I love being a dad. It’s a blast seeing my son Rowan and daughter Bronwyn learn how to talk, read, play soccer, and even cheer for Nebraska football. They make me proud.

But, with the responsibilities of parenthood, comes the need to teach the rules of the world. From learning not to interrupt when others are talking to not running across the street without looking both ways, there’s a lot a kid has to learn.

And, as a parent, you not only set the rules, but you’re ultimately responsible for enforcing them. Kids are smart. Without consistent follow through by both parents, they begin to learn what they can get away with and with whom.

For example, we have a rule in our family that you’re not allowed to eat or drink anywhere in our house but in the kitchen. Well, my son saw my wife and I eating popcorn in our bed while watching a movie and despite saying nothing, he recognized that we weren’t following the rules. Sure enough, a week later I found my son in his bed with a bowl of popcorn, most of it
scattered all over his sheets. It’s hard to hold him accountable when he learned from us.
Clearly, it’s important to be consistent.

It’s also important to have follow through if rules aren’t adhered to. I once threatened to throw away my son’s toys if he didn’t clean them up. The first time I made that threat, he immediately cleaned them up. The next time, he tested me and didn’t clean them up. After a warning, I proceeded to take one of his toys and put it in the trash can. He cried for over an hour.

Then, I made my big mistake. I went and got the toy out of the trash and gave it back to him, thinking he had learned his lesson. Guess what happened the next time I asked him to clean up his toys? He left them there, knowing that even if he didn’t clean them up, ltimately, I would never throw them away, or even if I did, I would likely retrieve them. My only choice now is to be the heavy hand and actually follow through with my threat the next time or eliminate the rule. Otherwise, I will have marginalized myself and not just this rule, but all other rules I have set. Remember what I said earlier—kids are smart. They quickly learn in the absence of follow through, rules are effectively worthless.

Currently, the State of Alaska finds itself in a similar position to the one I was in with my son. The state’s commission that oversees elections, the Alaska Public Offices Commission (APOC), is currently contemplating fines for Ballot Measure 4 campaign violations committed by the Renewable Resources Coalition, Alaskans for Clean Water, Robert Gillam, Michael Dubke, Arthur Hackney, and Richard Jameson. The violations involved nearly $2 million of campaign funds that were not properly disclosed in what appeared to be an intentional effort to mislead Alaska voters. RDC was one of the parties that originally brought this complaint before APOC last March.

The APOC staff report issued last June recommended the maximum civil penalty for these campaign violations, which by rough calculations could reach well over $300,000. In addition, the state’s cost for this investigation is already over $150,000. APOC staff in June also suggested that the Commission refer this case to the Attorney General to investigate whether criminal violations had occurred.

Last month, APOC’s commissioners wisely rejected an attempt by these parties to settle these egregious violations for a mere $35,000 payment to the state with no admittance of wrongdoing, no criminal investigations, and ultimately no deterrence to this happening again.

APOC’s commissioners recognized such a settlement would do nothing to further the public’s interest in open and honest elections. If this had been accepted, it would have set the precedent for future campaigns to simply budget 1-2 percent into their races for postelection fines as a cost of doing business.

The APOC staff concluded in its investigative report that there was a deliberate effort to deceive the Alaska public by concealing the true source of nearly $2 million in campaign funds. Such intentional disregard for Alaska’s election laws, openness, and transparency is disconcerting. Without strict enforcement by APOC of the civil campaign laws, as well as thorough investigation and enforcement by the Attorney General when the conduct appears criminal, Alaska’s elections could continue to be poisoned by wrongdoing.

Like with my son, the only way to stop this behavior in the future is to make the parties “cry” without backing down. The mere threat of a harsh penalty and settling for a pittance is not enough to deter similar disobedience of all Alaskan election laws in the future.

Follow through by the state in this case will set an incredibly important precedent. Just like my son seeing me eat popcorn in my bed—if one gets away with it, all will.

APOC settling for anything less than the maximum fines would be a blatant slap in the face for disclosure, campaign finance law, and ultimately to the Alaskan voters. In addition, Alaska’s Attorney General should also ensure this behavior is not tolerated by launching a thorough investigation. If an example is not set, the same parties and others who may be watching and learning, will continue to circumvent the law knowing their punishment will be a mere tap on the wrist.

The state of Alaska must prove it means what it says or risk marginalizing all of its rules into the future.

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