ANCHORAGE, Alaska — Alaska Attorney General Kevin Clarkson has resigned, shortly after details of text messages he exchanged with a woman were revealed Tuesday.
Clarkson submitted his resignation letter to Alaska Gov. Mike Dunleavy, the governor’s office said.
“Kevin Clarkson has admitted to conduct in the workplace that did not live up to our high expectations, and this is deeply disappointing,” Gov. Mike Dunleavy said in a statement. “This morning he took responsibility for the unintentional consequences of his actions and tendered his resignation to me. I have accepted it.”
On his resignation letter, Clarkson wrote: “I sincerely apologize to you for my lapse of judgment. I hereby tender my resignation to you in order to alleviate this situation.”
Clarkson has been on unpaid leave after a Human Resources investigation into the matter. The Anchorage Daily News reports he sent the woman 558 texts in about a month. She is a state employee.
Clarkson, a longtime Anchorage attorney, won confirmation by the Legislature after telling lawmakers he would not bring his personal views to the job. Gay rights and abortion rights advocates raised concerns over the socially conservative Clarkson, who helped draft the 1998 state constitutional amendment defining marriage as between one man and one woman. That was struck down in 2015 when the U.S. Supreme Court legalized gay marriage.
Attempts by the AP to speak to Clarkson Tuesday weren’t immediately successful.
Mark Thiessen, The Associated Press
