Big Labor Beltrami, once a foe of Sen. Cathy Giessel, now endorses her in flyer

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AFL-CIO's Vince Beltrami and Joelle Hall.

BUT SENATOR DAN SULLIVAN SAYS HE DID NOT ENDORSE HER

The head man at the AFL-CIO in Alaska was once a harsh critic of Sen. Cathy Giessel, so much so that he even ran against her in 2016.

Giessel is running for reelection in District N, south Anchorage, having served the region since 2011.

Today, AFL-CIO President Vince Beltrami is having his foot soldiers go door to door with literature supporting his former foe, who is in a primary race with Roger Holland.

[Read: Giessel gets primary challenger in Roger Holland]

The AFL-CIO literature that favors Giessel this cycle urges people to request the Republican ballot so they can vote for Giessel in the primary. The group is also urging people in District 24 to request the Republican Party ballot and vote in that primary, where Rep. Chuck Kopp is being challenged by Tom McKay.

[Read: Tough on crime? Ralph Samuels says go with Tom McKay]

Democrats and the large unions that represent mainly public employees are attempting to swing the vote in specific seats through this method; undeclared and nonpartisan voters can vote either the Republican ballot or the everything-else ballot, as Republicans have a semi-closed primary to prevent this type of dubious tinkering with elections.

Paid for by the AFL-CIO, literature stuffed into a fence on a house in South Anchorage encourages voters to pick the Republican absentee ballot and vote for Sen. Cathy Giessel.

“Paid for by Alaska AFL-CIO” means it was delivered to union households (but also to other households) by paid union workers. It’s hard to say if this helps or hurts the senator, but it’s certainly indication of a new alliance.

There is a Democratic primary in Senate Seat N: Carl Johnson is running against Lynette Moreno Hinz for the chance of appearing on the November ballot against either Giessel or Holland.

That campaign literature curiosity comes on the heels of one of Giessel’s own pieces of campaign literature that blanketed the district, all the way to Girdwood, which brought swift disavowal from U.S. Sen. Dan Sullivan’s campaign headquarters.

On that campaign flyer, Giessel has a congratulatory note from Sullivan from 2019, and a photo of herself and the U.S. senator, and it very much appears as an endorsement.

The offending flyer that prompted a statement from Sen. Sullivan’s campaign.

“Senator Sullivan has a very strong record of working with members of the Legislature. However, he is not endorsing Legislative candidates ahead of the August primary,” his campaign said in a statement.

“Photographs released with candidates and Senator Sullivan have not been approved by Senator Sullivan or his campaign and should not be viewed as endorsements. This mail piece was not approved by Senator Sullivan or his campaign,” the campaign stated.

The statement may have been issued because candidates are starting to use Sullivan in their campaign materials, but he has his own race to run this year. A photo posted by the late Rep. Gary Knopp (who died Friday in a plane crash) that showed him with the senator caused some on the Kenai Peninsula to call the campaign staff to ask if it was an endorsement. It was not, but observers interpreted it that way.

23 COMMENTS

  1. Sen. Cathy Giessel has lost her way in the swamp. I find myself questioning whom she truly represents much more frequently as of the last few years. I work on the North Slope, so I have already cast my Absentee ballet in the primary election for Roger Holland. It’s time for a change, someone more traditionally Conservative.

    • Philip, thanks so much for your vote! I am amazed at the forces lining up to protect Cathy Giessel and her special interests. Ultimately, it’s not about me or Cathy Giessel. It’s about what is right and needed for Alaska and Alaskans.
      Roger Holland

  2. The AFL-CIO has been described as a “bunch of white wine drinking do-nothings” by more than one union. The AFL-CIO is purported to be an amalgamated representative of all unions. Don’t believe it. Except for ‘service’ unions (marginally) with the biggest memberships to collect from, AFL-CIO is a waste of time and money for labor unions. Issues pertaining to general unions are rarely taken up by AFL-CIO. The only constant for them is the monthly ‘dues’ collected from unwitting, unwilling members of labor unions across America. Their approach to politics are the same. No consistency or representation. Collect the ‘dues’. That is the scope of their ‘service’ to unions in general, not representation. Now they want their say in politics to be accepted as beneficial to Americans that do not pay their ‘dues’? Not happening. What’s in it for AFL-CIO? More trash talk from the left and attempts to make the AFL-CIO seem relevant with their “endorsement”.

