Democratic Fairbanks Sen. Scott Kawasaki violated ethics law by holding constituent events too close to the 2024 state primary, a panel of the Alaska Legislature concluded in a report published Friday.
The report was published by the Senate subcommittee of the Legislature’s Select Committee on Legislative Ethics, which recommended no penalty.
Under the Legislative Ethics Act, a legislator in a campaign cannot use state funds “to print or distribute a political mass mailing to individuals eligible to vote for the candidate” if the mailing takes place during a period that begins 60 days before the primary election and ends one day after the general election.
According to the report, Kawasaki e-mailed constituents a newsletter, distributed informational flyers and held a “Picnic in the Park” event to observe the opening of his office in Fairbanks.
Kawasaki, who defeated Republican Leslie Hajdukovich in the November general election, faced only Hajdukovich in the primary, making the race uncontested. In Alaska, the top four vote-getters advance from the primary election to the general election. Kawasaki and Hajdukovich were the only two registered candidates.
Kawasaki was first elected to the Alaska State House of Representatives in 2007, and to the Senate in 2019. He ran for re-election in 2024 to represent Senate District P.
Reached by phone on Friday, Kawasaki said that “it’s just sort of disappointing to have this be said and politicized, and then it becomes a potential issue in the future campaign.”
“It was a technical violation,” he said, “and I think it was unfairly weaponized against us just because of who we were running against.”
After the initial publication of this article, Hajdukovich said by text message that it was disappointing to see a “blatant violation” of the Ethics Act, “especially from someone who clearly knows better.”
“During the campaign, we raised these violations with Scott and his team as well as ethics officials — simply asking that they stop,” she wrote. “The ethics rules exist to protect public trust and ensure a level playing field. Using taxpayer resources for campaign purposes undermines both.”
The final report did not name the complainant, but Hajdukovich said it was filed by Barbara Tyndall. Public records show Tyndall is a member of the state school board, appointed by Gov. Mike Dunleavy.
By text message, Tyndall confirmed she filed the complaint and said, “The ethics committee was clear — Senator Scott Kawasaki violated Alaska’s ethics laws for personal political gain by using state resources, staff time and taxpayer dollars for campaign purposes.”
“This is not a ‘technical violation,’ as he claims, but a serious breach of public trust from an 18-year legislator who fully understands the rules,” she wrote. “The committee should require Senator Kawasaki to reimburse the state for any public funds used in violation of the law.”
This article was updated after initial publication to include comments from the complainant and Kawasaki’s competitor in the 2024 election.
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