Alaska Public Safety Commissioner dismissal Alaska Public Safety Commissioner dismissal The Alaska Public Safety Commissioner dismissal, also known as Troopergate, involves the possibly illegal July 2008 dismissal of the Alaskan Public Safety Commissioner Walt Monegan by Governor Sarah Palin for not firing Alaskan State Trooper Mike Wooten, who was in a bitter divorce with Palin's Sister. On October 10, 2008, the twelve-member bipartisan Alaska Legislative Council hired investigator Stephen Branchflower to investigate the matter. The Legislative council voted unanimously to release the so called, Branchflower Report, which found that Palin had violated the Alaska Executive Branch Ethics Act covering state executive employees when she dismissed
Jerry Ward Education, but resigned not long afterward. Jerry Ward Jerry Ward (born July 19, 1948) is an American politician and businessman. An Alaska Native born in Anchorage, Alaska, Ward served in the United States Navy during the Vietnam War and was in the Navy Seabees. Ward was in the real estate business. In 1982, Ward was elected to the Alaska House of Representatives as a Republican, serving from 1983 until 1985. In 1990, he won the Alaska Independence Party primary for Lt. Governor. However, he and his running mate, gubernatorial candidate John Howard Lindauer, stepped aside in favor of former Governor