Acting Mayor Austin Quinn-Davidson today has a new, more liberal emergency order to follow: Masks are still required in public, and some restaurant capacity has increased. Also, the previous midnight cutoff for alcohol service has been lifted.
The mayor long ago abandoned the goal of flattening the curve of infection form Covid-19. Now, there is no stated goal, but the new normal in Anchorage is a state of persistent emergency orders, changing mandates and rules, communication of fear about more dangerous variants of the coronavirus, and encouraging people to tighten their masks and stay away from others, as the country moves into the second year of the pandemic.
The rules for now are:
Gatherings are limited to 25 indoors with food, or 35 indoors without food; 60 outdoors with food and 100 outdoors without food.
Restaurants may open with physical distancing and masking of customers until they are seated and eating.
Entertainment venues may open with physical distancing and masking.
Gyms may open with physical distancing and masking.
Organized sports may have spectators allowed outdoors, and limited spectators allowed indoors. Indoor competitions within the municipality are allowed, but competition with teams outside of the municipality are allowed with pre-competition testing for Covid-19.
Retail stores are open with physical distancing and masking.
Personal care are open with physical distancing and masking.
Remote work is required whenever possible.
The municipality is taking a look at mandatory testing for incoming travelers, if the State does not continue testing at the Anchorage Ted Stevens International Airport, the mayor said.
The new rules come with penalties. For those businesses and clubs that do not obey the Municipality, there are fines and mandatory suspensions of licenses, and closures of businesses, non-profits, and other entities for up to two weeks.
One year ago this week, Anchorage was in the middle of a buying spree for hand sanitizer, bleach and other disinfectants, as well as toilet paper and paper towels.
In spite of a record of radicalism, Rep. Deb Haaland of New Mexico advanced out of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee and toward a full Senate vote to become the new Department of Interior secretary under Joe Biden.
Her confirmation seems all the more likely because Alaska Sen. Lisa Murkowski voted in favor of her confirmation. Murkowski was the only Republican on the Committee to support Haaland, in an 11-9 vote.
Sen. Susan Collins of Maine, another moderate Republican, has said she will vote to confirm the anti-oil nominee when her name reaches the Senate floor for the final vote.
Murkowski is the immediate past-chair of the committee, and expressed that she had “some real misgivings” about Haaland, but then said she would trust Haaland would be true to her word in saying she would work with Alaskans.
Murkowski cast the deciding vote, but only after saying, “I will hold you to your commitments.’ Quite honestly. we need you to be a success.”
But holding Haaland true to her commitments is a knife that cuts both ways. Haaland is wedded to a radical environmentalist agenda and an agency now populated by environmental activists, climate change warriors, and Democrat campaign operatives at every level under the Biden Administration.
Murkowski issued a statement after her pivotal vote to place Haaland at the head of the agency that holds Alaska’s future in its hands:
“I seek to ensure every nominee who comes before us understands that. I have spent a considerable amount of time trying to educate others about Alaska and our unique needs and our unique peoples. And I spent a considerable amount of time with Representative Haaland reiterating what is at stake for us.
“Alaska’s prosperity is directly linked to decisions made by Interior – whether through their trust responsibilities, their authority over responsible resource development, or their monitoring of hazards and other threats.
“I’ve had two separate meetings with Representative Haaland that lasted for more than an hour each. I participated in both days of her nomination hearing, asking many questions, and have reviewed the answers she provided to all of our members. I’ve also spent considerable time listening to Alaskans’ views on her nomination. They are paying attention to this nomination.
“I’ve heard two sentiments over and over again. The first is that many Alaskans – Alaska Natives in particular – are enormously proud to have a Native American nominated to this position. It is truly a historic nomination and they believe Alaska Native issues can be elevated to one of the highest levels of government.
“The second concern that I’m hearing is that many Alaskans are concerned about the agendas Representative Haaland will seek to implement on her own and on behalf of the White House. They are concerned by her opposition to resource development on public lands, including her opposition to key projects in Alaska and her questioning of the vital role that Alaska Native Corporations serve in our communities.
“Weighing on top of that is my experience from the Obama administration, when I voted for a Secretary who promised to be a good partner for Alaska, but proved to be anything but that after confirmation.
“So I struggled with this vote. How to reconcile a historic nomination with my concerns about an individual’s – and an administration’s – conception of what Alaska’s future should be.
“I believe Representative Haaland’s heart is there for Native peoples and all who treasure our public lands. I don’t believe that is the extent of Interior’s mission, but she has also told us that she recognizes that if confirmed, she will be serving in a different capacity. She told me that she knows she will need to represent every Alaskan, including those who know how to responsibly develop our lands. And she committed to me that she will ‘make sure that we are doing all we can to ensure that your constituents have the opportunities that they need.’
“Given the early days of this administration, I have my doubts about whether that will be the case. But I have decided to support this nomination today, to support the first Native American who would hold this position, and with the expectation that Representative Haaland will be true to her word—not just on matters relating to Native peoples, but also responsible resource development and every other issue.
“I also fully anticipate that she will have a strong management team in place with people who understand the value of resource development from public lands. She needs this—we need this—within the Department of Interior.
“I am going to place my trust in Representative Haaland and her team, despite some very real misgivings. And Representative Haaland, if you are listening, know that I intend to work with you because I want you to be successful and need you to be successful, but I am also going to hold you to your commitments to ensure that Alaska is allowed to prosper.”
