Public safety investigation dogs Alaska governor
Published Friday, August 15, 2008
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JUNEAU — Gov. Sarah Palin, a rising young GOP star mentioned as a possible running mate for John McCain, could see her clean-hands reputation damaged by a growing furor over whether she tried to get her former brother-in-law fired as a state trooper.
A legislative panel has launched a $100,000 investigation to determine if Palin dismissed Alaska’s public safety commissioner because he would not fire the trooper, Mike Wooten. Wooten went through a messy divorce from Palin’s sister.
Palin has denied the commissioner’s dismissal had anything to do with her former brother-in-law. And she denied orchestrating the dozens of telephone calls made by her husband and members of her administration to Wooten’s bosses.
Palin said she welcomes the investigation: “Hold me accountable.”
Still, the allegations she abused her office could prove embarrassing for Palin, who got elected in 2006 on an ethics reform platform.
“It could be a bit of a knock on the clean-government issue in Alaska she backed,” said Shaun Bowler, a political scientist at the University of California at Riverside.
Referring to Republican Sen. Ted Stevens’ recent indictment on corruption charges and the bribery-and-conspiracy scandal that has ensnared five former or current state lawmakers, GOP analyst John Feehery said: “Right now, in Alaska all you have to do is say the word ’investigation’ and people are going to be running away.”
Nevertheless, Palin is still riding high in Alaska, where she jump-started a project to build a natural gas pipeline and pushed through a plan to send every resident $1,200 from the state’s oil-rich treasury to offset high fuel prices.
And based on what has come out so far, some GOP insiders and political scientists said they are not worried about the effect on her prospects for higher office. (Some analysts said that because of her relative inexperience, Palin never had any realistic chance of being picked for vice president.)
“I would be very surprised if Sarah Palin didn’t become a larger figure within national politics and I would be very surprised if she wasn’t a part of a McCain administration,” said Todd Harris, a Republican aide on McCain’s 2000 White House bid.
Up to now, GOP insiders and political analysts have marveled at Palin’s ascent on the national scene, calling her fearless style, her reform efforts, her energy and her glamour refreshing.
The 44-year-old Palin has not been afraid to take on the Republican Old Guard in Alaska and has tangled with the oil companies over taxes and gas leases. Last year, the former beauty queen posed for a photo shoot in Vogue, and this spring she gave birth to her fifth child, who was found to have Down syndrome.
Palin’s problems started a month ago when she fired Public Safety Commissioner Walt Monegan, saying she wanted the department to go in a new direction.
Monegan has said he does not know why he was fired. But he said pressure to get rid of Wooten had come from those around Palin, including her husband, Todd; her former chief of staff; and other top officials.
In 2005, before Palin ran for office, the Palin family accused Wooten of drinking a beer while in his patrol car, illegal hunting and firing a Taser at his 11-year-old stepson. The Palins also claimed Wooten threatened to kill Sarah Palin’s father.
Wooten was suspended over the allegations for five days in 2006 but is still on the job. Monegan refused to comment on Wooten’s situation, saying he could not discuss personnel matters.
More recently, Todd Palin said, he took his concerns over the governor’s safety directly to Monegan. But he said he never told anyone to fire Wooten.
Wooten has refused to comment.
Attorney General Talis Colberg’s conducted an investigation and found that 14 members of the Palin administration — including Colberg himself — made calls to Department of Public Safety officials about Wooten.
In one of those calls, Frank Bailey, director boards and commissions, was tape-recorded as saying: “Todd and Sarah are scratching their heads, why on earth hasn’t, why is this guy still representing the department?”
On Wednesday, Palin said none of the two dozen or so calls were made at her direction.
Bailey, similarly, said he acted on his own. He said the only time he heard the governor discuss Wooten was during a security briefing shortly after she was elected.
“From that point on I’ve had a concern this person could fly off the handle and do something terrible to the governor, to her family or to the public,” Bailey said.
Community Discussion
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So what does it take to fire a Trooper?
a Fire-ing squad.
I'm thinking that making the allegations at the time instead of waiting for two years when the Trooper was in the middle of a nasty divorce may have brought about a different outcome.
Call me crazy, or just some hick, but where I grew up, if you failed to report a crime, you got charged to.
Don't get me wrong, a trooper who kills moose illegally, TAZER's an 11 year old (even for one second), or is drinking and driving a state vehicle should have been fired on the spot. Unfortunately, since Wooten has already been punished there is nothing more that can be done to him, those right's things really get in the way of justice sometimes. But we can certainly still hold the rest of the players accountable, from the Trooper who gave him a pass on the DWI, his supervisors, and everybody who decided to wait years to come forward about the other crimes.
