On July 25, the Fairbanks Borough Assembly will take up an ethics complaint brought against Assemblywoman Barbara Haney by Kristin Schupp.
She alleges that Haney broke code 6.12.010 which states that a “public official shall not represent themselves as being the official authorized spokesperson for the Assembly on a given issue unless specially authorized by the Assembly,” and that “a public official when making a public statement … shall state that they are expressing a personal opinion unless authorized to speak on behalf of the Assembly.”
Schupp is on a witch hunt, accusing Haney of breaking this code because she expressed personal opinions in the “Opinion” section of the local newspaper and didn’t specifically say, “in my opinion as a private citizen.”
The code does not state that those “exact” words have to be written on every opinion column in the opinion section of the newspaper.
One of Haney’s opinion articles questioned school safety claims that prompted the Assembly to hold a failed special election to raise local taxes to benefit public schools. Schupp’s husband (it should be noted) is Bobby Burgess – a Fairbanks School Board member.
Schupp’s complaint also cites another Haney opinion piece about a local animal shelter.
Throughout the years, numerous government officials including borough assemblymen and women, have written articles in this section of the Daily News Miner. I have rarely noticed any of them explicitly give the disclaimer: “In my opinion as a private citizen.”
Schupp’s complaint notes that every Assembly decision must be voted on by the Assembly, suggesting that Haney’s opinion articles somehow caused confusion over the process. I guess this means that she feels we are too ignorant as public citizens to understand the difference between a newspaper opinion piece and a vote in the Assembly.
The Assembly’s presiding officer over it Ethics Committee is Savannah Fletcher, the same woman who prosecuted and failed in the attempt to remove conservative Wasilla State Rep. David Eastman from office. In Haney’s case, Fletcher saw an opportunity to turn her Eye of Mordor onto another conservative and proceed with the bogus ethics allegations.
Why should we care? Well, if they succeed in punishing or even harming Barbara Haney’s record with this fake ethics complaint today, it opens wide the door to squash free speech for many others.
Depending on how far down the rabbit hole they want to drag, it could prove costly to Haney – physically, emotionally and financially – and it will set a precedent for future conservative victims they wish to hunt down.
I have an opinion I’d like to share. I see Assemblywoman Barbara Haney as a breath of fresh air. Not only does she take her job seriously in serving the people of the Fairbanks Borough, she’s also transparent and reveals information to the public (who voted for her) that might easily be missed otherwise.
Haney sounds the alarm and activates her community in situations where other assembly people try to keep quiet. No wonder they are targeting her.
Please show up and stand up for Haney this Thursday – or even before with emails to the assembly. If they succeed in this scheme, it will be that much harder to get future candidates and assembly people that will be as transparent as Haney has been.
When government officials get away with sneaky tactics and secret meetings, freedoms start to disappear, taxes rise, and the general community suffers.
ALASKA WATCHMAN DIRECT TO YOUR INBOX
TAKING ACTION
— To help stop this attack against freedom of speech, please send emails, call or attend Thursday’s meeting at 6 p.m.
— Members of the public can submit comments on this matter to assembly@fnsb.gov. You can also testify in person or electronically. To testify, sign up by calling the clerk at 907-459-1401, or sign up at the assembly chambers, or sit through the Thursday evening testimony and wait for an opportunity to speak.
— Click here for more information about the July 25 meeting.
The views expressed here are those of the author.
15 Comments
Reads like Trump wrote it.
Your reading comprehension needs improvement.
In Haney’s letter about safety conditions at schools, she clearly represented herself as an Assembly member, and not as a private citizen. For example, her letter states: “During my tenure on the Assembly, I have prioritized projects related to the health and safety of students — that is the borough’s statutory obligation. If those projects had been in the Capital Improvement list, I would have fast-tracked them.”
The Assembly’s ethics committee determined that Haney violated the ethics ordinance. The committee recommended no further penalty should be levied, but that all Assembly members must be trained on appropriate communications to the public when expressing personal opinions. This seems fair to me, and not at all the “witch hunt” the author claims.
Lawyer games. More Andre MacLoed obstruction.
I see so your unaware that when an opinion piece is written that it is the opinion of the author? And if even if your mental stature limits you from drawing these conclusions, it has clearly been sufficient in the past for assembly members to use this same approach to the process and avoid censuring, so despite your intellectual challenges, can you hypothesize any reason for which Ms. Haney had action taken against her when all other instances of the same situation had not yielded that result? Or could it be that this is just because she is the political opponent of those leveling the censure? I’m sorry but either you have an IQ that struggles to break room temperature, or you being a disingenuous partisan hack, I do apologize if its the prior, I just don’t think that is the case.
Thank you for reporting on this latest attack on Ms. Haney. I don’t understand how Fairbanks Assemblywoman Savannah Fletcher sat on the ethics committee to remove Rep David Eastman? Was she a state senate rep at the time?
Fletcher was the attorney representing a Mat-Su resident who challenged Eastman’s eligibility to run for office due to his lifetime membership in the Oath Keepers in 2022. She is now the presiding officer of the FNSB Assembly.
The awaiting moderation message is back. Good to see!
The nice thing about Totalitarians is they always let you know who the good guys are… +++
Wow! In reading most of the stories the past couple of weeks, one thing I am certain of is the people of Alaska are not in control of our state or government. The left are able somehow to get money and lots of it to the dems and there is no way I will believe that the real people of Alaska want what they are shoveling.
Barbara Haney is good for Fairbanks. A lady who tries to do what is best for the people. I support her.
Ethics in politics is an oxymoron in the first place. I’m tired of politicians treating the public in general as idiots that couldn’t possibly understand their actions. I won’t even attempt to tell you what the public’s opinion of them is in general. That rule Barbara allegedly broke should be scrapped anyway. It violates her basic 1st Amendment rights. Just because she became a public servant does not invalidate her basic and fundamental rights. Round file the rule, instead how about we make a rule about capping election funds that will enable more people to run for office. I’m fed up with politicians buying their way into a position when it should be based on merit, knowledge, and representation promises. Leave Barbara Haney alone!!!!
Taxation without representation! If your fed up do something about it!
Any time a person writes an opinion article, it is assumed that it is a personal opinion, no matter what the person’s organization is. This is just an attempt to make a mountain out of a mole hill.
I applaud your devotion. I’ve looked at your sketch, and the material you’ve created is excellent. Nevertheless, you appear to be apprehensive about the prospect of heading in a direction that could cause discomfort. I agree with you that you will be able to deal with this issue in a timely manner.