Our friend Walt Monegan gets a do over.

Courtesy of ADN: 

Gov. Bill Walker’s public safety commissioner is retiring and will be replaced by Walt Monegan, the former Anchorage police chief and public safety commissioner who was ousted in former Gov. Sarah Palin’s Troopergate scandal. 

Gary Folger, appointed commissioner in 2014 by Sean Parnell and kept on by Gov. Bill Walker, said he’s retiring at the end of May because of health problems — he has multiple myeloma. 

Monegan will be the replacement, according to Walker’s office. He’ll oversee a department with a $195 million budget and 900 employees, including the Alaska State Troopers. 

It will be Monegan’s second time as public safety commissioner, following his firing by Palin in 2008. A legislative report subsequently found that Monegan’s dismissal was partly because he wouldn’t fire a state trooper who was an enemy of Palin’s husband.

Of all of the people wronged by Sarah Palin that I have talked to over the years, and there have been many, Walt Monegan remains one of my favorites.

The guy is extremely humble and simply bursting with integrity. 

Governor Walker and Alaska are lucky to have him.

By the way for those who want to know more about Walt I sat down with him back in 2009, when he was running for Mayor of Anchorage, for a lengthy, and I hope interesting, interview which you can read here.

The return of Walt Monegan!

Courtesy of Alaska Dispatch News:  

Gov. Bill Walker announced Monday that he had accepted the resignation of Alaska’s corrections commissioner after the release of a scathing report detailing widespread failures and dysfunction that may have led to deaths in Alaska jails. 

Walker said he received the resignation of Ron Taylor on Sunday. At an 11 a.m. Monday news conference following the report’s release, Walker said Walt Monegan, the former Anchorage police chief and state commissioner of public safety, would temporarily take over Alaska’s prison system during a search for a replacement. 

Walker had ordered the outside review in August after a string of highly publicized prisoner deaths that stirred public outcry and drew some lawmakers’ attention. 

“It’s clear as a result of this that the system is broken,” Walker said at the news conference. “And we’re going to fix it.”

Well if Governor Walker wants the prison system in Alaska fixed, he could probably not do much better than putting Walt Monegan on the job. 

For those of you who have been reading here since 2008, I do not need to explain who Walt is, and why this is a big deal.

For those of you who have not heard of Walt Monegan, here is his Wikipedia page, and at the bottom of the Dispatch link there is an explanation as well.

However for those looking for a brief synopsis, it goes like this:

Then Governor Sarah Palin hated Trooper, and former brother-in-law, Mike Wooten.

She and her husband tried to convince then Public Safety Commissioner Walt Monegan to fire him.

Walt could find no reason to do so, and explained that their personal vendetta against the guy was not just cause.

In retaliation, Palin fired Monegan.

There was an investigation into the firing, which after much public pressure was finally released as the Branchflower Report.

That report exonerated Monegan of any wrong doing, and instead revealed the pettiness, and retaliatory nature of Palin and her husband.

And yes all of this happened WHILE Palin was running as John McCain's VP.

On a personal note I once interviewed Walt when he was running for mayor of Anchorage, which you can read here, and when I was being threatened and harassed after my now notorious Splitsville post I reached out to him and he gave me some good advice.

In short Walt is an incredibly honest and ethical man, who I have no doubt will serve our Governor well, just like he once tried to do for a certain half term loser too ignorant to take his advice.

Greta Van Susteren interviews Never-Blink-Barbie concerning unfolding DHS "scandal." Remember kids, do NOT stare directly into her eyes!

Greta sets up the interview for Palin by addressing the website from that DHS worker I posted about yesterday, and inviting her to go all Alex Jones about it.

And Palin, eyes in never blink mode, does not disappoint:

"Oh thank you for covering this one Greta, this one is unflippinbelievable. This one is stupidity on steroids...Obama administration."

Greta, who looks like having to talk to the Wasilla Wendigo causes her physical pain, expresses disbelief that something like this can happen, and that the man's supervisors knew about it. (It should be noted that while the DHS signed off on the idea of setting up a website to sell concert tickets there is NO evidence that they knew what the website contained.) However Palin knows EXACTLY why it happened.

"We'll find out more as to whether he received approval if this or not, because evidently, thus far, it looks like he did  receive approval to have this side job of running the website. But its pretty ironic there that we hear that..uh..other officials are saying that appropriate actions will be taken if we what...form a committee and decide whether this guy has violated any kind of HR rules or not. Well it seems to be appropriate disciplinary action, with these very gnarly HR issues that we are seeing in..by some in the Obama administration. Result in what? Sharing tea and crumpets with the offending official. (Tea and crumpets? Where in the hell did THAT come from?) Look at the scandals in the IRS, the DOJ, now DHS, and NSA. (Wow that is a lot of acrimony over acronyms!) These are HR issues.  (Does she even KNOW that HR stands for Human Relations? She throws it around like she is referring to the KKK.) It starts at the top when the Big Brother bosses decide what rules, what laws, they choose to follow, that day. (Palin follows this up with that thousand yard stare of hers that makes her look like a ventriloquist dummy whose owner just stepped out for a smoke.)

Greta then suggests that it can be difficult to get rid of government workers, but then suggest that if she were in charge she would find a way to remove the guy from his job.

This Palin's cue to make this personal. 

