Jeannie Cameron spoke to island podcaster Cam Cairnduff about her experience, which she said included two complaints under the old system, which were dealt with by the States president, and two under the new system, which were handled by the island’s commissioner for standards.
Under the old system she was not told who made the complaints nor what they were about, she said.
‘I had to kind of guess who they were from,’ she said, although one person did admit to making one of the complaints.
One of these was made within a month of her topping the poll in the by-election of March 2025.
She described it as ‘a very difficult thing to go through’, since she was unable to defend herself against the allegations.
Getting a complaint so soon after being elected made her wonder what she was dealing with, she said.
‘The things you know as being the standard ways of professional behaviour I found were just not there,' she said.
But the system under the commissioner for standards was much better, she said. Dr Melissa McCullough recently quit this role for Guernsey but continues to serve Jersey and Alderney.
The process in Alderney differs from the arrangements in Guernsey in that the States Assembly does not get involved and the commissioner’s decision is final barring any appeal.
And unlike the previous system, Ms Cameron said she was told the exact nature of the complaint and who had made it as well as being given supporting evidence.
Both of the complaints were dismissed on the grounds that they were inadmissible.
Ms Cameron said this was a waste of time and money and estimated that the two complaints against her had probably cost a total of about £4-5,000. The States has budgeted for some £15,000 this year to be paid to manage code of conduct complaints.
However, she said she supported the new process.
‘I think we have to support this system because it is fair and it is done properly and you have to have faith in the system we agreed to.’
You can see the relevant clip of Ms Cameron’s interview at here. The entire two-hour interview is available via the podcasts section of Cam Cairnduff’s YouTube page.
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