Citing a "cavalier mindset" in conducting his business as a legislator, the Legislative Ethics Committee has found former state Rep. Alan Dick guilty of five Ethics Act violations, ordering him to repay the state nearly $18,000. The payment is the largest reimbursement by a legislator due to an ethics violation in recent history.
The complaint against Dick, filed in December 2012, contained eight allegations. The former Republican legislator representing Stony River, Alaska, was found in violation of five of the allegations, while three were dismissed.
The first violation found that Dick, his wife and son sometimes used his Fairbanks legislative office as a residence, thus using state resources "not only for his private [benefit] but for the private benefit of others, that of his wife and son," the news release states.
The second violation states that he performed campaign activities out of his legislative office for two weeks prior to the 2012 general election, thus using state resources for partisan political activities.
Dick was cited for two violations for requiring one of his legislative employees to prepare materials for a Chamber of Commerce candidate debate on the state's dime. He later stated that he was confused as to whether the debate was related to his status as a legislator, to which the committee stated that "legislators are well aware of the difference."
Lastly, the committee cited numerous violations in regards to Dick's 2012 legislative travel. "He routinely combined legislative travel with campaign activities," the news release says.
"He seemed to operate under the premise that rules and regulations regarding legislative travel did not apply to him," the release continues.
Dick has been ordered to repay the state $17,995.03 for the violations, the majority of which - $14,495.35 - are costs associated with the investigation and adjudication of the complaint.
While Dick joins multiple other state legislators who have been found guilty of violating the state Ethics Act, Administrator Joyce Anderson said that the reimbursements are the largest issued to a state legislator since she began working at the Select Coommittee on Legislative Ethics in 2001.
Before Dick, the most recent Ethics violation by a legislator was in 2012, when Rep. Scott Kawasaki, D-Fairbanks, was found in violation of the Ethics Act for sending a newsletter using state resources to residents that were not in his current legislative district.
The complainant who filed the allegations against Dick will remain confidential, Anderson said.
In 2012 Dick was chastised for saying women should get permission from a man before getting an abortion, and for using an ethnic slur when referring to Japanese people.
Dick could not be reached for comment on Wednesday afternoon.
Contact Laurel Andrews at laurel(at)alaskadispatch.com