By SUZANNE DOWNING
The use of ethics complaints as free speech suppression is taking place in the Fairbanks North Star Borough Assembly, where efforts to stifle the opinions of conservative members are underway. Think of it as ethics “law fare.”
At the July 25 Assembly hearing, the Assembly will take up an ethics complaint brought against Assemblywoman Barbara Haney by pro-Hamas activist Kristin Schupp, who is the wife of school board member Bobby Burgess.
The ethics allegation involves the words and opinions regarding an actual official position of the borough Assembly.
Borough code is clear on what is an official statement of the Assembly in 3.04.130. It states that (A) The official position of the Assembly is that taken as a result of debate and vote, with the prevailing majority forming the official position. Provision (B) states that Views and Opinions of individual members of the Assembly are not the official views of the Assembly.
Thus, anytime an individual is giving an opinion, it is simply that, an opinion. One would think that this is particularly so if it is in an opinion column that is clearly labeled, “opinion.”
An opinion column by Assemblywoman Haney in the local newspaper apparently spurred the complaint.
It started back on Feb. 20, when a column by Haney was published by the Fairbanks Daily News Miner. It referred to the events around the vote for a special election to raise the tax cap and spend more taxpayer money. In that vote, Assemblywoman Liz Reeves Ramos cited capital projects, such as crumbling stairs at Lathrop High School and asbestos contamination at Tanana Middle School as projects that needed to be addressed and required raising the tax cap.
The projects had not been vetted by the Assembly, nor were they part of the Capital Improvement Project list. Tanana Middle School asbestos abatement was suppose to be part of a remodel project a few years ago and Assemblymember Haney wondered how that could still be an issue.
Haney further asked why there was no stairwell replacement program at Lathrop High School in the Capital Improvement Project list, and if the stairs were indeed faulty, why were classes still being held at Lathrop.
The Assembly then voted to hold the Special Election on May 7, and the proposal was resoundingly rejected by voters of the borough.
The story does not end there.
According to the Schupp complaint, the column written by Haney in the News Miner failed to use the specific phrase “in my opinion as a private citizen,” in an opinion column and did not clearly state she was not writing on the behalf of the Assembly.
Borough code 3.04.130 is very clear: “Views and opinions of individual members of the assembly are not the official position of the assembly.” Haney wrote the opinion piece from her private email and signed it, “Barbara Haney, North Pole, Alaska.” The newspaper is the entity that added that she was an member of the Assembly.
By borough code, the matter should never have even been referred to the ethics committee by the borough clerk. Curiously, a part of borough code that is aimed at public testimony, 6.12.010(O)(2) was applied to the opinion writer even though this had never been done before.
In a subsequent editorial by Assemblywoman Haney regarding the animal shelter, she began the piece with “In my opinion as a private citizen.” Schupp then wrote a response:
“In Ms. Barbara Haney’s recent community perspective she states that she is commenting in her capacity as public citizen. However, Ms. Haney is still an elected official on the FNSB assembly. Which means that she should still act as would be fitting for a representative, with decorum and truthfulness. Ms. Haney however seems to relish being dramatic and bombastic. She repeatedly demonstrates that she is either willfully ignorant to facts or willfully misleading the public. Both are unacceptable in her position,” Schupp wrote in the Fairbanks News Miner in May.
Schupp is intent on silencing Haney.
The Ethics Committee, with new members appointed by Presiding Officer Savannah Fletcher (now running for state Senate), determined that Haney violated borough ethics, but recommended no punishment. However, Haney will now have that ethics violation on record.
Under the new interpretation of borough code given by the ethics committee, several current members of the Assembly have also failed to include the “in my opinion as a private citizen” language, and that none of the training materials of Assembly members included coverage of the need to use that language in opinion pieces as well as in public testimony. The Assembly majority can impose any punishment they want, and the seven member majority will do as they wish.
But it’s clear that only Haney was selected for enforcement of this provision and is selected for ethics violation.
Presiding Officer Fletcher could have chosen to leave the matter and move on to matters that are important to citizens. Instead, Fletcher decided to give the phony charge oxygen at the Assembly in order to give Schupp and her allies an opportunity to bash Haney publicly.
This is the same Savannah Fletcher who prosecuted Rep. David Eastman and attempted to remove him from office, and the same Savannah Fletcher who prosecuted Sen. Lora Reinbold and who ridiculously litigated the Mat-Su library book review case.
Ultimately at issue is the right of free speech.
Under the recent Supreme Court decision of Linke v Freed, elected officials do not lose their rights to the first amendment. Another Supreme Court decision, Houston College, also codifies the right of public officials to write, publish editorials and opinion pieces. That ruling clarified that censure and other measures are reserved for actions at the dais, and not for expressions of public sentiments.
