Dunleavy investigating bureaucrat’s attack on gun-loving plumber

By
Suzanne Downing
-
71

HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION MAY HAVE ABUSED AUTHORITY

Gov. Michael Dunleavy has asked the Department of Law to launch an investigation into the apparent abuse of state power that occurred on Thursday at the parking lot of the Alaska Human Rights Commission.

The executive director of the Alaska Commission on Human Rights, in her own handwriting, told a plumbing company to move its vehicle from the parking lot due to what the bureaucrat thought was a racist sticker.

The state executive, who makes $139,000 a year plus fringe benefits, is Marti Buscaglia. She runs a 19-person office that, ironically, investigates abuses of people’s human rights.

The sticker on the worker’s truck said “Black Rifles Matter,” and is a pro-Second Amendment statement, according to the owner of the truck, Brenton Linegar, who owns a small plumbing firm that had a contract to do repairs on the building.

In a conversation with Must Read Alaska, he expressed concern that he would lose work because of what the state official had done, and he had trepidation that publicizing her action could harm his future business opportunities, including his future contracts to work on that particular building on A Street in Anchorage.

[Read: Human Rights Commission vs. 1st, 2nd Amendment]

“Protecting an individual’s constitutional rights, including the 1st amendment, is of the utmost importance to this administration,” said a post on Gov. Dunleavy’s official Facebook page this morning.

There are at least two areas where the Department of Law may seek to get further information to clarify the intent of the bureaucrat’s actions and possible corrective action:

  1. Buscaglia used her official business card to send a message to Linegar, telling him to not use the lot because of the sticker that Buscaglia found offensive.
  2. Buscaglia and her staff then posted a photo of the truck on the state agency’s official Facebook page, and derided the owner with the message, “In what world is this OK?”, while displaying his license plate. This is use of state resources for what may be an unconstitutional “government shall make no law” act.
  3. Buscaglia and her staff then argued with citizens on the agency’s Facebook page and said she thought the message was racist. This could be harmful to the plumbing business and grounds for a lawsuit against the state.

Buscaglia is no stranger to using Facebook to promote her politically charged views. Astute Must Read Alaska readers found this post on her personal page, wishing an excruciatingly painful death on a hunter back in 2015:

The Alaska Commission on Human Rights is part of the Office of the Governor, has a budget of over $2 million, and a staff of 19 that investigates complaints from Alaskans about discrimination due to race, gender, or disability.

In 2018, the agency processed 1,733 inquiries, which resulted in 297 complaints. Racial discrimination continues to be the single most prevalent basis for complaints; but an increasing number of complaints involving service and emotional support animals are taking more and more of the staff’s time, according to agency’s 2018 report, which was issued in January.

71 COMMENTS

    • Very good catch and 100% correct, with the exception that Marti Buscaglia is a “she”. So ironic that she is in charge of an agency called “Commission on Human Rights” as she seems to have a problem recognizing the rights described in the first and perhaps the second ammendment to the Constitution.

  2. Seems to me that the Human Rights Commissioner needs to be Investigated because of freedom of speech violations.

  3. “Section 241 of Title 18 is the civil rights conspiracy statute. Section 241 makes it unlawful for two or more persons to agree together to injure, threaten, or intimidate a person in any state, territory or district in the free exercise or enjoyment of any right or privilege secured to him/her by the Constitution or the laws of the Unites States, (or because of his/her having exercised the same). Unlike most conspiracy statutes, Section 241 does not require that one of the conspirators commit an overt act prior to the conspiracy becoming a crime.”

  4. Is anyone going to investigate the fact that she didn’t act alone? It seems Kendall Rhyne “Chief Probation Officer” agrees with the sentiment. Upon further investigation they both share the same building and parking lot. Something needs to be done here.

  5. The first question is why was this holdover still employed after Gov. Dunleavy took his hand off The Bible? They took all the heat for asking for the resignations, but then accepted hardly any of them. Maybe with some actual experience running a government, they’ll figure out if you’re in for a penny, you’re in for a pound; the left won’t hate you any less for a little than for a lot, so get your money’s worth.

    • Art, don’t stop now. Tell it like it really is. You and I both know that more of these bully Lefties are still working for the State. One of the stupid ones got caught. Clean out the entire swamp, Governor. More are hiding underneath.

