Chilkat Valley News - Serving Haines and Klukwan, Alaska since 1966

In a public forum Wednesday, Aug. 9, the three Haines Borough Assembly members targeted for recall answered questions regarding the allegations against them in a KHNS and Chilkat Valley News public forum. While around 30 of the recall sponsors and supporters were invited to defend their views, none agreed to attend.

The special election to recall assembly members Heather Lende, Tresham Gregg and Tom Morphet is Tuesday, Aug. 15.

Recall sponsor Don Turner Jr. attended the forum but declined to comment. He initiated the recall effort April 5. Turner made a public records request for emails at the suggestion of former manager Bill Seward who the borough assembly fired in December.

Using those emails, Turner alleged Morphet and Lende misused their official position for personal gain after asking police chief Heath Scott to resume publication of the police blotter in the CVN after he stopped providing in its full form.

Morphet owned the newspaper at the time and Lende writes obituaries for the CVN.

Scott characterized Lende’s and Morphet’s request for the blotter as “coercion,” in a January email to then interim manager Brad Ryan.

Audio recordings of Morphet and Lende discussing the police blotter during the assembly meeting Scott cited in his email were played during the forum.

Lende said she wanted to “put in another pitch for putting the blotter in the paper especially because I miss it.”

“I miss reading that our police are responsive to a citizen who has a garbage can lid going down the street or somebody’s checking on their neighbor and that we do that…I think especially when we’re looking at the budget process it helps if people see how kind and responsive our police are to a lot of things and that they’re doing something,” Lende said during the Jan. 10 meeting.

Morphet cited its importance as a public document during the same meeting, and addressed concerns he had about the “erosion of access to public documents in the borough.”

“The interest in the blotter isn’t so much that it is in the newspaper but that for 20 years the police log was considered a public document,” Morphet said. “A person could go in and get a copy of the police blotter. We chose to publish it in the newspaper. For years it was also published on Facebook.”

During the forum Lende said she thought she was being helpful by suggesting the history of the blotter to Scott.

“It strikes me as strange that a grandmother of six somehow has brought the police department to its knees over the police blotter,” Lende said.

Morphet said nothing about his comments to the chief constituted coercion. He said the chief couldn’t give something back that was never his to take away in the first place.

“The police blotter is very much like air,” Morphet said. “It’s important but you can get it for free.”

Turner also alleged the three assembly members violated the state’s Open Meetings Act, which prohibits three or more public officials from communicating outside an official meeting about policy they will vote on in public.

Turner cited an email sent from Gregg to Lende about approving a 33-foot harbor breakwater extension.

“Tom (Morphet) and Ron (Jackson) and I are against it,” Gregg wrote on December 12, 2016. “Need you there too or – another mayoral privilege vote. I really don’t think it is necessary for the harbor.”

Ultimately, the assembly members didn’t support Gregg’s request to vote against the extension. Morphet, Lende and Jackson all voted for the extension.

Gregg voted against it.

During the forum Gregg said he didn’t think an “email to ask for support is really an offense worthy of recall.”

Asking how other members of the assembly plan to vote is known as “serial polling” and is discouraged by the Alaska Municipal League because it gives the appearance of public officials doing business outside of the public’s awareness.

KHNS news director Emily Files asked Gregg whether he asked Jackson and Morphet how they planned to vote or if he learned by other means.

“I don’t remember,” Gregg said.

Morphet questioned why he is being recalled because of an email that was never sent to him. He said that assembly members are allowed to speak in public as long as business isn’t being done.

“It wasn’t a serial email, it was an individual email,” Morphet said. “I didn’t receive the email.”

Although Gregg mentions Jackson’s name in the email, he wasn’t targeted for recall.

The recall ballot must state the grounds in 200 words or less.

The assembly members addressed their feelings on whether or not those supportive of the recall will use those grounds as the basis for their vote.

“Really what’s happening here is these people are unhappy they lost the election and they want to change the outcome and this is the only way they know how to do it,” Gregg said.

Morphet asked that voters honor the system and consider the recall on the grounds it was brought.

“A certain amount of goodwill and trust is really the only glue that holds civil society together,” Morphet said.

Lende said the recall is already disturbing the process of governing.

“If every person sitting up on the dais is wondering if how they vote (means) they’re now going to get recalled we won’t be able to govern ourselves,” Lende said. “It’s questionable right now even if we can because of that pressure. It’s shown up in everything we do.”

A full recording of the forum can be found at KHNS.org. It will be live broadcasted Thursday, Aug. 10 at 7 p.m. and the following Saturday at noon.

The special recall election will take place Tuesday, Aug. 15 at the ANB Hall. Polls are open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. .