"What are they afraid of, getting sued? So what? I fired people in my jobs as city manager (City Manager? I thought she was the Mayor?) and as Governor. And yep, I've been sued for firing those who have been engaged in nefarious acts. (You know like Walt Monegan who would not allow her to persecute her ex-brother-in-law, or the librarian who would not allow her to ban books, or the museum worker who would not stop teaching people facts. Such nefarious people.) So what? So you get sued. You have to go through that process, unfortunate, you know this is a society that loves these lawsuits. and so often it's the innocent who have to end up paying. And in this case it's going to be the taxpayer having to pay for court costs and everything else if the guy does decide to sue, but SO WHAT! Get him out of there. Maybe he's in a union, protected by some union thug leadership, thinking that this guy I a public servant. Well he's not a public servant, He wants to kill his fellow Americans, we need to get rid of him. And by the way it's very important that the leaders in these agencies, and in this administration, can truly have servant's hearts. (Wait, what? Well this train to Crazy Town just made a pit stop ins WTF-ville!) It's got to be more than just..um.. security for..uh..job security for an individual like this official. That isn't what we should be concerned about, it needs to be servant's hearts, Serving we the people." (Then she comes to a dead stop, and it's all dead eyes again.)

Greta then suggests the possibility that the man's superiors did not know about the website because the agency is too big.

Why is Palin grinning like that?

"Well I'm glad you bring that up. (Uh oh!) Because that's a fundamental problem in our government . It is so grandiose, so large, that things are out of control. This is an example of that. Where what, the agency even is so big that a supervisor, a boss, can't keep hold of one of its employees. (This might be a good place to remind everybody that Obama has been shrinking the size of government quite significantly since he has been in office.) Didn't do the right background information? Or continued information gathering? They gather information on all of us innocent Americans, why not one of their employees whose in charge of security, buying the guns and ammo? They couldn't do any surveillance, if you will, on this guy to find out what the heck his vocation, his avocation, happened to be? Trying to kill whites!"

Greta looks a little shocked and quickly moves the topic to Ashton Kutcher, acting as if it is beyond surprising that a liberal Hollywood type would advocate hard work.

Palin continues that theme and essentially infers that Kutcher must have abandoned his liberal ideals in order to embrace the conservative ones of hard work, which of course were NEVER simply conservative ideals. It is kind of humorous hearing a woman who works about once a week, and parties the other six, judging others concerning their work ethic.

After that segue Greta asks Palin about rumors that she might challenge Mark Begich for his Senate seat in 2014. (Can I answer that? She won't. Okay, fine let's hear her dance around the issue.)

"Well our present Senator, Mark Begich..'Marky Mark and the Funky Bunch' which is kind of how we refer to him up here. (No we don't.) He's being led by this bunch of Harry Reid, and President Obama...Mark Begich having been so supportive of their agenda. Ushering in Obamacare ,and incurring more and more debt. He certainly needs to be replaced. And we need someone there who understands that..uh..you know our country's going bankrupt ( Also not true.) and we need to rein in government, some simple 'we the people' type principles that need to be enacted. And that's not going to come from Mark Begich. He needs to be replaced, but Greta it doesn't have to be me. There are thousands of good Alaskans (Thousands?) with that servant's heart and the ability and the desire to serve we the people. Doesn't have to be me. I do think it's kind of hilarious though that Mark Begich seems to want to use my name as his fundraising tool so often with his far left friends (Translation: Alaskans who hate me.) cause every time I speak about this issue he'll fire of emails, and fundraising pleas saying 'Sarah Palin's talking about taking my job.' It's kind of in a panic there, being threatened I guess, but it doesn't have to be me, and as of this date I am not planning to run for the US Senate, but I certainly would never say never in this case." (Yeah how could she convince whose idiots to donate to SarahPAC if she stopped pretending she was going to run for office?)

Greta tries to get an actual answer out of Palin, but to no avail.

Said rather crankily, "The door is never going to be closed in terms of opportunity that could be out there to serve people who are deserving of those with common sense conservative values, but Mark Begich, and heck all those far left Senators I..err..ya know..they do need to be replaced..uh..President Obama does not need more numbers on his side of the aisle when it comes to incurring more debt and burdening Americans with more and more big brother government."

Okay did Palin actually rip Begich for using scare tactics to raise money? Seriously?

By the way though I may WISH that Mark Begich was working to push forward a progressive agenda, his recent ads on talk radio certainly do not support that. In fact most of them are very adversarial toward the President.

Damn that was quite a ride on the crazy train.

I will leave it up to all of you to discuss her wig, her thousand yard stare, and her word salad.

Me, I need some more coffee. This is MUCH too early to be listening to anything this stomach churning.

Update: Here is the official transcript, which I REALLY wish I had found before I transcribed this whole thing by hand. 

Alaskan men walk to raise awareness about the sexual abuse of women. And they do it in high heels.

From AOL News:

"Men want to make a public statement that they detest sexual violence," said Kelley Olson, STAR's program manager. "A lot of them have told me that they walk for their sisters, they walk for their mothers, they walk for their daughters. They walk because they care about women."

Amusement factor aside, the underlying message was serious. Signs with messages including "No Means No!", "Got Consent???", "Shatter the Silence," and "Alaskans Can End Sexual Violence" bobbed along in the hands of participants.

Walt Monegan, former head of the state troopers, participated in what he said people were calling old lady shoes. "I'm old, so it's OK," he said.

Monegan, who now heads the Alaska Native Justice Center, said he was taking part because the issues of sexual assault need to be highlighted.

"Sexual assault for some folks is still kind of a sensitive, dark issue," he said. "By bringing this in a humorous light, it eases the acceptance and discussion of it. So, any way we can bring it to the surface is a good thing."



I am not sure how I missed this.  Usually this would be exactly the kind of thing that I would be notified about, but until I just read this I was totally unaware.

Too bad, I look stunning in red pumps.

And how cool is it that Walt Monegan took part in this walk?  I have had a number of great conversations with Walt, and he is a man of great compassion and integrity.

If you feel as left out as I do, and still want to help, you can do so  by clicking this link to STAR and providing a donation.

AkMuckraker has some issues with the title of Sarah Palin's book. And believe me, she is not alone.

AKM remembers the origin of that word, as used by Palin's minions, and she is angry that Palin would dare use it to sell this book of half truths and moose crap.

Click the title to read AKM's Huffington Post article. It is will enlighten you as to the slap in the face the word "rogue" is to the Alaskan people.

(BTW I noticed that AKM's picture of Walt's mom was broken at Huffington. But it just so happens I have my own picture which you can see to the left over there. She is a great lady by the way.)

Last night's election in Anchorage just makes me sad.

With almost all of the ballots counted, Sullivan had captured 43 percent of the votes cast. He needed more than 45 percent to win the mayor's race Tuesday and avoid the runoff with the No. 2 vote getter.

Former state Rep. Eric Croft will also be in the runoff, running second with about 20 percent of the vote. Assemblywoman Sheila Selkregg was third.

My favorite candidate and the man I voted for, Walt Monegan, came in fourth. I was not terribly surprised that he did not win, but I was a little surprised to see Sheila Selkregg beat him by such a substantial margin. It seems to me that Monegan's battle with Governor Palin has defined him in a way that makes many Anchorage residents consider him a hero, and others to immediately label him insubordinate and a trouble maker. I have to wonder that if Walt stays in politics those labels don't continue to define him despite his best efforts to change the narrative.

I also got spanked by my choice for the School Board seat. My neighbor Jody Smith came in third in her attempt to win seat E. Her campaign certainly was not helped by the revelation that her children's godfather is none other than portly Rush Limbaugh wannabe Dan Fagan. A more distasteful choice could hardly be imagined by Alaskan progressives.

Now that there is going to be a runoff between Eric Croft and Dan "Sarah Palin endorsed me" Sullivan, progressives will really have to band together to keep our city out of the hands of the bar owners and oil companies who paid for Sullivan's campaign.

Oh well another round of local elections is over and we can turn our attention back to the important questions of the day. Like has Sarah Palin lied yet this morning? Done anything unethical? Appointed another unqualified candidate for an important political position?

Not yet? Well it is early, just give her time.

If you live in Anchorage then the most important thing you can do today is VOTE.

I am not one to believe people should chose a candidate based on endorsements. Which is why I am not going to give any this morning.

I am just going to throw up two random pictures of two candidates. One for mayor and one for school board.

Personally I am going to make my choice based on integrity, honesty, ethical fortitude, and possibly being one of the few people to stand up to our Governor.

However I definitely want to make sure that people avoid voting for Dan Sullivan. Wrong guy, wrong choice, wrong future for my city. Let's show the Republicans that they can no longer throw money at a candidate and buy our vote. Personally I hold my vote as precious and it cannot be bought, or influenced, by big money from special interest groups.

(By the way just for clarification. That is Walt Monegan on the left, who is running for mayor, and Jody Smith on the right, who is running for the school board.)

The Alaskans for Truth website (Remember them?) has some interesting questions for Walt Monegan

Alaska's own ethical militia has taken it upon themselves to pose a few questions to the candidates that are campaigning to be mayor of Anchorage.

The first candidate to respond thus far is Walt Monegan (doesn't that seem somehow approprate?) and he does an admirable job of stepping up to the plate.

Click the title to be taken to Alaskans for Truth and take a moment to get to know Mr. Monegan just a little bit better.

Mayoral candidate Walt Monegan speaks out about sexual assault in Alaska.

Alaska's forcible rape rates are 2.5 times the national average. Our children are abused at six times the national average. We are number one in the nation for spousal and partner murder. Alaska holds the distinction of suffering higher rates of interpersonal violence than any other state in the nation. Our children, women and men endure this epidemic of violence daily.

Too often the abused grow up to become victims or abusers and the ugly cycle of pain continues. Ignoring the violent realities our neighbors and children are faced with daily is not an option. We have the resources, both financially and intellectually, to protect victims of physical and sexual violence and yet few policymakers have dedicated the time and thoughtfulness to a realistic solution would require.

As a police officer, chief of police and the commissioner of the Alaska Department of Public Safety, I witnessed the lasting damage interpersonal violence creates. I have seen little ones suffer unimaginable cruelty from those responsible for caring for them. I have investigated crime scenes, viewed pictures and learned details that continue to haunt me today. So have the men and women I worked beside. I've determined that this epidemic must be met with an equally strong charge against violence. We cannot expect change while allowing the resources and attention paid to these crimes to remain stagnant.

