The first petitions to recall Rep. Gary Knopp are now circulating in Kenai and the “Recall Gary Knopp” group has received an important clarification from the Alaska Public Offices Commission on how much people can donate to the campaign to unseat the renegade legislator.
The group began circulating the petition two weeks ago. It’s essentially an application to the lieutenant governor to allow them to conduct an official recall election of Rep. Gary Knopp, who has fallen out of favor with his Republican base in Kenai, House District 30 for leading the effort to hand the control of the House to Democrats. Knopp was elected as a Republican.
[Read: Trouble for Knopp: Two opponents, a possible recall, party sanctions]
The petition, which needs 1,000 signatures, is available at Ammo Can Coffee in Soldotna.
That initial signature gathering is a request to the lieutenant governor to issue official petition booklets with the actual Division of Elections language, which would lead to a special recall election. The lieutenant governor’s office must decide if the group has established enough “cause” to call for a special election with just that question on the ballot, for just that district.
The group has a website that is largely functional. While still thin on content, the donate function is working. The group told Must Read Alaska that at this point, people can donate as much as they like to the campaign — usual limits do not apply, so donations can exceed $500.
“If they give now, they don’t have to fill a form 15-5 with Alaska Public Offices Commission,” said Christopher Kurka, who has been asked to run the petition drive.
Kurka says the group will submit the application to the lieutenant governor as soon as it reaches 1,000 signatures of people in the district.
District 30 is very conservative. It has 1,120 registered Democrats, 5,129 registered Republicans, 6,378 registered undeclared, and 2,128 registered nonpartisans. According to some analysts, District 30 is considered to be one of the most conservative districts in the state.
