Unalaska, AK – Unalaska Mayor Shirley Marquardt said she's considering the possibility of appealing a ruling against her by the Alaska Public Offices Commission last week.

"I'm giving it serious thought," Marquardt said by phone from Seattle on Friday.

At a hearing Thursday, the commission found that Marquardt violated two state public office laws during last year's election. One of them was a law banning the use of public money to fund partisan campaigns, which is what the commission ruled Marquardt did when she sent an election-related e-mail from her city e-mail address and city-owned computer.

Marquardt argued that the language of the law in question doesn't apply directly to what she did, because it only addresses money--not other city resources like equipment and internet connections.

On Thursday, several APOC commissioners acknowledged that the law wasn't entirely clear on the subject, but they ultimately decided that because city resources cost money, they fall under the same prohibition.

Marquardt said Friday that she shouldn't be punished for a lack of clarity in the law.

"You have rules and regulations for a reason, so that people can understand them and follow them," she said. "[You can't] change those rules in the middle of the game."

APOC cases can be appealed in the state Superior Court within a month of the commission's ruling.