Alaska ethics committee finds ‘probable cause’ in Rep. Vance’s letter to Homer News

Published 10:00 am Tuesday, July 7, 2026

A committee found probable cause that Rep. Sarah Vance violated a section of Alaska ethics law in a letter sent to Homer News’ parent company, Carpenter Media Group.

The Select Committee on Legislative Ethics adopted the recommendation by a majority on June 26, following an investigation that began in January.

While the committee found probable cause against Vance, R-Homer, it determined corrective action “is not warranted beyond adhering to the authorized use of Alaska State Legislature letterhead in the future.”

Rep. Kevin McCabe submits formal dissent

Although a majority of the subcommittee members found probable cause against Vance, Rep. Kevin McCabe, R-Big Lake, said he would have dismissed the complaints.

“Probable cause is a low bar. It means only that a matter may proceed, not that a violation occurred.”

He also pointed to Rep. Carolyn Hall, D-Anchorage, also sending a letter to Carpenter Media Group about the subsequent coverage a few days after Vance. That letter also used her own legislative letterhead, but McCabe said the public record shows no complaint was filed against Hall.

McCabe said both letters concerned the same coverage of the same community events, both took a “clear position in a politically charged public controversy,” and both used the writer’s official position to press a private media company to act.