Group up and running to recall Rep. Gary Knopp

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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.

14 COMMENTS

  1. Now if people in the other districts who have similar representatives will do the same we won’t have to wait until 2020!

  2. Hey, its about time the state did the same for Lisa Murkowski. She needs to go, big time!! Steve Patterson’s idea is great! “Stubborn self-centered toad!” and that fits Murkowski to a “T.”

  3. With the numbers I see up there, how the heck did that district end up having seaton in office last year and then back up that disaster with Gary knopp?
    Wow.
    Election fraud?
    Everyone working or fishing?
    A known democrat running as republican fool everyone?
    Well I sure like to see this recall.
    Gary knopp has singlehandedly scuttled Governor Dunleavy’s chances of getting Alaska’s economy back on its wheels anytime soon.
    For all of us, make him pay!

  4. Yet let’s get this recall train rolling. The steam it garners will ultimately lead to petitions to recall Gov. Dunleavy. Are you prepared to taste your own medicine?

    • Read the statue about grounds for recall. If you think you have a chance at recalling the good governor good luck! Gary has repeatedly made recorded statement handing the district everything it needs for a recall under the statutory standards. Governor Dunleavy is too smart to make the same mistake.

  5. I hope the folks on the peninsula don’t object to my commenting on Mr. Knopp. Here goes.
    He is a duplicitous, liar without principles. He should absolutely be recalled by the fine folks in his district.
    Good luck.

  6. If we Democrats didn’t have legal grounds to recall Lindsey Holmes, you Republicans won’t have legal grounds to recall Gary Knopp.

  7. District 30 is very conservative. It has 1,120 registered Democrats, 5,129 registered Republicans, 6,378 registered undeclared, and 2,128 registered nonpartisans.

    Pardon this non-Alaskan’s ignorance, but the second sentence seems to contradict the first. If there are more registered undeclared and non-partisan voters than either Democrat or Republican voters, it seems to me that District 30 is very independent.

    • Hi Derek, you have to look at voting patterns and those who study it in this state will swear on a Bible that nonpartisans tend to vote for the Democrat and undeclareds tend to vote for the Republican. These are never hard-and-fast rules, but it plays out time and again, so that people can predict fairly well how these groups split out when they vote. Thanks for your question…and you are right — all of Alaska is independent in the general sense of the word. – sd

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