By ALEX GIMARC
Must Read Alaska reported Mike Robbins’ candidacy for Republican Party chairman.
Robbins is a long-time party activist and local businessman, currently the Executive Director for Anchorage Community Development Authority under Mayor Dave Bronson. He is currently vice chairman of the Alaska Republican Party.
He is a long-term local businessman and entrepreneur, mostly in the media world. His skill stack includes things like advertising, public relations, logistics, marketing, management, radio and television. These are all valuable skills when dealing with the gaggle of cats we refer to as the Alaska Republican Party. Note that herding cats is my cynical description of the task at hand. Appears the candidate’s view is more nuanced, referring to it as leading cats, which may be a far smarter approach.
One example to consider would be his leadership of the Anchorage Community Development Authority (ACDA), the former Anchorage Parking Authority. Previous head of the Authority was one Andrew Halcro, who served five years.
Halcro, a left-friendly Republican, enjoyed complete support from the Mayor Ethan Berkowitz and Austin Quinn-Davidson administration and veto-proof democrat majorities on the Anchorage Assembly. It didn’t go well, ending with his fiery resignation letter Mar 2021. Issues identified by Halcro included financial difficulties, disputes with Muni staff, bad faith dealings, unexplained delays, and failure to keep promises made. In short, everyone else’s fault.
Robbins was nominated to replace Halcro by Bronson and confirmed in 2021. Since that time, stories about dysfunction at the Authority have all but disappeared, which in government is usually a Good Thing. Better yet, the job seems to be getting done. Competence? What a concept.
Contrast the two situations. Both Halcro and Robbins are local businessmen. Halcro had support from all levels of the Muni government. Robbins has the support of the mayor who appointed him but has to deal with an actively hostile (to all things Bronson) Assembly. Robbins figured out how to build a working relationship with the Assembly majority not to simply benefit either side of the political divide, but rather to promote and improve Anchorage as a community as a whole. In other words, doing what the Authority he is leading is chartered to do.
Bottom line is that the Authority has managed to stay out of the news and get something positive done in a tough environment. To me, not only does this clearly demonstrate the ability to herd (or lead) cats, but to do so successfully. Imagine what that skill stack could do with an eager, frustrated, underperforming Republican Party.
There is a web page for Mike Robbins candidacy with both phone and e-mail contacts listed. He does respond.
If we are to get back into the business of defeating democrats and removing them from the levers of political power, Mike Robbins would be a good place to start.
The election for Party Chair takes place at the State Convention here in Anchorage, April 19-21. The choice is yours. Refusing to make one is also a choice, though a less constructive one. This is going to be a difficult election cycle. Be prepared. Selecting the right party chair is one way to be properly prepared.
Alex Gimarc lives in Anchorage since retiring from the military in 1997. His interests include science and technology, environment, energy, economics, military affairs, fishing and disabilities policies. His weekly column “Interesting Items” is a summary of news stories with substantive Alaska-themed topics. He was a small business owner and Information Technology professional.
Ruedrich did a pretty good job IMHO.
The current chair must have been a Democrat plant. The results have been abysmal.
Don’t know Robbins. His current boss is philosophically fine, but doesn’t know how to count. Total clown car speeding into a dumpster fire.
Tough when we want small, effective government while the party of government just wants more government.
FTA:
If we are to get back into the business of defeating democrats and removing them from the levers of political power, Mike Robbins would be a good place to start.
… Putting yet another establishment Repub in power is NOT AT ALL a good place to start …
Ann Brown was a loser for the AKGOP. I understand the Chair and Leadership are not paid and must foot their own expenses…any wonder these Leaders are swayed by money and power from the OLD RNC and UNIPARTY RINO’s? I watched Mike Robbins coordinate 100’s of us for the Trump-Tchibaka Rally, he has reached out to me and others in a call for volunteers when needed.
Vote for Mike Robbins for AKGOP Chair at the Convention:
Mike is a Proven Leader; Mike has shown good Communications with Volunteers; Mike has first-hand Knowledge of the Nuts and Bolts in the mechanics of the AKGOP; Confident Mike will support and enforce the 2022 AKGOP Party Platform as amended; and Alaska Republicans have no time to lose NOW!
If Mike Robbins REALLY wants to set himself apart, he should state that one of his first acts as party chair would be to officially disown and condemn Princess Lisa as the RINO anti-GOP player that she actually is.
“one of his first acts as party chair would be to officially disown and condemn Princess Lisa as the RINO anti-GOP player that she actually is”…
ABSOLUTELY AGREE with you Jefferson! Whether it’s Mike Robbins or whoever, the AKGOP CHAIR MUST STAND UP AND EXPEL “Lisa-The-Baby-Killer” Murkowski and anyone like her.
Now you’re talking!
Spot on.
Then move down the line to Giessel, Bishop, Stutes, and several others.
But even that will not convince me the GOP is worth a damn.
Stutes for sure, at the very least, deserves such treatment as well.
And then there is Kelly Merrick (D-Eagle River).
Here’s the problem with that worldview: If and when you get yourself into the position that the only Good Republican is the one who agrees with you, your world shrinks by a lot. OTOH, if you are Party Chair, with your job simply electing as many Republicans as you can, the job is much simpler. Even better, you don’t get involved in the endless purge of Republicans who aren’t sufficiently conservative. Note that in a purple state (which we are thanks to the Bush and Anchorage), we’re gonna elect some number of liberal Republicans. And, yeah, I don’t like it any more than you do. Deal with it.
