Dunleavy ignores state ethics act by having state employees act as campaign attack dogs

Every campaign for governor needs a whiny attack dog.

But Gov. Mike Dunleavy continues to violate the state ethics act by assigning that function to state employees—Dave Stieren and Andrew Jensen, among others.

Stieren has been doing this nonstop since he was hired by Dunleavy in 2019. He makes $139,000 from his state job.

Last fall, Dunleavy hired Stieren’s friend, fiscal conservative Andrew Jensen, as a PR man in the governor’s office at $90,000 a year. This was about the time the Dunleavy reelection campaign needed a PR man.

Jensen claims his campaign work has no relation to his state job and is perfectly legal because it is a “volunteer” position.

But his state job and his campaign job are the same—praising all things Dunleavy and attacking all Dunleavy enemies.

When Jensen honors Dunleavy for his wisdom or attacks President Biden, it’s impossible to tell if Jensen is wearing his state employee hat or his campaign hat.

That’s because he’s wearing both. This is a violation of the state prohibition on using public resources for private gain.

Jensen, who has long complained about bloated government, shouldn’t be both a state PR employee and the spokesman for the Dunleavy campaign.

The Dunleavy campaign, not the state treasury, should be paying Stieren and Jensen, who should be returned to the private sector where they can resume their complaints about bloated government.

What follows is part of an extended harangue on Twitter Friday between Scott Kendall, former chief of staff to Bill Walker, and Jensen, the state employee and campaign spokesman.