17 February 2020 — 0650 mst
Sandi, Christi, frivolity, and fraud
What interests voters? Issues. What exasperates voters? Political parties that play Gotcha! by filing formal complaints alleging that a minor (and probably inadvertent) misstep by the other party amounts to a heinous transgression of fair play, and perhaps law, that must be punished by the political equivalent of the death penalty, or at least a hefty fine and an official blackening of the miscreant’s reputation.
Although Gotcha! exasperates voters, political parties don’t let what the voters think deter them from playing the game. And so, on 27 January 2020, the Montana Democratic Party, through its executive director, Sandi Luckey, filed a complaint with Montana’s Commissioner of Political Practices alleging that Christi Jacobsen, Deputy Montana Secretary of State, and one of four candidates for the Republican nomination for MT SecST, campaigned on the taxpayer’s dime:
Complainant MDP, through its Executive Director Sandi Luckey, asserts that Ms. Jacobsen is a public employee who is subject to the Code of Ethics. The MDP alleges that Ms. Jacobsen used “public time” to “tout her qualifications and her agenda” for her candidacy to be Montana’s Secretary of State, and further announce an endorsement for the position from the current Secretary of State, Corey Stapleton. The MDP contents that Ms. Jacobsen is violating the Code of Ethics by using her current position to campaign for elected office. [COPP’s decision, MDP v. Jacobsen.]
Exactly what did Jacobsen do to incite such consternation and indignation?
She mentioned in a radio interview that she was running for MT SecST and had been endorsed by current SecST Corey Stapleton:
Finding of Fact 8: Ms. Jacobsen participated in a radio interview from Helena with Peter Christian of KGVO radio on January 10, 2020. (Jacobsen Decl.)
Finding of Fact 9: KGVO radio is located in Missoula, Montana. (KVGO.com.)
Finding of Fact 10: During the KGVO radio interview, Ms. Jacobsen discussed SOS functions: candidate filing; statutory filing fees; current election system; the oflice’s work on a future election system; and, the current Secretary of State. (Jacobsen Decl.)
Finding of Fact 11: During the KGVO radio interview, Ms. Jacobsen also discussed her personal candidacy, including: her filing fee; her decision to seek the nomination for Secretary of State; and, gratitude for the support she has received since declaring her candidacy, including from the current Secretary of State. (Jacobsen Decl.)
Finding of Fact 12: Ms. Jacobsen announced an endorsement of her candidacy for Secretary of State from Corey Stapleton, Montana’s current Secretary of State, as part of the KGVO radio interview. (KGVO.com).
Finding of Fact 13: Ms. Jacobsen participated in- the KGVO radio interview using a personal cell phone. (Jacobsen Decl.)
Finding of Fact 14: Ms. Jacobsen was “not at [her] place of employment at any time during the call” she made to participate in th KGVO radio interview. (Jacobsen Decl.)
Finding of Fact 15: The date and time of the call was recorded as January 10, 2020 at 10:37 A.M. (Jacobsen Exhibit A-2.) [COPP decision.]
But, ruled COPP on 13 February, the interview didn’t violate the Code of Ethics:
Ms. Jacobsen did engage in a radio interview with KVGO radio of Missoula (FOF Nos. 8, 9) mid-morning on J anuary 10, 2020 (FOF No. 15), outside her place of employment (FOF No. 15), during which she discussed both the business of the SOS in her role as Deputy Secretary of State (FOF No. 10) and her own candidacy for Secretary of State (FOF-No. 11). The Commissioner finds Ms. Jacobsen was not at her place of employment, was using her personal cell phone, and as an appointed, exempt personal staff member of the Secretary of State, Ms. Jacobsen did not use public time or resources in support of her campaign.
Ms. Jacobsen’s time spent campaigning during the radio interview is dismissed from consideration under the complaint as frivolous as well as a failure to allege a potential violation of the Code of Ethics, Mont. Code Ann. § 2-2-136(1)(b). [COPP decision.]
The next day Jacobsen celebrated COPP’s decision with an ill-advised Tweet that snatched defeat from the jaws of victory:
Perhaps Jacobsen had voter fraud on her mind when she Tweeted “fraudulent” instead of “frivolous.” But words matter; words with distinct and established legal definitions matter a lot, especially in a high executive position such as she holds. Her blunder provided Democrats disappointed in COPP’s rebuke of Luckey with an opportunity to ridicule Jacobsen for choosing the wrong word, and they seized it with gleeful Tweets lecturing her on language.
For the record, “fraudulent” means an act that’s dishonest and quite possibly criminal. From the thesaurus on my Macintosh:
adjective dishonest, cheating, swindling, corrupt, criminal, illegal, unlawful, illicit; deceitful, double-dealing, duplicitous, dishonorable, unscrupulous, unprincipled; informal crooked, shady, dirty. antonyms honest.
A “frivolous” act is not dishonest or criminal. It’s just a petty, without merit, waste of time. Again, from my Mac’s thesaurus:
adjective
1 a frivolous girl: skittish, flighty, giddy, silly, foolish, superficial, shallow, irresponsible, thoughtless, featherbrained, empty-headed, pea-brained, birdbrained, vacuous, vapid; informal dizzy, dippy, ditzy, flaky. antonyms sensible, serious.
2 frivolous remarks: flippant, glib, facetious, joking, jokey, lighthearted; fatuous, inane, senseless, thoughtless; informal flip. antonyms serious.
3 new rules to stop frivolous lawsuits: time-wasting, pointless, trivial, trifling, minor, petty, insignificant, unimportant; Law de minimis. antonym important.
Luckey was frivolous. Jacobsen was lexically clueless. Between the principals to the dispute, this exasperating dust-up was a draw. The only losers were Montana’s voters, who once again were subjected to a gratuitous game of Gotcha! The net effect? More voter cynicism, more distrust of politics, less faith in the ability of government to help people.
Should Sandi and Christi learn something from this squabble? Yes. Will they? I wouldn’t bet on it.