Alaska Dispatch

The Fairbanks North Star Borough released Joe Miller's employment records Monday afternoon, about an hour after the Miller campaign sent out the same records along with a statement that accused the borough of leaking his records and charging Andrew Halcro, a political blogger, with using the leaked information to attack Miller.

Miller is running against U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski in the Republican primary. His employment records from his time as a part-time assistant attorney were requested by reporters from three Alaska news organizations after Halcro posted a short note on his blog in late June that asked "Why was Miller fired?" Miller showed off his resignation letter and stated repeatedly that he had resigned of his own accord, but the issue of whether his departure was voluntary was covered by the Anchorage and Fairbanks news organizations as well as by the Associated Press.

The 149 pages of released records are heavily redacted and don't contain anything obviously damning. There's a letter borough attorney Rene Broker wrote to the human resources department in 2003 asking that Miller's annual salary be increased from $36,395 to $37,765.50. There's a 2003 performance evaluation on which Miller received an "exceeds expectations" in every category except "personal interactions," where his evaluator decided he "meets expectations." There are even a few unhappy e-mails from 2009, in which Miller argues he should be allowed leave for an elk hunt, but that's about as revealing as the records get.

"The point man for all this is Andrew Halcro," said Miller campaign manager Paul Bauer, a former Anchorage assemblyman, while standing in Miller's campaign headquarters in Midtown Anchorage.

Halcro said the idea that there was a coordinated effort against Miller was ridiculous. He said he doesn't know anyone at the borough and doesn't talk to anyone from the Murkowski campaign.

"Joe Miller, Paul Bauer, and their tea party wackos can kiss my ass," said Halcro. "They have resorted to distorting Lisa Murkowski's record right off the bat, and now they want to cry victim."

Murkowski's spokesman, Steve Wackowski, was similarly unimpressed with the statement from Miller's campaign.

"It is ironic that Miller is upset that Alaskans are raising questions about his record and resume the same day the California-based Tea Party Express holds a press conference in Anchorage hand-in-hand with Miller's campaign to launch a smear campaign against Sen. Murkowski," Wackowski said in an email.

Miller has said repeatedly that he resigned voluntarily.

"There was absolutely no personal scandal," Miller said in a press release. "I resigned voluntarily, and there is no truth to any of the rumors being spread by the opposition's whisper campaign against me. It is time for slander and lies to stop."

The statement released by the Miller campaign accuses the borough of leaking information to Halcro.

"Andrew Halcro may be subject to Federal Election Commission violations, as may the Murkowski campaign, if the effort to publicize the demonstrably false statement that ‘Miller was fired' was coordinated in any way," the statement reads.

The release of Miller's records came the same day as a Tea Party Express press conference in downtown Anchorage that unveiled several new radio ads praising Miller. The organization has promised to spend "hundreds of thousands of dollars" to get Miller elected.

In the records released by the borough, a form filled out recording Miller's departure bears a check mark in a box next to the word "resignation." A line following the phrase "Eligible for rehire" is blacked out. In its statement the campaign said "Miller has absolutely no desire to work with the FNSB under the current leftist administration but strongly disagrees with any decision that FNSB may have made (and not notified him of) regarding his eligibility for rehire."

"The real story here is the collusion between the Borough and the Murkowski supporters who have broken the law by leaking information from Joe's confidential personnel file. There should be an immediate investigation into who leaked the information and to whom it was leaked," the statement reads. "The Fairbanks North Star Borough must be held to account by voters for FNSB employees' use of borough assets to assist the Murkowski campaign. An immediate investigation should ensue."

The release ends by saying it will be Miller's final statement on the matter.

Contact Joshua Saul at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .