But investigator Michael Geraghty and one of the complainants, Anthony Martin, never addressed one question about the governor's November trip to Georgia to campaign for Republican Sen. Saxby Chambliss.
Why did the state of Alaska pay per diem expenses to Kris Perry, director of the governor's Anchorage office, for her time in Georgia?
According to spokeswoman Sharon Leighow, the Chambliss campaign covered travel and lodging expenses for the governor and Perry while they were in Georgia. But Leighow said the state paid per diem to Perry in Georgia because the trip qualified as state business.
State business? How's that?
The administration argues that Chambliss was a vote for drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge and his opponent wasn't.
We have no quarrel with Gov. Palin campaigning for someone outside Alaska. She's a national figure now.
But to describe her trip to Georgia as state business because Chambliss favors ANWR drilling is fig leaf cover at best. Supporting Alaska in a congressional issue is hardly grounds for using State of Alaska money to support one side in an election battle. With a standard that loose, a governor could spend an entire election season campaigning at state expense in all 435 House races and 33 Senate races,
Paying State of Alaska per diem for Kris Perry while she was with the governor on a campaign trip doesn't pass the red-face test.
The Georgia trip was partisan politics. None of that should happen on the state dime, including Perry's per diem.
Leighow argues that Gov. Palin is governor 24/7 and that Perry works for the governor. True. But that doesn't mean that everything Gov. Palin does is state business. The governor and her staff need to make that distinction with bright, clear lines.
Take a partisan political trip? Fine. Any of it on the state's tab? No.
The money at issue was minimal -- $105. But here's the rub -- while many of the ethics complaints against Palin have been silly, the Palin administration has failed to draw those bright, clear lines separating state, personal and partisan political business.
That diminishes trust in the governor. That's not good for Alaska. Or for the governor.
BOTTOM LINE: Alaskans shouldn't pay a dime for partisan political trips -- and Gov. Palin should make sure that we don't.
Tug escorts
Murkowski, Begich aim to keep tanker traffic safe in Sound
Alaska Sens. Lisa Murkowski and Mark Begich have not forgotten the lessons or legacy of the 1989 Exxon Valdez oil spill.
That puts them on the same page with the majority of Alaskans who were here for that disaster.
So it's no surprise they have co-sponsored legislation in the Senate to require two-vessel escorts for all tankers in Prince William Sound. Rep. Don Young is working on similar legislation in the House.
Their bill would put into law what is currently just practice. The Oil Pollution Act of 1990, passed in response to the Exxon Valdez spill, requires escorts for single-hulled tankers, not the double-hulled vessels that make up almost all of the fleet now. The senators' bill would require the same escorts for the double-hulled tankers.
Their bill echoes a resolution Alaska's Legislature passed overwhelmingly in April.
Keep the twin escorts. Powerful, nimble tractor tugs can help keep tankers out of trouble and provide a first response in the event of any spill.
One shadows the tanker in close -- through Valdez Narrows, it's tethered to the tanker -- while the other maintains a "sentinel" position. Should a tanker run into trouble, both tugs can work the big ship, or one can help steer the tanker while the other responds to a spill with containment boom and other gear.
Most important, the increased vigilance the tugs provide makes any accident less likely. They are one of the reasons Alaska's oil transportation is among the safest in the world.
Prevention is gospel in protecting the Sound and Alaska's prosperity. Our senators have offered an "amen" with the force of law.
Their bill deserves swift passage to assure safe passage of Alaska's oil.
BOTTOM LINE: Keep Prince William Sound protected. Keep the escorts for all tankers.
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