Doing the same thing and expecting a different result is an act of lunacy. Since Alaska has been keeping records on sexual violence, we have led this nation and still we have not taken any major initiative to counter it. Special teams dedicated to focusing only on domestic and sexual violence, from police investigators to defense attorneys, must be created. The police response to victims must be immediate and thorough. Every victim needs access to a dedicated advocate who will walk them through the painful journey of pressing charges and appearing in court. Attorneys, both prosecutorial and defense, must be allowed adequate time and resources to prepare for trial. Judges and court time must be readily available. When the criminal justice system is equipped with the resources necessary to respond to these crimes with the level of attention and detail they require, perpetrators will know there is a consequence for their actions and victims will know there is hope for the nightmare to end. Ensuring these two goals are met is the only way to create real change.

As the mayor of Anchorage, I would take the opportunity to advocate for a statewide network of dedicated sexual assault and domestic violence units. Every major change in history began in one place with just a few dedicated individuals who believed in something larger than themselves. Let Anchorage be that place. My hope is that our concentrated efforts at protecting victims would lead other cities and the state to adopt similar plans. This movement would not only place value on the lives of our state's most vulnerable residents, it would ultimately change our unfortunate history of leading the nation in interpersonal and sexual violence.

Whatever you allow, you encourage. Failing to act is a passive decision to let the abuse continue. Make no mistake: Our silence as individuals and communities is deafening and permits the cycle to perpetuate. I know with absolute certainty that our city has the resources and passionate, competent work force that real change requires. It is simply whether or not we choose to act. I hope you will join me in rising up and meeting the forces of violence with an even greater force. Then in one voice, we can finally declare "No more. This is when it ends." (Emphasis mine)

This is a beautifully written article and it should be mandatory reading for every politician and law enforcement official in Alaska.

I know that Walt (yes I call him "Walt") is not just trying to earn political points with this subject matter either. As I wrote earlier, I spent two and a half hours talking to Walt over a bowl of chili back in January, and when this topic came up his deep concern over the issue and compassion for the victims was quite evident. Walt related numerous anecdotes from his years of police work that illustrated just how important he finds this long standing problem.

On this issue Mr. Monegan and I are in total agreement.

In my past I have been very involved in rape prevention and woman's self defense. I instructed self-defense classes for a number of years, and even taught in Hawaii when I attended school there.

I have always been extremely ashamed of my state's incredibly high rape statistics, so I am definitely in support of Walt's plans for tackling this issue.

As a matter of fact if Mr. Monegan manages to become our next mayor I am going to volunteer to help work on a solution to start dramatically reducing the number of rapes in the state of Alaska.

In the race for Mayor of Anchorage candidates are offering possible solutions for the coming recession. Today Claman vs Monegan.

I am not an economist, but even I can see that the financial problems facing this city in the next few years will mean a reduction in some services or multiple layoffs within the city government.

Neither of these is likely to make the new mayor very popular.

Here is what acting Mayor Matt Claman has just done to address this problem.

For the first time in decades, the Anchorage Fire Department closed one fire station and parked two fire trucks at other stations Friday in an effort to save money in the face of ongoing budget woes.

Station 15 in Bayshore was closed all day, while a truck at the downtown Station 1 and another at the Dimond Boulevard station, No. 12, were unstaffed until 9 p.m., said Anchorage Fire Chief Craig Goodrich.

It was the first time any city fire services have been suspended since the mid-1970s, Goodrich said.

"It beats closing any station permanently," said division chief Bridget Bushue. "Hopefully this is a temporary fix."

Tom Wescott, president of the Anchorage firefighters union, disagreed with the decision, though. "It's a gamble," he said. "When you close down Station 15 ... you are keeping your fingers crossed that nothing happens there that requires a timely response."

By closing down three fire rigs, he said, the city lost 15 percent of its 20 fire apparatuses for a day. That, he says, is too much.

While the closures might not have shut down any ambulances per se, he said, it did affect medical response times because when the city's seven or eight ambulances can't get to a person, which they sometimes cannot, it's the paramedics and EMT's on the fire trucks who respond instead. "They get everything started and going, they just can't transport," Wescott said.

What the hell! Look man if you have a patient whose arm is injured, you don't cut out his freaking heart!

There are undoubtedly a lot of places where waste can be cut from the city budget that does not potentially determine if a taxpayers house burns to the ground or his children make it to the hospital in time to save their lives! How do vital emergency services make it to the top of the cost cutting list?

I have never been horribly impressed with Matt Claman but this is so irresponsible that I am having trouble believing that he spent any time thinking it over before he issued the budget cutting measures.

Hell maybe he doesn't want the job.

So are there any other potential budget cutting ideas that don't include just sitting back and watching houses burn?

Well according to mayoral candidate Walt Monegan, yeah.

With the Municipality of Anchorage (MOA) facing a projected $17.5 million budget shortfall, Monegan offered his spending priorities and ideas for new revenue streams for the City.

Among other strategies, he will focus on protecting core services such as education, public health and safety, and transportation. In his statement, Monegan stated, “While all departments will feel the pinch of the budget shortfall, there are a number of departments that need to be protected as much as possible. Even though the Anchorage School District is largely funded (more than 60%) by monies from the state and federal governments, we must seek ways to maximize their budget, such as adopting standard designs for new and remodeled schools saving millions in design costs.”

