Regulator, attorney say oath wasn't broken with outside job

The attorney for an embattled state regulator says she doesn't believe her client's second job violates his oath of office.

Jeff Pursley has drawn criticism from elected officials for working part-time with a telecommunications consulting firm while serving as executive director of the Nebraska Public Service Commission, which regulates telecommunications companies.

But allegations that Pursley's private work is forbidden by his oath of office run contrary to case law by the Nebraska Supreme Court, his attorney, Jeanette Stull, said this week.

Pursley's private work for Parrish, Blessing and Associates doesn't bring him into direct contact with any clients who are also regulated by the Public Service Commission, such as Windstream, Stull said. And his limited role at the firm doesn't appear to constitute "indirect interest" in those clients, based on her legal research.

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