Notes from the trail: Valentines Day will be same as Election Day for Kenai mayor, and Nick Begich does epic video exposing Peltola’s leftist votes

Photo above: Rep. Kevin McCabe and Sen. Mike Shower’s Trunk or Treat entry in Big Lake on Halloween night for the kids. It’s an annual tradition, so kids can go trick-or-treating. The event was held at Big Lake Lions Club.

Kenai special election: The Kenai Peninsula Borough has set Valentine’s Day — Feb. 14 — as the date for the special election for the borough mayor. The vacancy came to pass when former Mayor Charlie Pierce resigned as of Sept. 30. The person who wins will fill out the remainder of Pierce’s term, which ends next October. On good authority we hear Sen. Peter Micciche may file.

Declarations of Candidacy may be filed with the Borough Clerk’s Office, 144 N. Binkley, Soldotna, from 8:00 a.m., November 14, 2022 through November 29, 2022 at 5:00 p.m., for the office of Borough Mayor. Declaration of Candidacy packets may be obtained at the Borough Clerk’s Office, 144 N. Binkley, Soldotna or the Borough Annex Offices in Homer and Seward. Forms are also available by mail, fax, or at the website listed below. The first day to file declaration of candidacy forms for the February 14, 2023 special election is Monday, November 14, 2022, filing closes at 4:30 p.m. on Wednesday, November 30, 2022.

Lastest Dittman polling numbers for the governor’s race:

• Dunleavy: 47
• Gara: 25
• Walker: 23
• Pierce: 5
• 3% margin of error

Begich video sets up policy contrast with Peltola: In a video posted to the Facebook page of congressional candidate Nick Begich, he’s pulled clips of the thumbs-up, thumbs-down questions and how he and Mary Peltola have answered them at a recent candidate forum. It’s pretty clear that Peltola is far, far left, and that Begich is not afraid to tackle the seemingly teflon Peltola. Here are the questions they answered with thumbs up and thumbs down:

• Do you support the Build Back Better bill as currently drafted? Peltola was a thumbs up, Begich was a thumbs down.
• Do you support adding justices to the Supreme Court (court packing)? Peltola was a thumbs up, Begich was a thumbs down.
• Do you support Election Day being a national holiday? Peltola was a thumbs up, Begich was a thumbs down.
• Do you support term limits for Congress? Peltola was a thumbs down, Begich was a thumbs up.

Endorsements:

There are no real surprises in the NEA endorsements, except that in House District 23, Eagle River, the leftist educators are endorsing Roger Branson, who has a list of violent priors on CourtView that is well known at this point, although the mainstream media has ignored it.

Bizarre: Eagle River House District 23 race pits Assemblywoman Allard against self-described mentally ill man who lives among homeless, has long criminal record

Some of these other NEA endorsements are awkward, as well, such as the fact that state educators are endorsing Bill Walker and Heidi Drygas over Les Gara and Jessica Cook for governor, when Cook was the vice president/secretary-treasurer of NEA before she got into the race?

The Democrat and Republican duo: Rep. Mary Peltola and Sen. Lisa Murkowski were both in Dillingham over the weekend, but it was purely coincidental, we’re told. They are appearing on flyers together, too, in mailboxes — definitely not a coincidence.

Mary Peltola is fighting MAGA: Peltola’s latest text message plea for donation says she’s going to stop Make America Great Again: “We can’t let this seat be bought by special interests and MAGA donors, and with us being so close to the end, it’s critical that we keep this momentum going.” Another text says, “Extremist MAGA Super PACs are ramping up their support for my opponent as we get closer to Election Day. If we can’t keep firing on all cylinders, I’m worried we won’t secure the votes we need. Can I count on you to rush a $25 donation right now? Here’s your personalized link.”

Those MAGA references are sideswipes at Republicans, who in Alaska dominate the ballot box. They’re also a sly swipe at Sarah Palin, who is the Trump-supported candidate.

Andrew Gray: “Be more like Jamie Allard”: This video clip of the usually overly dramatic Andrew Gray, who is running for House District 20, appeared on candidate Jamie Allard’s Facebook page, capturing that prized moment when Gray gave Allard high praise and implored the rest of the Anchorage Assembly to “Be more like Jamie Allard.”

It’s not exactly an endorsement, but is funny, considering how polar opposite these two are on the issues. They might work well together in Juneau, since they call each other back.

Events: