Monegan firing showed
real lack of class

WHEN GOV. SARAH PALIN fired her Public Safety commissioner, Walt Monegan, she was well within her prerogative. After all, he served at her pleasure.

But when she had her chief of staff, Mike Nizich, do the hatchet work without warning or much in the way of explanation, she exhibited one of the hallmarks of her administration, a lack of communication, or worse.

Monegan deserved better. After all, he served more than three decades on the Anchorage Police Department, rising to chief. And he was a loyal professional.

In short, his firing showed . . .

(cont'd from front page) a real lack of class. A lack of decency and leadership that would seem to require that if you hire somebody you fire them; that you do not leave it to an underling. And you tell them why, instead of having another underling say, hey, the boss thinks the department could do better under a new manager.

Palin since has appointed 43-year-old Kenai police chief Charles "Chuck" Kopp to head the Public Safety Department.

Our only advice to him: Watch your back.