“Also, in our current economic condition, public safety will be more important than ever. Historically, when the economy weakens, crime rates increase, and increased crime threatens property values and tourism revenues. As tight household budgets becomes tighter still, some may cut back energy to heat homes or cook meals; and using alternative heating sources or the improper methods of thawing of frozen water pipes can increase the chance of filling a home with lethal CO or can cause fire. Yet, even in public health, safety, and transportation, we may have to delay certain enhancement projects, though we must still focus on such essential services like elder and child care, food inspection, and snow removal.”

Regarding the specter of worker lay-offs, Monegan will examine each individual departments staffing structure, to see if economy can be found in the management levels first. Laying off only those actually on the line who directly render the service to our community would not be in the best interest of public service.

In light of the growing popularity of the repairing the property tax cap initiative that will appear on the April ballot, Monegan both supports the initiative and is also carefully considering a sales tax plan. Property taxes can be further reduced without sacrificing city services if they are offset dollar for dollar by a small sales tax. Monegan is looking at a focused and well-crafted sales tax after reviewing the sales tax models currently in place in a number of Alaskan communities. Approximately 90 communities in Alaska have some type of sales tax. Monegan commented, “In order to minimize the negative effects of a broad-based tax, it is imperative that we put meaningful sideboards on a sales tax. I will work towards a balanced sales tax proposal that at least:

• excludes groceries and prescription medications,
• includes a limit on a total sales tax amount on individual purchases, and
• has a sunset date to give the assembly and my administration the ability to thoroughly analyze the success and impact of that tax.”

In addition to his spending and revenue proposals, Monegan offered to revisit innovative approaches to encouraging economic development such as enterprise zones. Enterprise zones are economically depressed neighborhoods that can be renovated through tax incentives and were initially proposed by former HUD Secretary Jack Kemp and re-introduced in Alaska in 2001 by former Fairbanks Rep. Joe Hayes (D-Fairbanks). Enterprise Zones offer short-term tax exemptions for new business enterprises in traditionally economically depressed areas.

Lastly, Monegan will take a 10% reduction in salary and will ask the same of his immediate appointed staff. Monegan stated, “I want it to be absolutely clear that I will not be asking this of all municipal employees. I will respect and abide by all of the collective bargaining agreements currently in place. However, I will not ask any city employee to take a reduction before I and my executive team take a reduction first.”

As of yet I am still on the fence as to which candidate (if any) I will endorse for mayor. But if all the other candidates are going to make it as easy to dismiss as Matt Claman just did this might not take very long at all.

My afternoon with Walt Monegan.

I received an invitation a while ago to attend a meet and greet with newly declared candidate for mayor, Walt Monegan.

It was a small intimate gathering which afforded me almost exclusive access to Mr. Monegan.

I started off with my new favorite greeting when introducing myself to Alaskan candidates.

"Hi I am Gryphen. I am one of those anonymous bloggers you keep hearing about."

Mr. Monegan's response was one of bemusement and no small amount of interest. (That introduction definitely makes me appear far more interesting then I am in real life.)

I asked Mr. Monegan, or as I now know him "Walt", why he only wanted to run for mayor when he could have easily aimed for higher office. (and yes that was my first question after the initial pleasantries were out of the way. I am not known for my subtlety.) I found Walt's answer to that question very interesting, and for me, perfectly understandable.

You see Walt does not like the big cities. He shared with me a story of when he visited a city in the lower 48, and how he almost went stir crazy until he was able to locate a park to spend some time in and get back in touch with nature. Walt is an Alaskan through and through and has no desire to live anyplace else. If you do not live here that may not make much sense, but to me it explained everything and I did not feel the need to revisit the topic.

I asked Walt about his plans for the city and learned that he has a strong desire to make the city safer for its citizens and more profitable for its businesses. He explained his philosophy with stories of things he had seen while serving as the Chief of Police in Anchorage. I would love to share the many stories with you but I did not write them down and besides this post would be exceptionally wordy if I were to do so. But as Mr. Monegan told these stories they did a more then an adequate job of illustrating his philosophy and how he would implement his plans for the city.

I also asked Walt if he was ready for the assault on his character which is sure to come from the ardent Sarah Palin supporters as well as those who are in support of his Republican and Democratic rivals for this job. At that Walt just smiled and replied "Certainly".

I have to say that I doubt very seriously that the competition intimidates this guy very much. He has that thing that so many local politicians seem to lack. Walt Monegan has BALLS!

Walt also said that he would probably place himself fairly close to the middle when it came to his political points of view. He said he has always voted for the best candidate regardless of which party they represent, and has never been registered as anything other then "Independent".

My impression of Mr. Monegan was that he is an exceptionally sincere man, with a true passion for helping others. He did not come off as somebody trying to shape his responses to fit the expectations of his audience. I paid close attention to his body language and his demeanor and found no hint of phoniness or insincerity about the man. In fact Walt seems especially fixated on promoting integrity and honesty in this city. Something that I have to say I agree with 100 percent. But then, who wouldn't?

I am aware that I probably had more access to Mr. Monegan then most Alaskan voters will enjoy, which is why I felt it incumbent upon me to write this post. If you get a chance to meet Mr. Monegan please take it, so that you get the opportunity to form your own opinion personally.

While what I have written above is my honest assessment of Walt Monegan, it is of course only my impressions as seen through my own unique prism. I encourage everybody to make their own decisions based on accessing as much information as they can about ALL of the candidates.

I am still in the information gathering stage of my decision making just like the rest of you. If I have the opportunity to talk to any of the other candidates I will share that information with you as well.

