Alaska Public Safety Commissioner Dismissal - Successors To Monegan

Successors To Monegan

Palin replaced Monegan with Chuck Kopp, who had been the police chief and, for a time, the acting city manager of Kenai. She had previously nominated Charles Kopp to the Alaska Judicial Council in April 2007, to which he was later confirmed and continues to serve. The Alaska Judicial Council recommends judges for selection in the state. According to the Anchorage Daily News, Kopp "was a rising star in Alaska's Christian conservative movement." In Kenai, Kopp had been previously suspended and investigated for sexual harassment of an employee. Palin said she believed, when she named him on July 11, that the investigation had cleared him, and that she learned that Kopp had received a letter of reprimand only when Kopp held a press conference on July 22 to discuss that letter. Kopp resigned on July 25. He received a $10,000 severance payment. Monegan had received no severance payment.

Although certain reports indicate that Kopp was appointed on July 11, the actual announcement from Palin's office is dated July 14. The person who was sexually harassed by Kopp sent an email to Palin on July 14, 2008, very early in the morning before Palin made her announcement. The victim said "my sexual harassment complaint against Chief Kopp was acknowledged validated … by the City of Kenai." In a letter to the victim on October 10, 2005, the City of Kenai had said this: "As a result of our investigation, Chuck Kopp was removed immediately from his supervisory role relating to your position. … The City of Kenai will not tolerate harassment of its employees from anyone, regardless of his or her position." Palin later stated that when she appointed Kopp, she was unaware that he had been reprimanded.

On September 12, 2008 Palin appointed Joseph Masters as the third Public Safety Commissioner in a two-month period. Masters, a former deputy director of the Alaska State Troopers, had been security director for petrochemical operations for a private company. He replaced John Glass, who had served as acting commissioner. The Anchorage Daily News reported: "Asked if the governor discussed her vision of the department with him, said, 'Gov. Palin didn't give me any guidance or direction or mandates for the department.'"

As of mid-September 2008, the post of director of the Alcoholic Beverage Control Board (the alternative job which Palin had offered to Monegan) was unfilled.