While it may be that stating something is an opinion is appropriate for testimony before a board or commission or press releases, it is pretty clear that opinion pieces in an opinion column in the opinion section of the newspaper are simply that, opinions.
Members of the public can submit comments on this matter at the next borough assembly on July 25. Emails can be sent to [email protected] or one can testify in person or electronically.
To testify, a person can sign up by calling the clerk at 907-459-1401, sign up at the assembly chambers, or can sit through the Thursday evening testimony and wait for an opportunity to speak.
Leftists are ridiculous time wasters! Sorry.
All day long a person can have an “opinion”. She spoke as a private citizen. Not as an assembly person. This is why you do not give any time to this sort of disruptive bs. Call it out, yes. But the day we do not have a right to a personal opinion, that is communistic all day long.
Sounds like we have some people in Fairbanks who should probably consider moving out of Alaska if they can’t handle freedom.
Remember her name so when this leftist movement comes crashing down she can answer for her part in denial of freedom.
Fight Fairbanks, Fight!!!!!!!
Haney has been a target of the lefty communists in Fairbanks for years. The Newsminus is the commie rag that loves the left, and promotes them non-stop. Fletcher is a lousy attorney, but a really hip POS for gullible, brainwashed young people. Havana is a laughable candidate for Senate. Cronk will clean her clock. That’s it.
The same Savanah Fletcher; Assembly presiding officer was observed and recorded marching with the Anti-christian, anti Jew, anti-American, pro Palestinian Event that was intended to interrupt the celebration of the centennial of the Noel Wien flight on July 2nd of this year.
Don’t worry. Mike Cronk’s got it all on video. Some great TV ads to follow. Go Mike! Bury this little self-important witch.
Want to stop it? Use lawfare against the left.
The Left-Loonies need to go to California to be with their own kind. No one cares what they have to say because they are so moronic.
“Ethics Complaints, False Claims, Character Assassinations & Lawfare”
… The new weapon in defeating adversaries at any cost!
What does a toddler do when they hear something they do not like? They cover their ears, and scream loudly to drown out the “offending” words.
.
How is this any different?
You’ve written a brilliant column Suzanne. Liberals ignore the constitution and common sense as a matter of course. Of all people we want to speak freely, without limit, are our elected officials. Thank you for citing case law that makes a mockery of the actions of Fletcher. Wasn’t this the same one who supported the anti- Israel crew that used free speech to shout down those speaking at an aviation gathering? Yeah, one and the same.
Democrats, progressives, socialists and communists – they have learned to master law-fare. It seems that Republicans and conservatives are only now waking up. They, we, need to go on offense instead of playing defense.
It’s about time conservatives returned the favor and started applying some of that lawfare to their opponents on the other side, when a fire is so out of control the only way to fight it is with fire.
I’m all in hunter.
Indeed she should have done a disclaimer. Thats common practice. If im speaking to the Msb assembly as a citizen I always state that I’m not speaking for the Msb planning commission as I am a planning commissioner. Of course some raging ass will bring it up if you fail to do that . It’s not fun to do public service on any of these commissions anymore. It’s unfortunate.
Havana Fletcher is a so-called civil rights attorney in Fairbanks, but from what we’ve seen, she’s a third rate lawyer with few skills. Lawyers that aspire to be politicians are usually not very good at lawyering. Unfortunately, for Havana, she not much of a politician either. Little communist women in the Banks get their relief from marijuana parties in house districts 34 and 35.
Seems to be a lot of marijuana grow up in Fairbanks this year. What’s up with that? Are all the Interior Democrats stoners?
Not just democrats. Winter is long and hard in the interior.
MA:
Careful how you use long and hard conjunctively. Interior winters usually produce more alcoholism up there, which is antithetical to your description. What I’ve seen is that the unusually high numbers of lesbians in the Interior are a detriment to the satisfaction of real, straight men. The women up there that grasp for Democrat leadership roles are a bunch of psychos.
Most of them enter Alaska through UAF. The lesbian portal to the Last Frontier.
True. Lots of old, fat lesbians still living in Fairbanks. Many of them retired NEA’ers living off their retirement money, still looking for a date.
A reminder of what the Alaska Constitution says:
“Every person may freely speak, write, and publish on all subjects, being responsible for the abuse of that right.”
The constitution can not be revoked or amended by some dipsxxx 2nd class borough. Fletcher is an idiot. An absolute idiot.
Imagine what can be, unencumbered by what has been!
Same technique Andree McCloud, the Falafel Lady used against Palin. Lawfare. Cheers –
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