Alaska GOP Judiciary Chair- "The Governor Quit And Went Fishing"

From the Anchorage (Alaska) Daily News....

"The governor quit and went fishing," Judiciary Chair Jay Ramras, R-Fairbanks, said in a statement Wednesday. "Governor Palin failed to leave specific instructions, so the Legislature is stepping in to bring order to the constitutional chaos she created."

When Sarah Palin told a stunned state of Alaska that she was resigning her governorship at a July 3 press conference, she set off a chain of events that has been called by some a "constitutional crisis" in Alaska. And judging by the quote from Mr. Ramras, its not just Democrats who are critical of Palin.

I'll try to tell the story, using the Anchorage Daily News online edition for July 8 and other sites as my sources. Check them out for an in depth account of this saga (see bottom of page).

Lt Governor Sean Parnell is set to become Alaska's next governor once Palin's resignation becomes effective. This creates an opening for the office of lieutenant governor. In February Palin nominated Corrections Commissioner Joe Schmidt as the next in line for the lieutenant governorship; Schmidt was confirmed by the Alaska legislature.

Then, after Palin announced she would leave office on July 26 she said she wanted Craig Campbell, Commissioner of Veteran's and Military Affairs to be the next lieutenant governor. The Alaska legislature adjourned in April, and is not scheduled to meet again until January 2010. Since Campbell needs a confirmation vote from the legislature, Tamara Cook, director of the Legislature's legal services wrote an opinion that Palin can select Campbell so she should desire. But he can't take office until he is confirmed by Alaska's House and Senate. There is no precedent in Alaska in a similar situation, and the issues have become very cloudy.

So some lawmakers in Alaska are calling for an emergency session of the state legislature to resolve the issue of confirmation. State Senator Bill Wielechowski has said that unless Campbell is confirmed by both houses everything he does could be subject to legal challenge.

Now, adding to the confusion...on July 8 Joe Schmidt stepped away from the "lieutenant governor designee" slot in order to give Palin her choice of Campbell a clear shot. But the following day (July 9) he said he would serve as lieutenant governor until the legal issues are sorted out.

But there's more.

On Sunday (July 12) The Attorney General of Alaska, Dan Sullivan, ruled that Palin could appoint Campbell to the office of lieutenant governor without confirmation of the House and the Senate. Sullivan noted that it might be best for Campbell be named "acting" or "temporary" lieutenant governor until he can be confirmed. The problem- there is no designation of such a title in the Alaska Constitution.

The bottom line- in all likelihood a special session will called to sort through all of this and prevent any challenges, or a constitutional crisis.

(Sources used in the entry were from Anchorage Daily News, JuneauEmpire.com, and NBC afilliate KTTU.com

Late Addition- Shannyn Moore on the situation in Alaska in Monday's Huffington Post