District 38’s Rep. Zach Fansler is battling accusations of rough sex play that was too rough. A Juneau woman went to the police after she said Fansler got drunk and boxed her in the ear, rupturing her ear drum.
But voters in the sprawling district already have a choice this November.
Darren Deacon of Kalskag has stepped up to run for representative of the rural district that stretches from Crooked Creek in the East to Tooksook Bay in the West and South to Goodnews Bay. Bethel is the hub community. Kalskag is home to 210 Alaskans.
Deacon wrote :
“As a family man and life-long Delta resident, I have learned that we must all help one another, we must fight for those who cannot fend for themselves, and we are all equal in this world.
“If chosen by the people of District 38 to serve them, I will work to bring economic opportunity to our communities; I will fight to protect a full Dividend so that we can have a needed boost to our local economy. I will defend our subsistence rights and work to improve the healthcare of our region and support our search and rescuers and first responder’s super-human efforts to bring us home safely to our families.
“The people of our region are like others who call our great State of Alaska home: kind of heart, resourceful, generous, wise and hard working, always ready to help our neighbors in times of need.
“Recent events in Juneau show that we need a change in leadership , that we deserve a person who will represent them in the state capital with these same great qualities, the same work ethic and kind heart, and an understanding of the challenges that we all face in our daily lives. in doing so we will make our lives better, our communities stronger, and keep with the same great traditions that make us all proud to call this great State of Alaska home.”
NO WORD ON FANSLER RESIGNATION
House Speaker Bryce Edgmon today told reporters in the Capitol that, regardless of the due process to which Rep. Fansler has a right, Edgmon had received credible information from people in the Capitol about the incident, which was reported on Saturday by the Juneau Empire.
“To ask for his resignation: It’s a bold step,” Edgmon told the Capitol Press Corps. “And it’s something that we acted very definitively and very quickly on, because quite frankly our policy towards inappropriate treatment and, certainly, violence towards anyone — much less a woman — is something we just won’t tolerate.”
But Fansler has not shown up around the Capitol since the news broke Saturday. His staff has been reassigned to Rules Chair Rep. Gabrielle LeDoux.
Fansler, who is an attorney, has been huddling with his remaining political allies to determine his next step. He was seen leaving Hangar on the Wharf, a local bar and grill, earlier Tuesday. The media reports he has consulted with a criminal defense lawyer who is doing the speaking for him now; the last quoted comment from his attorney is that Fansler is innocent.
If Fansler quits, he’d be the second Democratic Party freshman to exit within a month. Rep. Dean Westlake, District 40, left Dec. 25 after he was accused of harassing women in Juneau. Criminal charges were never filed.
John Lincoln of Kotzebue, hand-picked by the governor, will be sworn in on Wednesday and assigned to Westlake’s committees.
To date, Fansler has not faced criminal charges, either, but the police report hasn’t been released, which indicates an investigation is underway.
[Read: Fansler: Marching for women by day; smacking them around by night]
