Dave Donaldson, APRN – Juneau
Former Eagle River representative Nancy Dahlstrom has resigned from her new job with the Parnell Administration. Parnell says he did not ask her to step down as his Senior Advisor for Military Affairs, but that her decision came after the Department of Law changed an opinion originally saying her newly created position was within the spirit of the state Constitution.
The issue revolves around the Constitutional provision that prohibits a legislator from taking a position on which he or she might have voted – while a member of the legislature. Dahlstrom had resigned before the position was created. Attorney General Dan Sullivan originally advised that since there was no position until after the resignation, the prohibition did not affect Dahlstrom and was not a factor. But Parnell says a more recent review determined that a court might see it differently.
Parnell says he will not offer any future state job to legislators and that he will ask next year’s legislature – if he is re-elected – to define the limits of the constitutional ban.
- Dahlstrom Opinion (PDF)
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