Former state rep signals interest in Senate seat
FAIRBANKS, Alaska (AP) – A former state representative who was recently fined $18,000 for ethics violations, including for living in his office, has signaled interest in running for the state Senate.
Former Rep. Alan Dick, whose last listed address was in Nenana, has filed a letter of intent with the state to challenge state Sen. Click Bishop, R-Fairbanks, for the Senate District C seat in the August Republican primary.
Filing such an intent allows a candidate to begin raising funds. However, a declaration of candidacy would have to be filed with the state Division of Elections to have a candidate’s name appear on the ballot, the Fairbanks Daily News-Miner reported (http://bit.ly/1lKseaQ).
A legislative ethics committee announced last September that it had found Dick in violation of five allegations, including using state resources for his personal benefit by living in his Fairbanks legislative office with his wife and sometimes his son, off and on in August 2012 and for about a month between mid-October and mid-November of 2012. He was ordered to pay nearly $18,000.
The panel found that Dick performed campaign activities out of his legislative office in the lead-up to the 2012 general election and required a legislative staffer on government time to prepare materials for a chamber debate. It also found what it called numerous violations related to Dick’s 2012 legislative travel, saying that he “routinely” combined legislative travel with campaign activities, which is prohibited.
Dick was known for his plain speaking and off-the-cuff remarks during his short term in the Legislature. He apologized after suggesting in March 2012 that a woman should get a signed permission slip from the father of the fetus before undergoing the procedure.
Bishop, a former state labor commissioner, won election in 2012. While a member of the Republican majority, he broke several times from the caucus to vote with moderate Republicans and Democrats on such issues as school vouchers, a contentious permitting bill and a measure determining how many members comprise the judicial council.
The News-Miner reports his opposition to a few of these conservative issues brought Bishop pressure from hard-right conservatives but praise from moderates.
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Information from: Fairbanks (Alaska) Daily News-Miner, http://www.newsminer.com