  7. Apparently Alaska has its own deep dark bureaucratic state that desperately needs to be cleaned up. The public employee unions facilitate and protect that kind of scourge in the government and need to be gone.

  8. Remember the famous collusion word? 2 state employees colluding to suppress this guys rights! Good place to start having LESS state employees!

    • Move on?! A person using her government authority to suppress a citizens rights and defame them and their business on the government social media account and you want us to move on?! Get the f*** out of here

      • Nowhere does it state that his business was defamed. And his citizen rights were not suppressed…in fact, he is using his citizen right to fight this appropriately. I’m offended by the sexy girl silhouette on mud flaps. Should I start pursuing a person or company because of a f’ing bumper sticker? #metoo dude.
        Nobody was using gov’t authority. It was a handwritten note on a business card with the information of the people who wrote it. Seriously, get over it. If anything the plumber will come out victorious in the end.

        • A hand written note on a scrap of paper is personal.
          A note on the back of your govt position card is implying it’s official.
          It’s stupid, but then so is what she did.

          • To each his own I guess. I don’t consider it official at all. If a cop writes me a note on his business card “hey you did a [deleted] parking job” I wouldn’t consider it official. If he gave me a ticket for a [deleted] parking job, well, then, ya that’s official.

        • Hint: They put his truck on the website and raised the “racist” banner. One may be sympathetic to her viewpoint, but they crossed the line bringing in the State of Alaska…. business cards and website. If it were just a bumper sticker why put in on a State facebook? Both sad and ill advised.

    • You are right Eli. A bumper sticker in which the executive director had zero business commenting on in the first place. But she chose to do it so it’s game on now. Watch out. You’re next if this stuff doesn’t get nipped now.

      • Executive director comment or do whatever he/she wants. As the owner of the vehicle can put on his/her vehicle whatever bumper sticker they want. Soon enough all bumper stickers will be banned.

        • Nope, sorry, you’re wrong bud. On her own time, sure, have a blast. On government time, using your official state business card, no way.

          Get a clue.

    • Eli, perhaps you should read AngryVets, AK Rifle Coach & my earlier post to help you get a bit of incite on why this is a big deal. Two state employees attacked a local business owners Constitutional Rights and you think Brenton Linegar should just “Move On” and not worry about the damage these two State employees might have done to his business by flaming him on the States Facebook page? We are in debt to Brenton Linegar for pointing out that the State Commissioner of Human Rights is Bullying someone (and his company) for their First Amendment rights using the power of the state. A personal note is one thing….using the State Seal to push her personal agenda is another thing entirely

      • Attack? I hardly define that as an attack (look up current news in NZ for definition of attack).
        His business, according to all the articles I’ve read so far, was never mentioned until the owner started speaking.
        How is this bullying? He is successfully using his constitutional right with a giant middle finger to boot at a woman who wrote a message about a bumper sticker. A. Bumper. Sticker. Let that sink in. Should she lose her job, sure, it was a dumbass move on her side but she did not attack a local business owner as you state.

        • They posted images of his truck, the sticker and his license places. These clowns clearly overstepped their authority, of which they really had none to begin with. Then to put two “official” looking cards on the windshield, it was clearly an attempt to intimidate. Stop pandering and excuse making for these tyrants. They both deserve punishment to the full extent of the law. Examples need to be made so that this garbage never happens again. The left have been persistently overstepping moral and ethical boundries for the past 10 years, over and over again, on this topic and everywhere else they think they can interject and get away with it.
          As a small business owner with just a few very reconizable trucks, maybe its a matter of perspective, of which you have NONE! That or you’re just a dirty leftwing tyrant yourself!

          • So if your recognizable trucks had a bumper sticker like “Michelle O for 2020” and someone complained due to it being offensive to them would you leave it or take it off? What if there was an official “looking” card attached? Would you be intimidated by said official looking card? If a company has a pro-gun bumper sticker on their company trucks, I’m pretty sure they are not going to get any business from the left. Just sayin’. You don’t think the right has ever overstepped moral and ethical boundries? “Examples need to be made…”, seriously? Like you said, this has been going on for years, both sides right & left, abusing power blah blah blah, what is one persons demise going to accomplish? Don’t get me wrong, she’s an idiot & whatever happens she deserves however I still stand by my initial comment. This is all over a bumper sticker. A BUMPER STICKER. People need to stop getting offended by everything.

