The dark money group known as the 907 Initiative, headed up by a former Anchorage Daily News reporter, has gone on an offensive against Mayor Dave Bronson again.
The group has a massive radio ad buy and is mailing out an edited version of former Municipal Manager Amy Demboski’s resignation letter, in which she makes numerous accusations about improper contracts being signed by the city.
The 907 Initiative says the letter was edited for brevity, but not editorialized. When Demboski quit, her attorney Scott Kendall sent her resignation letter to every member of the Anchorage Assembly in the attempt to do maximum damage to Mayor Dave Bronson. Thus, the letter is public record, although because it involves personnel, the mayor is not able to respond to Demboski’s allegations.
The public is not being told who funds the 907 Initiative. It describes itself as an “Alaska-based government watchdog organization working to increase public transparency for state and local government We work with individuals, organizations and grassroots coalitions to promote a greater quality of life and promote Alaskan values.”
Organizers listed on the group’s official listing with the Department of Commerce are Debra Call, who ran as a Democrat for lieutenant governor; Eleanor Andrews, a longtime Democrat activist and former state commissioner, and Stephanie Nichols, the vice president, Ethics & Compliance and Compliance Counsel at GCI.
Like the Alaska Center, the 907 Initiative is devoted to leftist candidates and causes. But unlike the Alaska Center, the group is not yet listed on the Internal Revenue Service’s publicly facing database. The IRS has a large backlog of work and the organization’s nonprofit status, officers, and address may not be known for many months.
Because of the reporting delays, the public will also not be able to learn who is funding this group for as much as two years. In the meantime, it will be able to operate freely through the next few election cycles, hiding the funders while campaigning under the guise of a transparency-seeking watchdog.
The 907 Initiative is also now funding the Alaska Current, a new leftist blog, as it incorporates political writer Matt Buxton, who has been underwritten by political operative Jim Lottsfeldt for many years at a website that launched in 2015. The Alaska Current is associated with the Ship Creek Group, a group founded by John Henry-Heckendorn, who came to Alaska to work in association with Lottsfeldt, and to manage the campaign of Democrat Andy Josephson.
Despite its mission of transparency, the 907 Initiative registered its website name using privacy blocks to prevent the public from learning who bought the names “907Initiative.org” and “907Initiative.com.”
The Alaska Public Media has gone along the 907 Initiative, calling it a “nonpartisan watchdog group.” Already the group has gotten involved in the 2022 election, filing a lawsuit with the Alaska Public Interest Research Group against the campaign of Gov. Mike Dunleavy.
The 907 Initiative’s executive director, Aubrey Wieber, who arrived in Alaska in 2019 as a reporter but quickly became an employee of Assemblyman Chris Constant, can be reached at [email protected].
Tell me one thing listed on that letter to citizens that was not included in the letter sent by Amy Dembowski to the Bronson Administration and Assembly.
Just because you don’t like the people who distributed this letter does not make what Dembowski alleged in her letter a very serious offense.
Sad, but not at all surprising. Kendall is the sleaziest person in Alaska and the knives have been out for Bronson since elected.
When the Bronson people went after Amy, instead of letting her go quietly, they violated a well known rule of life.
Never, ever, piss off a combative woman unnecessarily. Hell has no fury…
What woman was pissed off at Mayor Bronson or McKenna and reported the 4,400 gallons of diesel fuel the mayor tried to give to one of his largest sponsors? Had to be a woman, right, TMA? Only a scorned woman would try to hurt our illustrious mayor.
Bronson and co should have read their Bible. No matter the translation, they are living out Proverbs 21:9.
Amy is gonna eat their proverbial lunch.
The Bible as guidance? No thanks. Not appropriate for government.
I’m sorry, but I can’t stop laughing at the rank stupidity of this comment.
Actually, I’m not sorry at all. It was a stupid comment lacking any level or discernment and a sense of humor.
When one becomes a leftist, is your sense of humor surgically removed?
Look, Lucinda. I know reading comprehension is not your strong suit, but Masked did not advocate for using the bible as guidance. He said Bronson should have read his bible, and if there is any “guidance” recommended, it was for his own (Bronson’s) personal life and behavior.
