Vic Fischer not only supported the recall of Alaska Governor Mike Dunleavy, he was the co-chair of the Recall Dunleavy Committee, which began in 2019, driven by hardcore leftists who would not accept the will of the voters.
Fischer, a former state senator before that a delegate to the Alaska Constitutional Convention, actively participated in the effort, including submitting signatures to the Division of Elections and speaking out against Dunleavy at every occasion. He also endorsed Ballot Measure 1 in 2020, an increase of the tax on oil. Both efforts failed.
House Bill 79 recognizes the contributions of Fischer to Alaska by naming the Shoup Bay State Marine Park in Valdez after him.
Shoup Bay State Marine Park is located five miles southeast of the Port of Valdez and is where the largest tsunami wave of the 1964 earthquake – measuring over 200 feet in height – was recorded. Today, Shoup Bay State Marine Park attracts 100,000 visitors a year.
Democrat Reps. Zack Fields, Alyse Galvin, Andy Josephson and Andrew Gray are the sponsors of HB 79. They ignore the great cost to the state of Fischer’s political adventures in attempting to recall a governor after he had been in office for only three months.
Of those bill sponsors, Rep. Galvin and Rep. Josephson signed Fischer’s petition to recall the governor.
Fischer was born in Berlin in 1924 and had dual US and Russian citizenship. He escaped the Nazis and while he was not explicitly a socialist, his political activities and life-long affiliations showed socialism ran through his veins.
In 2022, he endorsed Democrat Les Gara for governor. He died in 2023 at the age of 99.
The bill passed the House on Friday. Here’s how the vote went down:
YEAS: 35 NAYS: 2 EXCUSED: 3 ABSENT: 0
Yeas: Burke, Bynum, Carrick, Costello, Coulombe, Dibert, Edgmon, Eischeid, Elam, Fields, Foster, Galvin, Gray, Hall, Hannan, Himschoot, Holland, Jimmie, Johnson, Josephson, Kopp, McCabe, Mears, Mina, Nelson, Rauscher, Ruffridge, Saddler, Schrage, Story, Stutes, Tilton, Tomaszewski, Underwood, Vance
Nays: Allard, Schwanke
Excused: Moore, Prax, Stapp
Representative Costello gave notice of reconsideration of the vote on HB 79
Come on Republicans! Please think about what you are doing when you vote for anything democrats want. They don’s vote for your stuff, why did you vote for theirs?
Vic Fischer or Vic Vickers? Again, I’m confused.
Victor Fischer. Vickers is the Florida man. – sd
I see absolutely no reason to name anything after that man. He was not good for Alaska and I am proud that at least 2 Reps had the nerve to vote against this!!!
Some of the Republicans in the Legislature are too lazy to do any of their own research. I bet a few of them are drinking their regrets away tonight about this dumb vote. It’s not like it is the Vietnam Helicopter Pilot Bridge. Also dumb: No fiscal note? Who gets away with that? Democrats. Hopefully the governor will veto it, but Mr. Standing Tall is pretty stooped over these days. What Vic Fischer did to Mike Dunleavy with that recall petition just about neutered the governor.
Just leave the name as it is or name it after Hickel. Or the Veto Pen Shoup Bay State Marine Park.
Research is your friend, even if AI is not trustworthy. Use your noggin. Look up Helen Fischer. That may supply some food for thought. Good night.
Can you share what the basis is from those that brought this forward? I’m sure they listed his contributions to the State of Alaska, but I’m not sure what they would consider those to be. Admittedly, I haven’t read up on this guy, but if we are naming a park after him simply on his two failed efforts to over throw government, I have even less hope for our state and pissed that our republicans in office would haphazardly “yay” this one through
Ak born–Fischer was the last surviving participant in the 1955 and 1956 Alaska constitutional conventions that wrote the Alaska constitution. From wikipedia: “Fischer was a vocal supporter of Alaskan statehood, serving as vice president of the pro-statehood group Operation Statehood. He was elected as a delegate to the Alaskan Constitutional Convention in 1955 and was the chair of the convention’s Local Government Committee, which established the borough system. He was also elected to the final session of the Alaskan territorial legislature in 1956 and unsuccessfully sought a seat in the Alaska Senate in 1960”
Just another place the homeless can call home Vic Fischer park
This is so incredibly insulting to Alaskans!
The dems probably extolled the Constitutional Convention and ignored the rest. I am sure that the republicans would not have voted for this if they realized that the man was behind the recall effort.
I sat next to Vic on a flight out of Anchorage about 10 years ago. We talked politics the entire flight. It was ever apparent that he was a committed socialist and didn’t believe in private property rights. I can’t imagine how a man like that could be comfortable living in the USA. He was also creepy the way he talked to me. Something was off about that man.
Tsunamis roar in with a big splash, do a lot of damage, then slither out leaving strewn debris and bobbing flotsam behind to let us know their presence was not a figment of our imagination. Perhaps this is a fitting tribute to the lefty icon Fischer… About as appreciated as putting John Kennedy on the face of the 50 cent coin in place of Ben Franklin – now a yawn, though at the time highly resented by Republicans. May Fischer be more promptly forgotten.
Whatever. Alaska’s been Californicated so badly this was inevitable. At least it’s not being named for Lenin.
Decades of political laziness and voter apathy got us here.
Besides, considering what a waste of space Dunleavy has been as Governor, he may have been on to something trying to recall the empty suit.
The best, most effective Democrats in Alaska are the Republicans. As a whole, the most feckless dolts in the state have Rs after their names.
MA……that’s because today’s Republicans realize that Alaska is a socialist state, far different than Republicans of 30, 40, and 50 years ago. They act accordingly, because they still want to get elected, and they think they are loved for their leadership. But you already knew all that.
Bad idea. Make a Democrat (try to) do it.
Stop naming places in honor of a politician. They were simply compensated public servants. We do not authorize this ridiculous habit. Name a star after him but don’t tell us which one.
Did this guy mentor Yundt?
Seems odd to me that lefties (and these ignorant RINOS) up here want to rename a marine park after an old white guy. I mean, they’re the first to take a knee and give indigenous peoples “Land Acknowledgement” whenever possible – especially when there’s a large crowd with news cameras rolling. Recently, the same crowd took umbrage when Trump reverted Mt Denali back to Mt McKinley. I think that the Alaskan Eskimo and Indian tribes should be up in arms. it’s conceivable that, like Elizabeth Warren, they’ll justify this by pointing out that Vic Fischer had high cheekbones.
No one is going to know who Dunleavy is in two years, he has less of a legacy than the McRib.