LaSota is new man on Public Offices Commission, signed recall to ‘take state back’

ACTIVIST HAS NO LOVE FOR THE GUY WHO APPOINTED HIM

Gov. Mike Dunleavy had a tough choice. He was needing to appoint a Democrat to the Alaska Public Offices Commission and the pickings were slim. The Democrat Party’s State Central Committee had offered up four names:

There was Debra Call, who was part of a ticket that ran against Dunleavy for governor in 2018. Call was Mark Begich’s running mate and has a history of racist social media posts.

There was Pat Higgins of Anchorage, who served on the Anchorage School Board while living in the Marshall Islands, 4,000 miles away.

The Democrats also offered Diana Carbonell, a Homer resident who is also a signer of the recall petition. Carbonell also attached her signature to the Stand for Salmon ballot initiative and the initiative to roll back Senate Bill 21, the oil tax reform bill and was a delegate to the 2016 Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia.

And then there was Dan LaSota, of Fairbanks, not only an outspoken advocate of recalling the governor, but a vocal critic of the president. He may have seemed like the best choice, but his long social media record of criticizing the governor may cause him to have his impartiality questioned, should any matters come before him involving the governor, such as recall questions. LaSota’s term begins March 1, 2020 and ends in 2025.

That’s politics: Those interested in serving in such a seat are bound to have an opinion, and the political parties forward the names of the people they want to elevate to that role.

LaSota is an activist Democrat and chair of District 4 for the Alaska Democratic Party, so the party knows it can count on him to keep an eye on the Republicans.

But what does it mean when the person appointed to seat on the commission that governs campaign finance and communications has a well-sharpened axe against a governor facing recall?

No doubt, Republican activists, such as the ones who tipped off Must Read Alaska about the possible appearance of unfairness brewing on the commission, will keep an eye on LaSota as he serves on the Alaska Public Offices Commission, just to make sure he doesn’t get too sloppy in his social media “tweets.”