John-
I wrote a bit about that on the article from the 13th.
See this from ADN.
http://www.adn.com/politics/story/476430......
Hope the link works this time.
Okay, it works on the 13th article. Maybe it needs to be copied from the original ADN article...
http://www.adn.com/politics/story/476430...
"could see her clean-hands reputation damaged by a growing furor"
What furor? I don't get it.
It's a minor furor, but it's still bigger than anything she's faced before, IIRC.
Much ado about nothing....
Betcha Saras glad we had that shooting in Fairbanks. Gets her off the hot seat a bit for a while. Hey Corrine you talked about your problems with domestic violence, why not call Sara and find out if she only investigates her family problems or if she might look into everyone else's who have had similar problems to yours, and likely hindreds of others.
I still say that a person who tells everyone to resign for the good of the state, with no more than a news story in the beginning should take here own advice. As I said what goes around comes around.
Or maybe we should elect Hillary, so Bill could sit in the oval office talking to her officials, as Todd sat in the Governor's chair talking to officials. Hmmm
There are a lot of great cops out there. Men and woman with badges, that really do care about integrity and honor. People we can trust.
Unfortunately their misplaced sense of loyalty, and the work of union lawyers, keeps the disgraceful jackals working right along side them.
The police need to work on policing themselves better. Don't look the other way when they know there's a problem. And cops shouldn't be scorned for reporting concerns or problems. Lives are at stake.
Is that too much to ask?
hey santame, that wasn't the point...remember?
Didn't you read the whole other thread? The posts before you came in at the end?
Did you read the link I provided?
Besides, if you recall, I said I didn't report it.
Matthew, you may be right, but all the ones I know that could be trusted retired.
Some weeks ago, I suggested an outside review board, with a few details towards making it work.
Having cops policing themselves doesn't work.
But the ones that do report concerns (and this happened to a few of the ones I know/knew), are demoted or don't rise within the departments.
In fact, that is part of what the lawsuit against the city by two cops is about.
santame, I stand by what I said on the other threads.
And I support my Gov and her family.
Not the troopers.
Monegan knows exactly why he was relieved of his position and now refuses to comment on personnel matters because why? He no longer is employed by the State. He felt 'pressured' on the Wooten case? Did he feel anything at all to fill the 50 plus positions of AST with qualified applicants? I am sure that many other "Wooten" type complaints entered the AST command, right to the top and nothing was done, and if it was - just as Wooten's was handled.
I have to agree with MErickson - there are alot of GOOD troopers out there who DO try to make it right, and they have my utmost respect. I have worked along side many of them, but I have also worked along side many who are total 'butt heads'.
aksunshine,
What do you propose that DPS do to fill positions? Other than offering a competitive pay/benefit package (which budget cuts are preventing), how do you get someone to sign up for a job where they rarely see their family, risk their lives, get to work shifts, long overtime days, put bodies in bags, get shot at, spit on, and yelled at by everyone in creation? Then they get to read in the paper about how everyone hates them and thinks they are all corrupt.
Monegan wanted more funding for the Department to improve working conditions and pay/benefits so that he could fill the positions, and he had filled the last two classes (before getting canned) with more recruits than had been recruited for the previous 6 years.
Palin's excuse for firing him is smoke and mirrors, outright deception. She canned him because he wanted to increase the budget, and wouldn't fire her brother in law. It's not rocket science.
" Other than offering a competitive pay/benefit package (which budget cuts are preventing), how do you get someone to sign up for a job where they rarely see their family, risk their lives, get to work shifts, long overtime days, put bodies in bags, get shot at, spit on, and yelled at by everyone in creation? Then they get to read in the paper about how everyone hates them and thinks they are all corrupt."
Almost sounds like the military doesn't it. I realize that more recruits were in the last two classes, as I know many of them personally, and each of them were in the military prior with law enforcement backgrounds and/or from families who are/were in law enforcement.
If he, Monegan, feels he was canned for wanting to increase the budget of DPS, then that is what he should say - not just because he felt pressured into the Wooten case. I am not saying that Monegan was not well respected within many groups, and yes, he did do alot of good things for the law enforcement. But again, he has not repeatedly stated 'due to not having support to increase DPS budget' as one of the reason's he was relieved of position. He continues to say 'feeling pressure to fire Wooten' as reason.
If DPS intends to fill empty positions, than by golly they should really start looking on how within the department to make it more attractive to those who do qualify and hesitate to apply. Those who apply just because of salary/benefits need to take a deeper look into the profession. Many who apply may think that they are automatically going to get into an urban setting, when in reality they are needed more in rural areas. Maybe DPS should go back to the use of Constables in rural areas and after a few years there, moving them up to being an ALASKA STATE TROOPER.
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