Purges are usually a Bad Thing, as they are a subtraction problem. Let the Other Side do that, something they are very good at. Our job is to grow the pie rather than figuring out how to cut it into an endlessly decreasing number of pure pieces. If Lisa is a problem (and she most certainly is), what better future can she have than as a woman in a Senate so conservative that her endless dalliance with the left simply doesn’t matter?
Bottom line? Don’t worry about Lisa or Cathy or Burt or Gary, or any of an endless list of Republicans who disappoint us. Make them irrelevant. It’s a job that’s a lot tougher, but ultimately a lot more fun. Cheers –
See, Agimarc, this is where you and I differ.
You see the goal as merely electing as many politicians as possible, no matter their policies and principles, as long as they have an “R” in front of their name. Whereas I would like to see as many principled, honest, and freedom-loving politicians elected as possible, REGARDLESS of the letter in front of their name. Yes, nowadays there are essentially none such politicians with “the other letter”, but FAR too many unprincipled, pro-establishment, pro-globalist ones with an “R” as well.
Is your primary cause to advance liberty, or merely to advance the Republican Party, all other considerations be damned? If it is the latter, then you are just another part of the problem, and not a part of the solution.
Jefferson: I think you are confusing perfection with close enough. On balance, Republicans get us closer to our goal than democrats do. Yeah’ it is a statistics argument. There are House districts in this state that will never ever elect a David Eastman, but they will elect a Bert Steadman. Yeah, I know Steadman will drive us crazy and caucus with democrats from time to time. But with him in office, I have a better opportunity to form a Republcan majority than I do with a democrat in the same office. Only place in the state where democrats caucus with Republicans is the Bush, and there are only a few of them.
Someone who agrees with you 80% of the time is not your enemy. Someone who agrees with you 50% of the time and chooses to caucus with you will drive you crazy but will put you in charge, however briefly. Rarely happens with democrats.
It’s threat analysis. Dems are the threat. Never forget it. Cheers –
If Lisa Murkowski isn’t ‘a bridge too far’ for you, then you must not have ‘a bridge too far’, correct?
Spot on. We must end the circular firing squad to have any hope of success. You don’t like a candidate? Primary them and elect someone better – Joe Miller and Roger Holland come to mind. We have work to do.
I can’t afford the time or expense for convention this year, but I pray that whoever becomes the new AKGOP Chair, that they would inspire us with passion for electing the right people, growing the Party, raising money, getting out the vote, and having fun doing it – Republicans are a great bunch of people to hang out with! I suggest a debate be held as well as candidate for Chair speeches during convention.
erak Thank God its humble ! but that statement means you did and never supported a PFD because I witnessed Randy state that a PFD should not have ever been created! Looking at ones past should give a critical thinking person reason to analyze that person’s future…. A man that works in government & how he makes money outside government should be analyzed, in other words follow the money ….what the GOP really needs is not a government leader who spends other people’s money but give reason to why young people see truth in the GOP’s planks & those that are followed & benefits that younger generation. What “media” did benefit Mike Robbins? Was it conservative? Look deep existing & potential republicans!
The PFD is the worst public policy in the history of Alaska. I will never understand how any Republican can support UBI. I guess it is human nature to like stuff for free, and free money is the best free stuff ever because it can be exchanged for any other good or service.
Every legislative session the size of the PFD sucks most of the oxygen out of the room. The purpose of government should not be UBI. The pupose of government resources should not be to pay a dividend.
BTW, I did not know Ruedrich’s position on the PFD. I’m upgrading my assessment of him to exceptional. He acknowledged truth!
You completely miss the entire point of the PFD. It’s not UBI. It’s more like being a shareholder. Living in Alaska isn’t easy. And there wouldn’t be a fiasco if a judge had followed the law. In fact, there seems to be a number of issues where judges in Alaska have failed to follow laws. Now, every year, the AK Lawbreakers also fail to follow statute.
The PFD is not a “government benefit” – it is a distributed share of what the residents already own. When the legislature appropriates the PFD for any other purpose, they are STEALING from the people – they could call this a tax, but tax legislation must be put before the people in a referendum. Hey Congress – I dare you to put the PFD before the people in a vote! Alaska supreme court, you made a huge mistake giving congress power over the PFD.
Mike will need a new job soon
So will Traitor Joe and the Ho.
Is Halcro a candidate for republican party chair? Why the need to talk about him? Robbins is doing such a great job. What positive things has he accomplished in this tough environment? I really do not understand making an endorsement based on he is not this guy. You posted a link to his resume when applying for his current job it includes nothing about his present work. Interesting an add for Nikki Rose comes up when I read this article. I imagine she paid for her advertisement. As someone who belongs to no party I will say the republicans have not had a leader since the penguin.
100% agree !!! Murkowski does not represent Alaskan republicans, she represents Alaskan and national democrats. They love her.
I left the republican party and went Independent because of the democrap lite uniparty rinos in the party, even in top leadership. The party needs to address the issue of democraps in republican clothing in the party. MANY are abandoning the party because we are nauseated by voting for a socalled republican who when elected joins with the democraps. Just look at our legislature. Sick of republican legislators going democrap. My senator Wilson prime example. I am not represented but the democraps in my district sure are thanks to republican in name only Wilson.
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