Selby Vetoes Attorney Fees

Parliamentary Showdown Thursday

Jay Barrett/KMXT

Kodiak Island Borough Mayor Jerome Selby vetoed a resolution passed last week to pay the fees for three assembly members who hired their own attorney during the Mel Stephens lawsuit over attendance.

The assembly voted 5-to-2 on May 1st to pay the bills. Selby’s veto letter was dated May 6th.
In it, Selby defends his veto on several grounds. He says the resolution bypassed normal channels and was not vetted by the borough’s attorney before it was voted on.
He said Tom Abell, Louise Stutes and Reed Oswalt should petition the court for payment of their legal fees, just as Stephens did. And he says the three have a direct financial gain from the resolution, which he says is the definition of a conflict of interest.
Because of that conflict, Selby held out the possibility that he will rule them ineligible to vote on overriding his veto when it comes up at next Thursday’s regular meeting.
Tune into KMXT news on Monday for more.

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