Juneau – Thursday, a Superior Court judge invalidated the Alaska Legislature’s expensive no-bid lease for the Anchorage Legislative Information Office.  Alaska Independent Democratic Coalition (AIDC) Leader Rep. Chris Tuck (D-Anchorage) praised today’s ruling.

“The judge’s decision demonstrates the importance of following the established procurement rules and doing the state’s business in the open rather than behind closed doors with little oversight,” said Rep. Tuck.  “The improper email communications by the then Chair of the Alaska Legislative Council suggest an effort to prevent the lease for the Anchorage LIO from going through the competitive bid process.  I applaud Judge McKay’s ruling and hope this spells the end of these kind of backroom deals.”

Today’s ruling found that the lease for the Anchorage LIO building should not have been considered a lease extension, which would have allowed a no-bid contract.  Rather the judge found that use of the building for the Alaska Legislature should have been considered a new lease, which mandates a competitive bid process. [xyz-ihs snippet=”Adsense-responsive”]

  Alaska, Anchorage, invalidation, lease, legislative information office, superior court