A woman who resigned from the Wisconsin Board of Veterans Affairs has admitted she inappropriately used an Army e-mail account for board business, including to plot the firing of the secretary last year.
MADISON, Wis. (AP) — A woman who resigned from the Wisconsin Board of Veterans Affairs has admitted she inappropriately used an Army e-mail account for board business, including to plot the firing of the secretary last year. Jackie Guthrie, spokeswoman for the Wisconsin National Guard, said in an interview she used "poor judgment" in responding to e-mails about board matters that were sent to her work account. But she said that had nothing to do with her resignation from the board this month. Guthrie said she resigned because she could not devote enough attention to board work while taking care of her teenage daughters, aging parents and holding down a demanding day job. Guthrie resigned long before her term was set to expire in 2013 — and in the middle of a lawsuit by former Secretary John Scocos, who contends he was wrongfully terminated last year. E-mails show Guthrie sent detailed "talking points" about Scocos’ dismissal to other board members from her Army account days before the board voted to fire him. Her memo, which listed a suggested answer to the question of "Why was John fired?" suggests the board had detailed plans to get rid of him and replace him with agency administrator Ken Black. Scocos’ lawyers are also combing through additional correspondence from Guthrie, who was appointed by Gov. Jim Doyle to the board in 2007. They argue his firing weeks after he returned from serving in Iraq was politically motivated and violated a law protecting the jobs of service members, which Guthrie’s "talking points" memo anticipated and denied. Guthrie said she discovered her mistakes when the e-mails became controversial and acknowledged her conduct may have violated a rule that allows her e-mail to be used only on a limited basis for outside purposes. She would not say whether she has been disciplined, saying she couldn’t comment on personnel issues. "I made a poor judgment call. As a senior member of the staff, I know I need to correct that and set a better example for my own employees," Guthrie said. She said the number of e-mails she sent was limited, she made an effort to use her personal e-mail for board work, and that she, "wasn’t sitting here in my office dealing with board issues day in and day out." Guthrie, of Sun Prairie, holds the rank of lieutenant colonel and is the public affairs officer for Joint Force Headquarters of the Wisconsin National Guard. Mike Trepanier, a former Scocos aide who was also fired in November, said Guthrie "was one of the ringleaders of this scheme" to fire Scocos, a decision he said ruined people’s careers. "Guthrie’s attempt to nonchalantly quit the board after her own wrongful admission and be done with it is not good enough to those whose lives she negatively affected," Trepanier said in an e-mail. "As a high-profile state employee herself, she should be held accountable for her actions." Her resignation leaves an opening on the seven-member board that oversees the Department of Veterans Affairs, which administers benefits for Wisconsin’s estimated 470,000 veterans. It also comes as Black, who is African American, faces a discrimination complaint from a fired administrator alleging he has shown a pattern of firing, demoting and forcing out "old white guys" during his months in charge. Black denied the allegation earlier this month, saying he is bringing change to a troubled agency. Copyright 2010 The Associated Press. Photo Caption: In this undated photo provided by Wisconsin Department of Veterans Affairs, Ken Black is shown. Black, the secretary of the Wisconsin Department of Veterans Affairs said Friday he is bringing change to a troubled agency, not systematically getting rid of "old white guys" as a former employee alleges. (AP Photo/Wisconsin Department of Veterans Affairs)
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