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Please try to keep up, and stop reading everything through a leftists lens.
What would be your recommendations for moral decency? What is your go-to to determine right from wrong? For spiritual guidance and comfort in rough times? Please share with us.
Moral decency doesn’t mean religious decency. Perhaps you have been indoctrinated by religious belief.
Live and let live.
Weird that it’s not appropriate for government in a country who’s background is based on Judeo Christian values and was formed by people who traveled here to escape religious persecution. I take it you failed history in your education.
Actually, the “persecution” they were escaping was the co-opting of religion by the Church of England – a “church/state” forced marriage that left out Catholics, Baptists, Quakers, among others.
So one could argue that the lesson of history here is that while the USA is nominally “Christian”, its governing principles are best performed as a secular duty – not reflecting one religion, or particular sect of a religion.
You are right tho – if you don’t know your history, you will be doomed to repeat it.
Funny that these liberal attack groups all try to sound like they are for the people and justice, but only seem to attack conservatives. If they were transparency and blah blah blah that they claim, then the commies on assembly would have been attacked for the last 3-4 years every meeting. Crickets! 907 Initiative or Alaskans for better elections are not fooling anyone. Sign the petition and let’s end rank choice voting.
“…then they attack conservatives… the commies on the assembly…”
Majority of voters voted for RCV. You know-will of the people?
And as a result of it, RANK choice voting, we have two people with less than majority favor/support supposedly representing us in DC; Peltola and Murkowski. No thank you. That’s not how representative government is supposed to function. It is how they fail.
Allof our representation in Washington is represented by the majority of voters.
The forefathers railed against parties. YOU want something else. I hear that.
A majority of Alaskans were duped into voting for RCV. I remember clearly that it was hidden in the advertising. It was run on the basis that the proposition was about exposing dark money in out elections. I know a few mellenials who said they voted for it because of the dark money and knew nothing of the RCV portion.
Then we had the AK Supreme Court totally blow it when it was in front of them, they allowed it to stand. Technically according to the State of Alaskas constitution, no proposition put forth to the ballot shall represent more than one specific agenda. Proposition 2 attended to two, dark money and RCV.
So no your theory of majority of Alaskans voted for RCV, is nothing more than your own Dim talking point being regurgitated. Don’t worry, it’s gonna get repealed.
Denali have you finished school yet? Are you a grown adult?
We don’t need all the outside political help. It just pushes people to the right side. All the glossy advertisements and tv adds just make me more against the left. They are the worst junk yard Dogs who bark nonstop. Everybody I talk with are so done with all the crap slinging the left does.
Americans for Prosperity, how do you feel about them having come from outside?
It’s better than the shady 907 initiative. I was wondering why they won’t reply when asked why they claim Bronson is corrupt. I have asked them to explain what the assembly has done with all of the COVID funds they received. 907 initiative sounds like a carpetbagger group posing as locals.
No different. I understand you prefer Americans for Prosperity -an outside organization who took over who could talk to the governor in a public forum. I get you want your 1st amendmentrights to be taken away.
Denali is good with outside political groups interfering with government. Got it.
Yet you are all for dark money groups basically slandering any administration with propaganda. All hail Lureen and her political puppetmasters and the liberal talking points she regurgitates on a daily basis.
Are you only left with name calling in this conversation?
Lmao…. you do realize that the so called conservative Republicans you vote for are controlled by outside party influences… middle left is more Alaskan than any of hour rinos
907 Initiative is a sketchy, secretive group, apparently funded by dark money. If you disagree then please, share where their funding comes from. Look ant their website – no information. All the statements made by them are allegations and nothing is proven, hence they are spreading rumors. There is a lawsuit so the mayor cannot comment. Demanding the mayor ‘address’ the accusations is meaningless and only inserted to make it appear the mayor won’t, which isn’t true. All the people that seem to be connected, are all very left leaning. This is nothing but another attack on another elected conservative.
I wonder why there are not any right-side-of-the-political aisle groups that are doing the same thing?
I hear radio ads from the 907 Initiative all the time. They are so biased, I think my radio is going to fall off the left side of my bookshelf. So, where is the same thing from the right?
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Do not tell me there is nothing that cannot be distorted, in the same manner, to make any of the leftists look bad. There is plenty out there. It is just as damning.