If we have learned anything at all from having elected George Bush and Sarah Palin, it is to make sure you know as much as possible about your candidate of choice before marking your ballot. The consequences of not doing so are now painfully obvious.

Walt Monegan to run for Mayor of Anchorage!

Walt Monegan just answered a phone call and confirmed he plans to file a letter of intent Friday with the Alaska Public Offices Commission.

A longtime Anchorage cop who rose to become chief of police, Monegan said people have been talking to him about running for office since before he left the city.

His much-publicized ouster as the state's public safety commissioner in a dispute with Gov. Sarah Palin last summer "certainly gave me the opportunity," Monegan said.

Monegan said he didn't want to talk in any detail about his campaign plans or issues he wants to pursue until his state paperwork has been filed.

He will be entering a race that already has eight candidates, including former state Rep. Eric Croft, former West Anchorage Assemblyman Dan Sullivan, East Anchorage Assemblywoman Sheila Selkregg and former police spokesman Paul Honeman.

Well it looks like I will be dusting off my campaign hat again and jumping right back into fundraising, making telephone calls, and canvassing neighborhoods.

"Just when I thought I was out, they pull me back in again." Sorry I had a Godfather flashback.

Well I am very excited, we have been talking about the possibility of Monegan running for office for quite some time now.

Sarah Palin finally fills position refused by Walt Monegan almost six months ago.

You heard a hundred times this year about Troopergate -- the abuse-of-power investigation that sprung from Gov. Sarah Palin firing the state's top cop.

But think back to the beginning. Remember how Palin's team offered Walt Monegan a different job, even as they ousted him as public safety commissioner?

Palin wanted Monegan to run the state agency that regulates the liquor trade in Alaska, saying it would allow him to focus on the state's bootlegging woes. Monegan said no, calling it a demotion.

It was.

But in a state notorious for alcohol troubles, the job -- director of the Alcoholic Beverage Control Board -- is a big one too. The ABC Board has the power to give liquor licenses to businesses and to take them away. It inspects anyone who sells alcohol, from bars and restaurants to airlines and Elks Clubs, and conducts undercover sting operations in bars to see if bartenders are selling to kids.

And the director job has been empty for months. Until now.

The governor's office recently offered the post to Shirley Gifford, a former Soldotna police chief and the first woman to rise to each of the ranks of sergeant, lieutenant and captain in the Anchorage Police Department.

Walt Monegan refused to accept this position back in July of this year. So from that time until just now, the very important position of ABC director has remained vacant.

This is a very important job in Alaska, a place with a substantial alcohol abuse problem, and the fact that this post has remained vacant for such an extended period of time is unbelievable.

This appears to be yet another indication of how distracted Palin has been with her new found national fame, and how the state of Alaska has taken a back seat on her list of priorities.

Having said that, I certainly wish Shirley Gifford well and hope that she is as aggressive in her role as her predecessor Doug Griffin was during his decade of service.

During his tenure Griffin conducted sting operations, sending youthful accomplices into bars and liquor stores to buy alcohol to test whether the businesses would ask for identification before selling them the alcohol. This resulted in a number of businesses losing their licenses and the tightening of regulations all over the state.

So thank you Sarah Palin for finally putting somebody in charge of this important regulatory agency. Nice to see you back on the job.

Both Alaskan Democrats and Republicans demand an apology from the McCain/Palin campaign for vilifying Walt Monegan. God I love Alaska!

Here's a letter written earlier this week to Sen. John McCain from former Alaska House Speaker Gail Phillips, a Republican from Homer, and former Alaska Senate President Chancy Croft, a Democrat from Anchorage. Phillips e-mailed it to news media today. They ask for an apology "from your campaign to Alaskans and our former Commissioner of Public Safety, Walt Monegan."

No response from the campaign.

Here's the letter:

October 28, 2008

Honorable Senator John McCain
John McCain 2008
P.O. Box 16118
Arlington, VA 22215

Dear Senator McCain:

We are writing because we believe an apology is owed from your campaign to Alaskans and our former Commissioner of Public Safety, Walt Monegan. As former legislative leaders of both major political parties in Alaska, we haven’t always agreed upon political issues. However, we adamantly agree that Mr. Monegan, who is well respected in Alaska by people of all party affiliations, is owed an apology. The attacks against Commissioner Monegan for his role in administering a personnel issue, now known statewide as “Troopergate”, were unwarranted and wrong. Mr. Monegan is a former U.S. Marine, a front-line police officer, was Chief of Police in Anchorage, Alaska’s largest city, served as our State’s Commissioner of Public Safety and served both Republicans and Democrats with professionalism and honor.

This summer Governor Palin fired Mr. Monegan as Commissioner, which was within her purview. However, in July, the Legislature, through unanimous action by the bi-partisan Legislative Council, voted to investigate Commissioner Monegan’s termination and whether his refusal to fire Trooper Wooten played a role in his termination. The investigation had nothing to do with your campaign.

After Governor Palin was named as your running mate, your campaign stepped into the fray. In an effort to discredit and stop the bi-partisan legislative investigation into whether or not Governor Palin acted improperly in seeking the termination of her former brother-in-law, Trooper Wooten, your campaign engaged in a near-daily course of personal attacks against Mr. Monegan and members of the legislature. It’s obvious to many of us that you probably were not aware of these attacks by your campaign committee; however, since the final responsibility is yours, we feel Mr. Monegan is owed an apology from you.

