MEA president survives effort to oust

PALMER — Lee Jordan survived an effort Monday to remove him as president of the Matanuska Electric Association’s Board of Directors.

It all started with debate over $108.69.

On Jordan’s financial statements for his re-election campaign this year, he states that the money is carryover from his 2005 campaign. That has a vocal group of utility members crying foul. The utility’s bylaws, they say, state that all money left over at the end of a campaign has to be disposed of.

“It’s a rather niggling amount of money to get upset about, but it’s a violation of our bylaws by our president,” said Kevin Brown, an MEA member-owner who addressed the board Monday.

Director Lois Lester made the motion that Jordan be removed as president in light of the alleged improper transfer of campaign funds. The vote tied 3-3, but had it passed, the motion would not have removed Jordan from the board.

The board president normally doesn’t vote on motions unless it’s to break a tie. In the case of Lester’s motion, a two-thirds majority was needed for it to pass. With the vote tied 3-3, the motion had failed and Jordan did not cast a vote.

To allow Jordan to remain as president “sends a message to the members that we don’t care, because he’s our president and he can do what he wants,” Lester said.

Lester joined board members Peter Burchell and Katie Hurley in voting to remove Jordan. Directors David Dahms, Larry DeVilbiss and David Glines voted to keep Jordan as board president.

“This is just about headlines and politicking,” DeVilbiss said of Lester’s motion.

Jordan agreed. He said that if board members want to remove him they should file a complaint or launch an investigation.

“These accusations have been made against the president of the board this evening and there has been no follow-up,” Jordan said. “If you want to take action, take action. But let’s stop the headline hunting.”

As for the $108 and change, Jordan said he rolled the money over on advice from his accountant, who told him that’s how campaign money works.

“I don’t believe that Wal-Mart or Lowe’s goes to the bank on Dec. 31 and takes all their money out, then on Jan. 1 puts it all back,” he said.

Jordan contrasted Monday’s proceedings to those conducted in 2005 when Burchell was reprimanded for not making full disclosure of his campaign funds. That reprimand was also at issue Monday. According to a resolution the MEA board passed at that time, $2,484.33 did not show up on Burchell’s disclosure sheets.

The board decided at the time that its reprimand should be sent to member-owners soon after its passage and “also at any time in the future that Mr. Burchell again officially becomes a candidate for an MEA board seat,” according to the resolution.

MEA General Manager Wayne Carmony told the board that according to the Burchell resolution he had to send the reprimand to member-owners, which could affect the outcome of his re-election and spark considerable debate.

“I do not believe that it is in the association’s best interest to pursue this at this time,” Carmony said.

DeVilbiss pointed out that Burchell’s actions had affected an election and to say that the 2005 incident shouldn’t be brought back up this time around to avoid affecting another election is “bizarre.”

Eventually, the board directed Carmony to disregard the portion of the resolution directing him to resurrect the resolution.

Contact Andrew Wellner at andrew.wellner@frontiersman.com or 352-2270.