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The problem with the folks on the right is they refuse to use the left’s tactics against them. They refuse to make the left live up to their own standards. Net result, the conservatives lose elections. Self inflicted wounds.
Because the right is lazy.
The RIGHT IS NOT lazy.. They’re building their court case and and everything is in the courts right now.. When it comes.. Surprises will be revealed. Just be patient.. When the truth will be revealed, it’ll be a surprise on both sides..
I wish I could be optimistic about that.
But, you damned well know that they will hit a leftist/activist judge, get a speed bump, and give up.
History says otherwise
Sad but true. I would attribute it to the right, having what’s called morals and live to a higher standard. Had parents that taught them “treat others as you wish to be treated.” ? The left has no trouble lying and not batting an eye. Like Harry Reid said, after multiple lies. When being called out on it, all he could say is “we won didn’t we “
The left is always doing exactly what they accuse there opponents of doing.
I wouldn’t support anyone that’s that low. That’s why I no longer vote Democrat.
FYI CBMTTek: so you are not in the dark regarding right leaning dark money…
‘https://www.acslaw.org/analysis/reports/dark-money/-this is about the conservative dark money behind recent Supreme Court picks.
‘https://www.opensecrets.org/news/2022/11/dark-money-groups-aligned-with-party-leadership-steer-hundreds-of-millions-of-dollars-2022-federal-elections/-this speaks specifically to Donors Trust- massive conservative dark money group.
Did not hear the radio ads for that.
Did not see TV ads.
Did not see advertising on the ‘net.
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Perhaps you should read and re-read my comment until the point becomes clear. Dark money is not what I was talking about. Deceptive ads is.
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Where are they?
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Sincerely;
Maury Suttman.
CBMTTek said, “I wonder why no right side of the political aisle groups that are doing the same thing.”
Yep.
Why are the not paying for radio/TV/print/internet ads.
If you real the whole comment, and spend more than half a second thinking, that would be obvious.
First, this dark money is mostly from corporations that are gaining great wealth by destroying our country. They are putting up large money to phony organizations to accomplish their objectives. The reason they are hiding is because it is actually our money they are using for it. That’s the secret. Exposure is certain failure for this group.
The right has been doing it steadily… it’s called MRAK and Downing’s crusade against honesty, truth, and Alaskans for Alaskans.
Just look at the asinine support for giving away our oil
You guys put the court in that made the ruling allowing dark money. Kinda bites when others get to use it, too, sounds like you are saying.
Boy oh boy. Nothing like a news story about dark money shenanigans to get lots of brand new commentators to MRAK
Welcome Haha.
What’s this. Masked avenger quoting bible. Proverb 21:9 its a good one for women (and men too- men who picked up their mama or grandma bad behavior trait being quarrelsome). More evidence God is swiftly moving thru this city and alaska. Thank God he lives and not made by human hands.
why worry no need to worry. Bronson and the first lady are solid christians, and the Lord is with his own through all. He is also among the assembly, and kendall, as proverb 21:1 says “the king’s heart is a stream of water in the hand of the LORD; he turns it wherever he will.” so pray and keep doing the goodwork that the Lord has set in one’s soul whether job is tiny, small, or large
. God moves fast while his faithful work.
The fact the Bronson administration is collapsing around him is not exactly a stellar example of God working His will.
One big aspect about faith is discernment. Knowing when and how to pick your battles. You beating everyone around you with your Bible, missing several pages based on your applications, is ineffective and benefits no one.
Using it judiciously is another matter.
Try it sometime.
Thank you.
Lost is all this is the fact “journalists” are a driving force in this poop show.
The abandonment of any sense of objectivity in journalism is one of the major reasons we are so tribal. And becoming more so.
A free society can not survive a biased press. Perhaps that’s the point.
Does this mean yo my object to MSNBC as well as Fox, OAN, NewsMax, etc. I doubt there is a single news source that we would agree is objective, but for all of the complaining about biased media, it seems that no one on the right wants to discuss the blatant opinions that some of these stations call “news”. Media is in rough shape these days but it’s because of what consumers want! As far as addressing dark money advertising, why aren’t the left and right rallying around stopping or limiting the dirty tricks that were enshrined in the Citizen’s United case?