          • Dan, fully agree. The “note” on official cards bad enough, but where they really stepped across the line was posting on FB.
            I am confident that the Dept of Law will fully investigate and all I can hope for is justice will be done.

        • They did bully. They sent emails to his client disparaging his work and claiming he is racist. They tried to get him fired.

        • There are many forms of attacking someone. Just because she isnt shooting 50 people dont mean it wasnt an attack. People need to grow up. Getting offended by things that have no hidden meaning or doesnt apply to them at ALL. If you hear/see something you find offensive do what people did before facebook/twitter/youtube came along, they shook their heads and walked away. It’s really simple. Instead she did what she chose to do. Hopefully there will be consequences for her actions.

    • Eli, you must have a State job too. Money just flows out of the sky, right bud? Get off your coffee break and quit texting during government work hours. Do something useful with your life. Quit being a useless drone. Go get a real job.

      • Bring on the assumptions. Nope, sorry to disappoint but I do take pride in owning my own company and employing Alaskans. You are misunderstanding my point. To be offended by a bumper sticker in the first place is absolutely absurd. And anything that follows falls into the same absurd category.
        Clearly all of us need to get a real job. You are, after all, also enjoying a useless life by texting a response. No?

        • Sorry Dude. Yeah if it was just a card about the bumper sticker, you are right. Get over it. The owner of the truck was going to do that. Then Marti in essences called him a racist, not on her personal page but on an official government page. Then she tried to get his work contract cancelled. That goes beyond being offended by a bumper sticker. So beyond being offended by the bumper sticker she used a government website to call him a racist and she tried to use her government position to get him fired. In what world does this call for “just get over it?”

    • I get your point Eli, it’s just a bumper sticker and the government representative should know that as a government representative she should not take it upon herself to act in her official governmental position to tell a private citizen where to park based upon a sticker. Using her official government supplied business card to tell a person she disagrees with on a personal basis that they are not welcome in this neighborhood is where she crossed the line, over a bumper sticker. This should not be an issue, it should never have come up, but a government representative used her government supplied business card to present her personal opinion that a private citizen wasn’t welcome because of a bumper sticker. There is only one person at fault here and it isn’t the person who used his 1st Amendment right to voice his supoort for his 2nd Amendment right, it’s the government representative who decided that her personal feelings over a bumper sticker were more important than a private citizens rights. It’s a bumper sticker for crying out loud, a government representative should know better.

    • Agree. Brew a pot of Black Rifle coffee and sit down and communicate face to face instead of hiding behind notes and social media. Apology in order and maybe some educating about Black Rifle. People do need to chill though – nationwide….?

    • Eli,

      Why are you being such an apologist for these people? Are they friends, aquaintenances, or co-workers of yours?

  10. Start investigating here:
    Chapter 39.52.
    ALASKA EXECUTIVE BRANCH ETHICS ACT
    Article 01. DECLARATIONS
    Sec. 39.52.010. Declaration of policy.
    (a) It is declared that
    (1) high moral and ethical standards among public officers in the executive branch are essential to assure the trust, respect, and confidence of the people of this state;
    (2) a code of ethics for the guidance of public officers will
    (A) discourage those officers from acting upon personal or financial interests in the performance of their public responsibilities;
    (B) improve standards of public service; and
    (C) promote and strengthen the faith and confidence of the people of this state in their public officers;
    (3) holding public office or employment is a public trust and that as one safeguard of that trust, the people require public officers to adhere to a code of ethics;
    (4) a fair and open government requires that executive branch public officers conduct the public’s business in a manner that preserves the integrity of the governmental process and avoids conflicts of interest;
    (5) in order for the rules governing conduct to be respected both during and after leaving public service, the code of ethics must be administered fairly without bias or favoritism;
    (6) no code of conduct, however comprehensive, can anticipate all situations in which violations may occur nor can it prescribe behaviors that are appropriate to every situation; in addition, laws and regulations regarding ethical responsibilities cannot legislate morality, eradicate corruption, or eliminate bad judgment; and
    (7) compliance with a code of ethics is an individual responsibility; thus all who serve the state have a solemn responsibility to avoid improper conduct and prevent improper behavior by colleagues and subordinates.
    (b) The legislature declares that it is the policy of the state, when a public employee is appointed to serve on a state board or commission, that the holding of such offices does not constitute the holding of incompatible offices unless expressly prohibited by the Alaska Constitution, this chapter and any opinions or decisions rendered under it, or another statute.

