife of another leftist activist, school board member Bobby Burgess. 

According to Haney’s account, during the time the complaint was filed, Fletcher was running for borough mayor and significant donations to Fletcher’s campaign had been made by both Schupp and Burgess, totaling nearly $5,000.

These cash donations for her Senate campaign occurred 10 days before the Ethics Committee hearing. Previous large donations had been made by Schupp to Fletcher’s mayoral campaign.

Haney asserted in her court filing that Fletcher should have recused herself, since she had received significant financial support for her campaign from the very person filing the complaint against Haney, in violation of Alaska Statute 29.20.010.  Under state statute, it is incumbent on the person with the conflict to recuse themselves if they have a significant financial conflict. 

Haney also detailed conflicts of other members involved. 

Mindy O’Neal, the deputy presiding officer, also had conflicts, having written several opinion columns and letters to the editor for the News-Miner herself, and none of them contained the language that stated she was only offering her own opinion not the opinion of others.

Because O’Neal had this conflict — having committed the same “offense” but not ever facing the same sanctions, she should not have been able to rule on Fletcher’s conflict or vote on the matter. Neither Fletcher nor O’Neal should have been able to preside over the meeting, Haney has asserted. 

Haney also detailed how two other members had conflicts and should have recused themselves. Those members did declare conflicts, but the Presiding Officer Fletcher, who had the option to drop the entire matter, ruled that they had to vote on the censure.

According to Haney’s filings, if the conflicts of interest been observed as they should have been under state statute and borough code, the outcome would have been quite different. 

The advice of Fairbanks Borough Attorney Jill Dolan also fell short. Dolan failed to include other options when she was advising the Assembly. Instead, she kept insisting that a penalty be issued against Haney, even when the Ethics Committee clearly did not recommend one. 

The blatant disregard for conflicts on the Assembly has been a serious issue this year. For example, Assemblywoman Kristen Kelly, who is an employee of the school district, was the chair of the finance committee, which determines matters that relate to how the school district is funded through property tax dollars. Assemblyman Scott Crass is a steward for a public employees (ASEA) union, yet was allowed on union contracts of the borough employees.

25 COMMENTS

  1. The bad news is that Savannah Fletcher is running for the State Senate. Come on, Fairbanks! Don’t vote in such a radical and immature person to an already politically challenged State Senate! However, the good news is that if she were to be successful in being elected Senator, her departure will give the Assembly the possibility of being more reasonable representative body. The fact that Fletcher was elected Assembly president by that body is disturbing. Fairbanks deserves better. Kudos to Assemblywoman Barbara Haney for fighting the good fight against leftist extremism.

    • Mike Cronk needs to really take on Savannah Fletcher for her lies, conflicts of interest, and her radical Democrat positions on the Borough, even though she says she is an independent. Another one of her lies.

  2. No surprises. Leftists like Fletcher and O’Neal are generally dishonest people who have no problem using lies and deceit to achieve their goals.

  3. Thank you, Assemblywoman Haney, for exposing the government corruption by Democrats up in Fairbanks. Had no idea they were that bad.

    • Awesome reporting!: Far better than the Newsminer or Dermot Cole who hates everyone who isn’t a radical Democrat and wouldn’t ever consider reporting the truth about his own type of Marxist people, no matter how corrupt.

  4. My only question is: Did the Fairbanks assembly learn how to be stupid from the Anchorage assembly or the other way around? On the other hand, what about the dumb Fairbanks and Anchorage voters who elected them?

    • When you look at them they’re all the same kind of people. Ultra radical leftist women, some are childless and own cats too. Usually women in their 30’s or 40’s. Indoctrinated, not educated. Arrogant and disrespectful know-it-alls, but no common sense. The men are usually homosexual, or highly obedient to their female peers, just as they were taught to be. LGBTQ rules them all

  5. Is there some kind of trophy to be awarded between Anchorage and Fairbanks assemblies for being the most liberal and stupidest assemblies ever? Is the trophy a toilet bowl award? Bottoms up!!!!

  6. Is this Ms.Schupp the same perfectly moral and sane (tongue in cheek) person who posted a picture of her husband’s bare glutinous maximas on social media

    • Please, not so anatomically technical, George. Schupp thinks hubby’s *ss is a great one. But the apron covered the manhood. He should have worn kitchen gloves too for protecting small hands.
      😅

  7. Radical Democrats and union thug bosses have taken over the FNSB government. Even the Borough attorney is part of this thuggery. Vote em all out.

  8. I hope that Haney is cleared of the accusations against her. Once again, we see where we are supposed to “obey” while the left does the same with no consequences.

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