In an effort to halt the bi-partisan investigation, your campaign staff tried to vilify Commissioner Monegan. Before Governor Palin was selected to your presidential ticket, she had agreed to the investigation; she publicly said it was justified and that she and her staff would cooperate with the investigation. She stated to the press that the public had a right to be concerned whether or not her administration may have placed improper pressure on the State Department of Public Safety to fire her former brother-in-law.

Following Governor Palin’s selection as your running mate, your campaign sent staff to Alaska to try to stop the investigation that Governor Palin had previously agreed to. Your campaign staff accused the legislative action as partisan in spite of the fact that the unanimous vote of the Legislative Council was bi-partisan.

Your campaign accused Mr. Monegan of being a “rogue”, of being insubordinate and other defamatory statements. To justify your involvement in this Alaskan issue and the Governor’s termination of Commissioner Monegan, your campaign continually changed the excuses for his termination. The various and changing excuses given by your campaign speaks clearly to the lack of credibility in its involvement.

Despite your campaign’s efforts to stop the investigation in court, and by public pressure, the investigation was recently completed. On October 10th the investigative report was released and the independent investigator, Steve Branchflower, concluded that the Governor had violated the State’s Executive Ethics statute by pressuring for the termination of Mr. Wooten from his position as an Alaskan State Trooper. The investigation also found that one of the probable reasons Commissioner Monegan was terminated was his refusal to fire the Governor’s former brother-in-law.

We acknowledge the authority the Governor has for terminating Commissioners; however, your campaign’s interference into this State matter and attempts to discredit Commissioner Monegan for campaign purposes is very troubling. Both the vilification of Mr. Monegan and the attempts by your campaign to stop the investigation were wrong.

We respectfully request an apology from your campaign to Mr. Monegan. He is a good man who has put his life on the line for Alaskans many times and he deserves better treatment from you and your campaign. Not only have the personal attacks from your campaign deeply affected and hurt the Monegan family, but also the people of Alaska who care and respect Mr. Monegan.

Sincerely,

Gail Phillips
Former Speaker of the Alaska House of Representatives

Chancy Croft
Former President of the Alaska State Senate

Now this is more like it!

John McCain tried to bully Alaska and we handed him his ass!

And Sarah Palin allowed and encouraged it to happen, and that makes her a traitor to her state, and the people who elected her to office.

Princess Palin forgot that she works for us, and started treating our people like dirt. Well I have news for you Governor, your pink slip is in the mail!

Walt Monegan would like his good name back thank you very much.

Gov. Sarah Palin's former public safety commissioner says the governor smeared him and he wants a hearing to clear his name.

Walt Monegan on Monday asked the state personnel board to allow him a chance to disprove the vice presidential nominee's assertion he was a "rogue" and insubordinate commissioner. The board is investigating Palin's July dismissal of Monegan.

"Governor Palin's public statements accusing Mr. Monegan of serious misconduct were untrue and they have stigmatized his good name, severely damaged -- and continue to damage -- his reputation, and impaired his ability to pursue future professional employment in law enforcement and related fields," said the hearing request filed by Monegan's lawyer, Jeff Feldman.

Who can blame Mr. Monegan for wanting to clear his name, after it was dragged through the mud to hide the real reason that Palin fired him?

Before this incident there was probably not a more ethical public service in all of Alaska then Walt Monegan, and then this honorable man ws forced to defend himself while Governor Palin, and the John McCain campaign slandered him up one side and down the other.

The very least he deserves is to have his good name back.

He also deserves an apology. He deserves an apology form Sarah Palin for lying about why she fired him. He deserves an apology from Palin mouthpiece Meg Stapleton for calling him a "rogue", with all that definition implies. And he deserves an apology from any Alaskans who failed to stand up to the lies that spilled forth from Sarah Palin and her minions about him.

We knew better, and yet many of us accepted the lies as truth simply because they came from our once popular Governor. All who fell for that load of garbage about such a decent man should be ashamed of themselves!

Not only does the Branchflower Report deliver the goods. It does so at a bargain price.

When legislators voted July 28 to investigate potential abuses of power in the administration of Gov. Sarah Palin, they authorized spending up to $100,000.

But the investigation cost the state less than that - about $75,000, said state Sen. Hollis French, an Anchorage Democrat who served as "project director."

There have been many parts of this investigation that have surprised me, or tickled me, or bothered me. But this part really, really impresses me.

In this day and age nobody EVER does anything for less money then they originally asked for. But Stephen Branchflower demonstrates once again that he is a man of integrity.

As a mater of fact, almost all of the players in this little serio-comedy seem to have integrity, with the notable exception of Sarah Palin, her husband, and some of her staff.

This is what Time Magazine has to say about the Branchflower Troopergate Report.

The 263 pages of the report show a co-ordinated application of pressure on Monegan so transparent and ham-handed that it was almost certain to end in public embarrassment for the governor. The only surprise is that Troopergate is national news, not just a sorry piece of political gristle to be chewed on by Alaska politicos over steaks at Anchorage's Club Paris.

A harsh verdict? Consider the report's findings. Not only did people at almost every level of the Palin administration engage in repeated inappropriate contact with Walt Monegan and other high-ranking officials at the Department of Public Safety, but Monegan and his peers constantly warned these Palin disciples that the contact was inappropriate and probably unlawful. Still, the emails and calls continued — in at least one instance on recorded state trooper phone lines.

