A Friday listening to supposed to research a significant marketing campaign finance criticism towards a bunch backing Gov. Mike Dunleavy’s re-election bid revealed no new proof to assist claims that the group illegally coordinated with Dunleavy’s marketing campaign.
The Alaska Public Workplaces Fee now has 10 days to look at beforehand submitted paperwork and testimony earlier than ruling on the criticism, which impacts a multimillion-dollar group backed by the nationwide Republican Governors Affiliation.
Lawyer Scott Kendall, representing a pair of nonprofits who filed the criticism, instructed fee members that the place of Brett Huber, a former Dunleavy aide, was a violation of state legislation as a result of he concurrently held a contract with the state, had a place in Dunleavy’s re-election marketing campaign and labored for a third-party group.
Underneath oath on Friday, Huber downplayed his function within the re-election marketing campaign and the third-party group, named A Stronger Alaska. Huber mentioned he was solely an adviser to A Stronger Alaska and didn’t direct the group’s spending. He mentioned he served as a deputy treasurer for Dunleavy’s marketing campaign with a purpose to conduct one fundraiser and requested to be faraway from his place after the occasion however by no means was.
State legislation forbids campaigns from coordinating with third-party teams, and Huber mentioned there was no coordination, although paperwork listed him as a member of the marketing campaign and A Stronger Alaska concurrently.
Kendall admitted that the proof is circumstantial however mentioned it strains credulity to imagine there was no coordination.
“Do you need to stand in your deck at 1 a.m. and watch it snow to know that it snowed within the morning? Or do you imagine, once you get up within the morning and there’s snow in your yard, {that a} UFO flew over your own home and dropped snow on you? What’s extra probably?” he mentioned.
Lawyer Richard Moses, representing A Stronger Alaska, mentioned Kendall failed to fulfill the burden of proof.
“All you’ve got heard at this time is that if, if, if, and however, however, however. Effectively, if ifs and buts had been sweet and nuts, we might all have a Merry Christmas this 12 months,” he mentioned.
“The explanation there isn’t a proof of coordination is as a result of coordination didn’t happen,” Moses mentioned, telling commissioners that the criticism is politically motivated and supposed to disrupt spending by A Stronger Alaska to assist Dunleavy.
Tom Amodio, representing the Dunleavy marketing campaign, famous that Huber had requested the marketing campaign to take away him as a deputy treasurer nevertheless it failed to take action.
“The marketing campaign failed to take action, and it was the marketing campaign’s failure. Completely. However that doesn’t rise to the extent of coordination and cooperation,” he mentioned.
Kendall known as a witness in an try to impeach Huber’s testimony as unreliable, however her testimony was interrupted by objections from the opposing attorneys.
Closing his argument, Kendall mentioned it’s suspicious that Huber has been paid $80,000 for a job that solely includes recommendation.
“That doesn’t sound like a great funding, in case you’re paying cash to somebody who has totally no thought what you’re doing and no enter on what you do,” he mentioned.
Initially revealed by the Alaska Beacon, an impartial, nonpartisan information group that covers Alaska state authorities.