By GREG SARBER | SEWARD’S FOLLY
During the last two sessions of the legislature, the Alaska Republican Party has been unable to prevent RINO party members from joining with the Democrats to form governing caucuses. The Republican Party’s inability to prevent this has been well documented, but things might be changing thanks to actions at the grassroots level.
Recent articles on my Sewards Folly Substack have shown how other states have held miscreants accountable in similar circumstances, but there has been nothing but crickets from the leadership of the AK GOP.
Where the state leadership has failed, grassroots party members have stepped up to take the lead on this issue. In a meeting earlier this month, members of the GOP’s District 6, located on the southern Kenai Peninsula, voted to censure both state Sen. Gary Stevens (R-Kodiak) and Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska). While censure resolutions have been made in the past and accomplished absolutely nothing, things may be different this time.
I recently met with representatives from GOP leadership in District 6, who filled me in on the details of what they are attempting, and it sounds like something meaningful could finally get accomplished.
The first step in holding the Gang of Seven accountable is a change adopted to the Alaska Republican Party Rules in July of 2024. Article VII was added, and it includes language which says: “Any candidate or elected official may be sanctioned or suspended for any of the following reasons… (e) Forming a majority caucus in which non-Republicans are at least 1/3 or more of the coalition.”
Given this language, it is clear that each member of the Gang of Seven in Juneau has violated this part of the AK GOP bylaws. Article VII also specifies potential punishment: “Sanctions may include censure, declaring elected officials or candidates ineligible for endorsement or support by the ARP or its affiliates, recruiting a challenger, and prohibiting participation in ARP events, or any other appropriate sanction not disallowed by ARP or RNC rules.”
The significance of these rule changes is that censured Republicans could lose financial support from the party, be prevented from attending state GOP nominating conventions, or face a GOP-backed challenger in their next reelection campaign. These are real sanctions with real teeth to them.
With the new rule changes now in effect, the District 6 leadership convened a meeting on April 5th and voted to censure both Sens. Stevens and Murkowski. Sen. Stevens has violated the new rules adopted in February, and Sen. Lisa Murkowski receives their ire because she has been subversive to President Trump’s policies and is frequently aligned with the Democrats back in Washington, D.C.
The one problem with this round of sanctions is that although District 6 voted to censure both RINOs, District 5 did not, which prevents the full impact of the sanctions from taking effect, at least for now.
Alaska Senate districts are each composed of two House districts. Sen. Stevens represents District C, which is composed of House Districts 5 and 6. District 6, located in Homer, voted to censure the senator and begin the sanction process, but District 5, located in Kodiak, did not pass the same articles of censure, which is probably no surprise.
RINO Sen. Gary Stevens lives in Kodiak. The local party knows that having their senator hold the position of Senate President benefits them. Since AK GOP rules require both House districts comprising a senate district to vote for censure, this might seem like another failed attempt by the Republicans to police their members.
However, today’s Republicans aren’t your daddy’s GOP anymore; they are made of sterner stuff and aren’t taking no for an answer. There is a second part to the AK GOP’s February rules change, which also permits the sanction of a state senator if 19 of the 37 organized GOP House districts in Alaska also vote to censure the individual.
District 6 members have contacted other districts around the state, asking them to vote to approve Sen. Gary Stevens’s censure. If 19 of the statewide districts approve the resolution, Sen. Stevens could face the punishments documented in Article VII, which could hurt his reelection chances next November. More importantly, if the censure resolution can be passed against the sitting Senate President, then every other party defector today and in the future could face similar punishment. If the AK GOP can punish Sen. Gary Stevens, it will be a “Come to Jesus” moment for the rest of the Gang of Seven.
As a reminder to voters around the state, the Gang of Seven GOP political traitors includes House Representatives Louise Stutes (R-Kodiak) and Chuck Kopp (R-Anchorage) and Sens. Bert Stedman (R-Sitka), Gary Stevens (R-Kodiak), Jesse Bjorkman (R-Nikiski), Cathy Giessel (R-Anchorage), and Kelly Merrick (R-Eagle River).
Each of the organized House Districts around the state should vote to approve District 6’s censure resolution of Sen. Gary Stevens. Additionally, the House districts shown in Table 1 above should vote to censure their respective senators and representatives who have violated the AK GOP bylaws by joining governing caucuses with the Democrats.
Sometimes getting things done politically in this state is like trying to turn a supertanker. Those ships take a long time to turn, but given enough time and patience, it can be done. It is time for the Republicans to get their ship headed in the right direction, and for the first time in a long time, it looks like that just might be possible.
Yawn
Consider me from Missouri on this:
show me.
I’ve heard pretty promises out of Republicans before.
Gary Stevens is a disgrace. He not liked on Kodiak- except by those who benefit from his corruption.
He needs to go.
Good but probably won’t happen WAY too many people with their head in the sand
Lisa Murkowski is the worst and we need to start with her. She’s 100% Democrat and bashes Trump at every opportunity. Lisa took millions from Biden and paid people not to work damaging our fragile industries like fishing. She’s been bought and paid for and will not change.
Wake up! Murkowski is standing up for Our Constitution as Trump is Eroding Our Civil Rights & Constitution before our Eyes! Trump is a Wannabe King…he wants to Rule over us with rhe Backing of Billionaires (Oligarchy) Musk and the 13+ Billionaires on Trump’s Administration!! Fight for Democracy! 🇺🇲 Fight For the Constitution before it’s too late!
Lisa has been censured by the ARP before.
I’ll be from Missouri as well on this time around!
O, NO!!!! Not another letter!!. I’m sure Princess is just shaking!! With laughter
More of this! More of this, please! It won’t mean anything, and no one goes to jail or leaves office. But it’s better than standing idly by and approving through inaction.
Those in Kodiak under Stevens need to stand up and either vote him out or vote at your district meetings to get him out. Take a stand. Meanwhile D6 is going to pursue every way possible to get rid of him. Help us put someone up to run against him this next time…