WHY WOULD FORMER PUBLISHER OF DISPATCH BE IN THE MIX?
A telephone poll of Alaskans this week asks a series of questions one might expect during gubernatorial election season, such as this one:
– Do approve, somewhat approve, somewhat disapprove or strongly disapprove of any of these names:
- Bill Walker
- Lisa Murkowski
- Mark Begich
- Scott Hawkins
- Sean Parnell
- Mike Dunleavy
- Donald Trump
- Mayor Dan sullivan
- Mead Treadwell
- Alice Rogoff
The order of the names rotates, of course, to give each name equal footing.
That a pollster would ask about Gov. Walker is no surprise in this election season, and the other names on the list seem normal for a pollster wanting to gauge the sentiment of likely voters.
But asking about Alice Rogoff, the former publisher of the Alaska Dispatch News?
The only reason that question would be included was because of former Lt. Gov. Mead Treadwell entering the race for governor on Friday. Treadwell and Rogoff are personal friends and have had a business relationship through PT Capital, and investment firm.
But Bill Walker also had a cozy relationship with Rogoff. She was part of a group he gathered early in his administration to come up with ways to fix the state budget, and she pushed borrowing money to do so. She also won support for the Port Clarence project — an Arctic port where PT Capital had some interest or involvement.
Our conclusion on why her name is included? Some candidate is polling to see if there are negatives from Rogoff that rub off on Treadwell or Walker’s reputation.
[Read MustReadAlaska’s latest coverage on the Rogoff-Dispatch bankruptcy]
Other questions in the nine-minute poll include:
– If primary election was held today, which of these names would you would you vote for?
- Treadwell
- Hawkins
- Dunleavy
– If you have to choose between Mead Treadwell and Mike Dunleavy, who would you choose?
– Do you support or oppose the use of the Permanent Fund for government services?
– If the general election was held today, and the candidates were Bill Walker, Mike Dunleavy, or Mark Begich, which would you vote for?
– Have you seen any advertising about the candidates — TV, Facebook, Other?
At least one other poll is in the field this week in Alaska, and it’s from a North Carolina call center using an automated voice.
Walker, Rogoff, Sterling Gallagher (a Dept. of Revenue Commissioner from 40 years ago), Treadwell, and Juneau advisers wanted to leverage the corpus of the Permanent Fund. The thinking was, “We cannot spend it without a vote of the people so let’s use it as security for borrowing billions of dollars.” Bond issuance costs and money management fees would have amounted to $300 million or more for Rogoff’s then estranged husband (now former husband), Treadwell and others. Walker’s then Revenue Commissioner, the Permanent Fund head, and various others had no small difficulty heading it off. The downside for Alaskans were obvious to everyone but Walker. These people were on the take and looked forward to a big payday. I suppose we could ask today, Where are they now?
Fully Restored PFD, as established in 1981. We intend to give back the money capped by the legislature and Governor in the past few years of the Walker administration. We plan to restore the formula for the permanent fund dividend distribution by using funds with a five-year average formula for consistency and stability as set in State law, as before calculated. It’s our Alaskan right and tradition “shall be restored.” To further protect your PFD, our government will move to work on a constitutional amendment that protects any restructuring of the fund by the legislators from the House, Senate and Governor by placing protections on the fund. So let it be known, that any such actions of restructuring the PFD fund should be decided by the people as to vote on the issue by the PFD shareholders of Alaska..MICHAEL SHELDON for Governor 2018..STEPHEH WRIGHT for Lt Governor…
no future with alice rogoff on your resume.
Almost makes me wish I still had a landline so they could call me.
Dear Robert Z: There is one good pollster/strategist in Alaska who calls cell phones – Marc Hellenthal. Those pollsters who do not call cell phones or do not do it properly, have incorrect results. From my experience, that category of pollsters includes everyone but Hellenthal.
Also, folks should remember why polls are taken. Simple, to develop a strategy for the campaign be it a political race or a marketing effort. Again, in my opinion, there is only one true strategist in Alaska who has been doing polling and strategizing for 40+ years and that is Marc Hellenthal.
Disclaimer: I have known Marc since the 2nd grade. He is my good friend. However, the foregoing statements are true and correct. I would not have made these comments were that not the case.
Comments are closed.