Contract to hire Craig Richards for statehood defense falls short of what state promised to pay him

The revised contract with Craig Richards as statehood defense coordinator for the Dunleavy administration expires at the end of May, but the agreement does not authorize enough money to pay him until then.

I’ve asked the attorney general’s office for an explanation of the discrepancy between the promise to pay Richards $12,000 a month until May 31 and a contract that is tens of thousands short.

The contract, which violated state procurement regulations from the beginning, may have been revised again to provide the cash for Richards.

As I wrote here in January, Richards, the former attorney general under Gov. Bill Walker, signed a deal last June to be statehood defense coordinator under Dunleavy for eight months.

Here is the original contract, signed June 16 by Cori Mills, civil division director, that did not contain enough money to pay the full amount promised Richards for the eight-month term,

Here is the amended contract, signed January 10 by the attorney general, that does not authorize enough money to pay what was promised to Richards for 12 months or work.

Richards is a trustee of the Alaska Permanent Fund, a volunteer position. In private practice, he defended Gov. Mike Dunleavy from the recall and is a political ally.

When Richards became statehood defense coordinator, a move that Gov. Mike Dunleavy never announced to the public, Richards was assigned to “coordinate strategies and budgets for bringing/overseeing statehood defense cases, lead the inter-agency sub-cabinet meetings on statehood defense issues, and upon request, attend meetings and events by phone or in person related to Alaska’s efforts to coordinate statehood defense matters with other states and parties.”

The state procurement regulations were violated from the start.

The Department of Law hired Richards last summer under a “small purchases” regulation that said the contract would cost no more than $50,000.

Citing that small purchase regulation as the authority for the Richards contract allowed the attorney general to avoid competition and steer the contract to Richards without having to consider other people.

But it meant the department had to keep the cost under $50,000 to remain legal.

There are procurement regulations that allow a single-source contract and require a written explanation about why competition is not in the state’s best interest and establish other hurdles. The attorney general did not choose to hire Richards under those rules.

The law department contract claimed that his total compensation would be less than $50,000, but it also said he would be getting paid for nearly eight months, meaning it would really cost about $90,000.

That means the contract was illegal under the small purchase regulation—2 AAC 12.400(b)7.

The attorney general’s office knew from the start that the contract was not allowed under the small purchase regulation, but it went ahead anyway, planning to amend the total compensation later on.

That would fulfill the promise of paying him $12,000 a month.

For contracts greater than $50,000 and less than $100,000, state procurement regulations require soliciting at least three firms or individuals for quotes in writing, reviewing the responses, selecting the lowest bidder or the “most advantageous” offer and providing written notice and options for protest. The attorney general didn’t do any of that.

In amending the Richards contract in January, Taylor abandoned the pretense that the statehood defense coordinator agreement was a “small purchase” of less than $50,000.

The state adopted a new pretense, that the contract will cost no more than $98,000 and expire at the end of May.

The regulation cited as justification for amending the financial terms and extending the contract is 2 AAC 12.475 (a), which refers to a boilerplate provision in contracts that says the state may amend the terms.

It does not excuse or erase the original problem—the false claim that the contract would cost no more than $50,000, when the attorney general and Richards knew that was not true on the first day.

Just as with the original contract, the numbers on the amended version don’t add up.

The total cost is not going to be $98,000 if he is employed until May 31 at $12,000 a month. It will be closer to $140,000.

That means the contract will have to be amended again to add about $40,000 or more to keep paying Richards.

None of the payments to Richards are posted on the so-called state online checkbook.

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