  11. It’s about time these ignorant rabid hate-filled leftists are held accountable for their abusive misuse of their position in government.

  12. What kind of foolishness is this? Any mention of a certain color is racist ? What if the founder of the (blank) guns matter movement is the unmentionable color. Is it okay to mention the color if you are that color? Scary to think that some government official needs to be consulted first. Get rid of government bullies.

  15. Wrong. Just pointing out the truth to someone who doesn’t understand the difference between constitutional rights and basic freedoms from that of oppressive government workers who blindly use their fiat authority against the citizenry. Your method worked under your hero’s Obama, Clinton and Walker. It won’t work under Dunleavy and Trump. Goodbye, Eli.

  17. What I am wondering is how this person managed to continue into the Dunleavy Admin. Buscaglia is definitely an uber liberal with no consideration of the rights of others. Do as I say, not as I do.
    Good job, Susan!
    Both her and the Probation director need to find new jobs.

  18. This also raises a question as to unbiased approach to cases investigated by her agency. Putting his truck and their personal comments on an official Facebook page without due process is of concern. One would hope to fair and equal treatment would be of utmost concern. This would appear to compromise outcomes and cast shadow of uncertainty on legitimate complaints.

    • Exactly my feelings Robert. I posted the same sentiments somewhere in one of these articles. I think her lack of judgment and obvious biases cloud her judgment as the ED of the Human Rights Commission. I would like to see a review of ALL complaints that were submitted to her office under her tenure to see what “they” deemed worthy of investigation or not. It really makes me skeptical. If it didn’t fit their narrative, what happened??

  19. The bumper sticker doesn’t promote a citizens right to bear arms as much as it deflates people driving around with black lives matter bumper stickers on their car . I think that’s pretty obvious. You have to be an ultra liberal to feel like you need to write a note but what do you expect from someone who makes a career out of human rights in North America that said . You have to be a moron to add the card as if your official position as a human rights supervisor is going to Intimidate somebody . As for the peanut gallery out there who thinks this is a symptom of the union labor protection “there’s a stretch “ make some popcorn the Rush Limbaugh show is next

  20. What reaction would we have seen with a MAGA hat on the dash or
    a Trump/Palin 2020 sticker?
    Would they pull their license? Call their lefty buddies at child support services?
    Fire them both.

  21. The real news is that we have a news outlet, Must Read Alaska, willing to report this as news. And a real live journalist, Suzanne Downing, who has the intellectual capacity to understand.
    A journalist who can see the State bureaucrat tasked with weeding out discrimination, a bureaucrat with semi-judicial powers, that should be impartial, acting in a manner that reveals her partiality.
    It takes a rare journalist. One who even knows what a rifle is, let alone a black rifle, and reports without mindless, illiterate, politically correct blinders. That’s news.
    Thanks Suzanne!
    Bruce

  23. Bruce Campell. I echo your points and sentiment. We are very fortunate to have Suzanne’s Must Read Alaska. She looks in places where much less seasoned reporters are very reluctant if not afraid, to find the real stories – the stories that fundamentally affect Alaska and its residents. Thanks, Suzanne!

  24. Thank you, AK Rifle Coach! Obviously that woman, a.) doesn’t recognize legal boundaries and, 2.) needs serious mentoring.

  26. Thank you Suzanne Downing for posting this news on the egregious behavior by Ms.Buscaglia. She needs to be fired.

  27. I’d like to know how she was hired in the first place and who hired her. She had absolutely no experience or qualifications for the position and had been fired previously for lying on her resume. Her previous work experience was newspaper publishing.

  28. Bruce Campbell nailed it.
    Thank you Ms Suzanne. Continue, with vigor, to weed out these politically charged bureaucrats who hide behind “impartiality” and behave as though they are our betters.
    Goodness sakes why can’t some people leave well enough alone. It was, in fact, Ms Buscaglia, a bumper sticker.
    Please calm yourself down and have some perspective. Use whatever pharmaceuticals are necessary.

  31. Governor Dunleavy, needs to send her packing her liberal baggage.

    Susan,
    THANK YOU, for all you do!

    Take care be safe.
    God bless.
    Griz – Alaska

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