May 28
By Rita Storm
A former assistant public advocate for the state will receive $75,000 as part of a settlement in a case she brought against Gov. Mike Dunleavy, a former chief of staff and the state that alleged wrongful firing.
Kelly Parker agreed to drop her lawsuit as part of the agreement, signed last month, the Anchorage Daily News reported Thursday. The agreement says nothing in it should be deemed an admission of liability by the state.
The case was one of three filed after the Dunleavy administration, as part of its 2018 transition into office, asked at-will employees to submit resignation letters and reapply for their jobs. Parker and others alleged it amounted to a loyalty pledge.
Attorneys for the state Department of Law, in court filings, disputed Parker’s description.
The administration, at the time of the resignation requests, said it was following prior precedent.
Parker, through an attorney, declined the news outlet’s interview request but released a statement stating in part that Parker brought the case because she believes the state should not be able to act in a way in which it decides who represents clients on both sides of court cases.
The Department of Law did not respond to a question asking why it settled.