Monegan consistently emerges as the adult in these conversations, while the Palin camp displays a childish impetuousness and sense of entitlement.

This is a point that I made in an earlier post. Rather then be insubordinate it appears obvious that Walt Monegan tried desperately to keep the Governor, her husband, and her staff from potentially breaking the law, or bringing negative publicity their way.

Another amateurish sign: Todd Palin's outsize role in the mess. Branchflower said it was out of his jurisdiction to pass judgment on the First Gentleman, but his report paints an extralegal role for Todd Palin that would have made the Hillary Clinton of 1992 blush. In the report, the head of Gov. Palin's security detail says that Todd spent about half of his time in the governor's office — not at a desk (he didn't have one), but at a long conference table on one side of the office, with his own phone to make and receive calls. It became a shadow office, the informal Department of Getting Mike Wooten Fired.

There is no doubt in my mind, that the reason Walt Monegan was terminated rested solely with the fact that he was called upon to play the parent to a group of adolescents and they resented him for it.

In my opinion Walt Monegan would have made a much more competent and productive Governor.

Rachel Maddow talks to Walt Monegan about Branchflower Report.

If you listen carefully you can hear Monegan's genuine struggle with his feelings about how all of this played out. He is at his heart, a good soldier. He feels he did his job correctly and is still clearly stung by how he was treated.

He also still believes that the main, if not only reason, he was fired was because he would not fire Palin's ex-brother in law. And on that subject I agree more with him then I do the findings of the Branchflower Report.

Rachel does an amazing job of getting the truth out there for everybody to see.

Have I mentioned how much we love her?

Top Ten Reasons why it is imperative for the Troopergate report compiled by Stephen Branchflower to be made public

10: Maybe once the report comes out people will stop naming their pitbulls “Sarah” and making them wear lipstick. Because that is just all kinds of wrong.

9: It will give Meg Stapleton the opportunity to stop lying about Walt Monegan and Troopergate, and to start lying about why Sarah Palin got her ass handed to her in the Vice Presidential debate.

8: If it doesn’t come out then what will Alaska Progressive bloggers write about all weekend?

7: This investigation has cost Alaskans $100,000. The last time Alaskans spent that kind of money with nothing to show for it, was on exotic dancers and cocaine back in the oil drenched 1980’s.

6: Because the McCain campaign does not want the report to be made public, and when was the last time ANYBODY told Alaskans not to do something and we listened?

5: Once this report is finally out we can all stop pretending to like Dan Fagan.

4: The report will undoubtedly convince the Palins that they need to return home where surely they will be inspired to add yet another offspring to their brood, perhaps this one to be named “Phlegm Palin”?

3: It will allow Alaskans to stop focusing on this distraction and get back to watching for Russians trying to come over the border so that we can shoo them back to where they belong.

2: Once it is released perhaps it can be given as reading material to poor little Bristol Palin who apparently is secreted, along with Cathy Baldwin-Johnson and hockey stud Levi Johnston, in a secret vault deep under the White House, or in a bear cache in the wilds of Wasilla, until her mother’s doomed run for Vice President comes to an end.


And the number one reason why it is imperative for the Troopergate report compiled by Stephen Branchflower to be made public?


1: It will clear the name of Walt Monegan and make his mother, possibly the sweetest woman in Alaska, very happy. I mean just look at her, how can anybody not want to see justice done for her son?

Supreme Court refuses to block Troopergate investigation. Sweet!

The Alaska Supreme Court today rejected an attempt by a group of six Republican legislators to shut down the Legislature's investigation of Gov. Sarah Palin.

The ruling means that Steve Branchflower, the investigator hired by the Legislative Council, will release his report as scheduled on Friday. Branchflower is looking into Palin's dismissal of her public safety commissioner, Walt Monegan, and whether she improperly pressured him to fire a state trooper divorced from her sister.

The state Supreme Court rejected an appeal by Texas-based Liberty Legal Institute and Anchorage attorney Kevin Clarkson, who filed the lawsuit on behalf of the Alaska Republican state legislators opposed to their colleagues' investigation.

The state legislators whose names appeared on the appeal attempting to stop the investigation are Wes Keller, Mike Kelly, Fred Dyson, Tom Wagoner, Carl Gatto and Bob Lynn.( These men just made it to the top of my list of legislators whose careers need to come to an end.)

Their lawyers argued that allowing the investigation to proceed would threaten the right under the Alaska Constitution to a "fair and just" investigation by the Legislature. They allege bias among the legislators who are leading the investigation, and that the Legislative Council lacks the authority to order the probe.

They have brought up lawyers from Texas to fight for them, used the resources of the John McCain campaign to insulate them, refused to respond to subpoenas, started their own investigation so that they could control the findings, and twice challenged the legitimate investigation in Alaska's courts, and still justice marches on in this great state!

I am beside myself with pride right now!

They thought they could come up to Alaska and step all over us like we were nothing, and we have stopped them at every turn!

The McCain campaign, the Republicans, and Sarah Palin, did not give Alaska enough credit and now they are finding out the hard way that this state makes you tough in ways they could never have imagined.

And tomorrow when the Branchflower report comes out we will all get to see the truth that they have tried so hard to hide from us.

Goddamn I love this place!