Thursday, April 23, 2009

Gov. Palin looking for a new applicant for AG

In an e-mail to the Fairbanks News-Miner, a spokesperson for Sarah Palin says the governor is "in the review process" to designate a new nominee for the office of Alaska attorney general.

Sharon Leighow says Gov. Palin wants to appoint someone with integrity, vast legal knowledge and experience who must be a strong advocate for Alaska.

Alaska lawmakers last week voted down Wayne Anthony Ross, the governor's previous nominee for the office, after a smear campaign against him by Palin's political enemies swayed the legislator's opinions. Just last year, the Alaska House honored Ross with a unanimous citation which described the lawyer as "a distinguished Alaskan" and "a vocal proponent of free speech." The citation also characterized Ross' career as being "dedicated to defending individual rights."

Leighow says though there has been a considerable interest in the position by applicants, the governor is working under no deadline to fill the position now that the legislative session has adjourned.

In a related story, Gov. Palin's administration has released an opinion by the state's acting attorney general stating that the governor's original appointment of Tim Grussendorf to fill the state Senate seat vacated by Kim Elton of Juneau is still a valid one because the Senate Democrats never legally rejected it.

The decision comes after Gov. Palin and the Democrats agreed to a Sunday compromise which assigned the seat to former Juneau mayor Dennis Egan.

- JP

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