MRAK Fan – nobody is rallying around that because nobody can compete with dark money to get something like that off the ground. Plus, I doubt conservatives would agree with the left in how to address it. Conservatives don’t even agree with conservatives on details.
“it seems that no one on the right wants to discuss the blatant opinions that some of these stations call “news”.” – Have you heard of the term “fake news”?
I actually have less concern about the Fox News and MSNBC’s of the world because they are pretty open and transparent about their political perspective. I’m more concerned about NPR, PBS, Alaska Public Media, KTUU, ADN, CBS, CNN, NYT, WaPo, NBC, USA Today, Yahoo News, MSN’s web homepage, I could go on, pretending to be objective news for the public and monopolizing it and claiming they are “the paper of record” while obviously being left leaning and more concerned about narratives and agendas than objectivity and equal accountability.
It always comes back to the media and journalism for me as well. The censorship is censored. So many people just trying to be decent human beings and stay out of political fights don’t know how much of it goes on.
Rush Limbaugh isn’t who started biased news. He was just a consequence. He garnered a huge audience quickly because people were starving in the obvious vacuum that the media created in order to flatter themselves, going all the way back to LBJ. Limbaugh also publicly and clearly represented the right, while the left leaning mainstream media pretends they are objective and far too many people buy it. It’s not just biased. It’s crooked, influenced, backed up, and orchestrated. It’s not hard to see when you watch a clip of local news anchors saying the exact same things word for word throughout the entire country about very polarizing topics. It’s not biased. It’s propaganda that uses flattery for the trendy and powerful left and so the left leaning voters have no idea how much they are manipulated. Well, they might have an idea, but they have invested way too much to admit anything to themselves now and they are enjoying the flattery while the alternative is too grim and not very fun.
Got my letter from them today. Thanks for the heads up.
I simply wrote: “Get Stuffed” and “Return to sender” on the 907 blah blah envelope, and dropped it back in my mail box. I try not to let trash into my home.
I’m sure your local letter carrier appreciates you giving them your trash to deal with. Fact: bulk mail does not get returned to sender. The letter carrier either has to leave it in your box (and risk you calling their supervisor to whine) or take it back and recycle or trash it themselves. You’re not owning the libs, just being a jerk to your local letter carrier.
Threw it in the trash. Funny to receive a cover letter with 907 Initiative followed by the letter from Scott Kendall. Immediately strikes you as a desperate attempt to influence voters.
Saw who it was from and tossed it before I got back to the garage door on the way inside. Into the barrel along with what my puppy dropped. Right where itbelongs!!
I just want the navigation center built and to clean up this town and to stop enabling people to do petty theft and freeze to death on the streets. But no, the assembly and the press is more concerned about making sure they stir up as much one sided drama as they possibly can until they can reclaim all of the power and all of the credit.
Got my two copies over the weekend. As requested, sent an e-mail to the Mayor. Though I thanked him for doing his job. The package raised a few questions:
What is the propriety of a law firm handling a personnel matter in public? Is this something the Alaska Bar would sanction?
Alternately, releasing this letter widely to the public could be seen as a vehicle to corrupt a jury pool, especially as it was sent to a list of conservative men. I’ll bet that question is asked during jury selection.
Where did the 907 Initiative get their copy of Kendall’s letter? My guess is via Chris Constant, but it could be any of 9.
Perhaps the silliest charge in the letter was the Great Fluoride Scandal, where AWWU union members complained about hazardous conditions at work. This put Bronson instantly in a tough spot. Had he said nothing, the union and their lackeys on the Assembly would have raked him over the coals for running an operation exposing union members to hazardous chemicals. Bronson surprised them by taking immediate, positive action to address the hazard, afterwards turning the flow on a couple hours later. This was a union setup he handled well, though not to Solicitor Kendall’s satisfaction.
Amy’s problem taking this public and allowing Kendall, the Assembly and the 907 Initiative to do this in public is that those of us who have been long-time supporters and were fans of her work while Muni Manager are going to look elsewhere when her next campaign happens. Andrew Halcro chose his road. Apparently, Amy is traveling the same path. Too bad. Cheers –
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