Mayoral candidate Dan Coffey has stated he doesn’t want the public to hear a private conversation he had with current Anchorage Assembly member Bill Starr back in 2008. The conversation with Starr was recorded onto an answering machine.
Coffey said Thursday he hired Anchorage lawyer Thomas Amodio to “look into the issue” — referring to whether or not it is legal for media to broadcast or publish the conversation that took place when Dan Coffey was on the Anchorage Assembly. Coffey has already made public a transcript of some of the conversation, which is posted on his campaign website.
The transcript has profanity in it, but more concerning to some people is the reference Coffey makes to paying Assembly members to vote his way. In an accompanying letter, Coffey says he was “joking” when he said “I’m doling it out 250 at a crack.”
In a letter to KTVA 11 News, Amodio writes, “With the election merely weeks away, we strongly urge you not to violate state and/or federal law by broadcasting the conversation or any portion of it.”
Other mayoral candidates say Coffey should release the audio to the public.
“Mr. Coffey was a sitting Assembly member at the time,” said Amy Demboski. “I think the public has a right to know. Mr. Coffey if you want to be ethical, if you want to be transparent, I say release the tape and let the public judge for themselves what happened.”
“People make mistakes,” said Andrew Halcro. “But this tape highlights a very long pattern of behavior and that’s why I think it’s important to release the tape and let the voters judge for themselves the content of Dan’s character.”
Via ktva.com