    • I am running as an Undeclared candidate for Senate District N, in the General. I will be voting on the Republican Primary Ballot for Roger Holland. My main goal in running is to defeat Cathy Giessel. I also urge partisans for other parties to vote for Lynette Hinz Moreno, who is pro PFD. DEFEAT GIESSEL.

  3. When I received Giessel‘s flyer I sent a note to Dan Sullivan’s office inquiring if he was endorsing someone who has been so disruptive to our State government.
    I have always supported Sen Sullivan as he has proven to be a reasonable man. I was wondering if I needed to reevaluate his judgement.
    It was a relief to hear he has not endorsed her. It turned out she was just misrepresenting herself again to the Alaskan voters.
    Come August if she wins the primary Dan could endorse her or her competition as they will both represent the Democratic Party and the results in Juneau will be the same.

    • Yeah, A&E which is under the Discovery umbrella of channels took “Live PD” off the air because most of the suspects were black. Another liberal network trying to hide the truth. Imagine that.

  4. Cathy, Did you ever imagine wanting a public office where you needed the support of Vince to get through the primary? Or one where you needed to fake the endorsement of prominent republicans who are clearly looking to distance themselves from you? You once meant well, many years ago. But something has happened to you. Juneau has taken its pound of flesh and it has ruined your soul. It’s time to pull the lever, retire and enjoy your family. You care more about the power and prestige you think you have as a state senator than serving your constituents honorably. You, like so many before you, let it get to your head. Yet you have taken it further than most; your behavior is frankly sophomoric, embarrassing, cringeworthy. You have targeted fellow conservatives, formed unsavory alliances with enemies of the conservative values you claim, and you have abandoned the governor in his quest to give the voters what they expect of him. This can’t be any more fun for you than it is for those who once supported you.

  5. Vinny the Union thug strikes again! Worked Union all my working Career & would never vote for anyone they endorsed.

  6. She sold her soul and she is now watching the ranks of her fellow deserters being thinned by whom the bell tolls ,She will lose and her power will be jerked from her greedy vile hands,, She will be a pariah to all for her betrayal. She will seek a a warm smile but will only know rebuke…. Those who swooned you Cathy will also whisper of what a Quisling you had become….. You made your own bed now only the enemies of we the people seek you because you’ve become the harlot of the Senate..

  7. Remember how Beltrami lied in the 2018 election with signs that said “Dunleavy voted against the PFD?” Check the 11/1/18 issue of MRA for a pic. Beltrami is just a lying, frustrated pol wannabe. Poor thing. Such BS makes me ashamed of having been the head of a union local for several terms.

  8. I know Queen Giessel better than anyone here. She is a self-serving, conceited, back-stabber. Pure poison. She was also that way as a child.

  9. You need term limits for the state legislature. 2 terms ought to be enough. With a revolving door, special interest groups, fish boards and native Corp. money won’t be as likely to buy in if it were short term.

    • We HAVE term limits for state positions, it’s called the vote. Unfortunately the voting public won’t make the effort to inform themselves before they pull the lever, so voting becomes a popularity contest. “What name do I recognize?” gets the nod.

      A democracy / republic is supposed to reflect the will of the People. Unfortunately, ours does. The People don’t have the will to do the work before they vote. So the deepest pockets win every time.

  10. This thing with asking people to change their voter registration to purposely sabotage primaries is really deceitful and the act of real bottom dwellers. No wonder these guys want ranked choice voting. You have to look at people who advocate this type of behavior and consider how their lack of ethics transfers into how they conduct themselves in their day jobs, or, how they function if they hold public office.

  11. Unfortunately, Cathy Geissel has no idea how to use a calculator and has allowed the unsustainable spending to continue. I find no reason to keep giving the same group the opportunity to further impoverish our state. Vote for anybody else, they can’t be any worse.

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