Legislation that would ban chokeholds, eliminate qualified immunity for law enforcement, and a host of other police reforms, passed the U.S. House on Wednesday, 220 to 212, primarily along party lines. Just two Democrats voted against the move by the federal government to gain greater oversight into local policing.
Critics say it’s a step toward defunding the police.
The George Floyd Justice in Policing Act would establish a national standard for operation of police departments, including mandating data collection on police-citizen encounters, to include mandatory body cameras for police officers; investing in community-based policing programs; more federal laws to prosecute the use of excessive force; and mandating independent prosecutors for police investigations.
There are penalties associated with this bill: Those jurisdictions that don’t comply with the bill’s data submission requirements, would lose access to federal funding. Their funding would be redistributed to those departments that do cooperate with the federal requirements.
In rural Alaska, Alaska State Troopers cannot use body cameras, due to bandwidth restrictions. The law enforcement view is that with wi-fi as poor as it is in rural Alaska, it would be unfair to have to require it on the road system, but not in rural Alaska, due to an uneven application of the technology.
In the Trooper Academy in Alaska, chokeholds are not taught and are considered the hold of last resort. The state does not does do “no knock” warrants in Alaska — only the federal government does that.
The act would establish a national registry of police misconduct managed by the Department of Justice. Last year, the Democrat-controlled House passed a similar legislation but it was not considered by the Republican-led Senate and it was opposed by President Donald J. Trump.
President Joe Biden has signaled support for the legislation, and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer says he will move the bill.
Alaska Congressman Don Young voted against the bill. Iowa Congresswomen Ashley Hinson and Mariannette Miller-Meeks issued statements about their “no” votes.
“It’s reprehensible that House Democrats would bring forward legislation to defund police departments while relying on law enforcement to protect our Capitol from imminent threats—in a Chamber safeguarded by Capitol Police,” Hinson wrote.
“I have supported bipartisan police reform in Iowa and would be proud to support bipartisan reforms in Congress. The bill we voted on tonight is a backdoor way to defund the police,” Meeks wrote.
Police officer Derek Chauvin of Minneapolis is set to face a trial on Monday over the death of George Floyd, after Chauvin kneeled on Floyd’s neck for eight minutes. The bill is named after Floyd, who has been made into a martyr by Black Lives Matter.
I remember the first time I met Sen. Dan Sullivan. He walked into my studio at KFQD and instantly I knew he was different.
I had high expectations knowing he had served as the U.S. Assistant Secretary of State under Condoleezza Rice in the George W. Bush administration.
Sullivan traveled the world investigating high-level stuff like where terrorists got their funding. Sullivan was a Harvard graduate and earned a master’s degree from Georgetown University. He was a U.S. Marine.
Sullivan was a living, breathing Jack Ryan, the fictional hero made famous by novelist Tom Clancy.
Sullivan was everything you would expect from such a blue blood. He came to the studio prepared with notes and an assistant taking notes. He treated his interview with me like he was about to do a live hit for the ratings giant Fox News.
That’s how the Dan Sullivan’s of the world roll. Excellence is their game. The way they do one thing is the way they do everything.
After serving as Alaska’s Attorney General, Sullivan went onto to become the state’s commissioner of the Department of Natural Resources.
He was a good one, always pitching energy and mining companies all across the globe on the benefits of investing in Alaska.
I once invited Sullivan to sit on a panel at the Marriott Hotel in downtown Anchorage focusing on a potential Alaska gas pipeline. The room was packed with hundreds of Alaskans.
We had at least eight panelists, including Bill Walker (now former governor) fielding questions. as I roamed the audience with a microphone, Phil Donahue style. Other big wigs were there.
But Sullivan stole the show with his wisdom and statesmanship. He made Walker look foolish.
Then, in 2014, Sullivan accomplished something rarely done in America. He beat an incumbent U.S. senator. There are few with the political skills and likeability of Mark Begich. But down he went after losing to Sullivan.
That’s what the intentional, ambitious, and self-disciplined do. Whatever they set their mind to.
Alaska is fortunate to have someone the caliber of Sullivan serving in the U.S. Senate.
All those swampy big donors were fools believing dumping more than $35 million of outside cash into Alaska to take out Sullivan would work, especially with such an incompetent opponent like Alan Gross.
Sullivan is now firmly positioned to sit in the senate for as long as he wants, unlike his colleague, Lisa Murkowski whose days in the body are clearly numbered.
The path Sullivan took to get to the Senate could not be more different than Murkowski’s.
Lisa, who failed the bar exam four times, was a liberal state representative pushing for an income tax back when her daddy gave her his U.S. Senate seat, like he was a king and she was a princess.
If Lisa had to run in a crowded primary to fill Frank Murkowski’s Senate seat after he became governor, she wouldn’t have finished in the top five.
The scandalous move also gave Lisa the power of incumbency that’s kept her in the Senate all these swampy years. Once you control federal spending you make friends real fast.
Lisa has always been more than willing to do the bidding of special interests like native corporations, the health care industry and the organization she’s most loyal to, Planned Parenthood.
Lisa got another break after former Anchorage Mayor Dan Sullivan, at the last minute, suspiciously dropped out of the Republican primary the last time she ran for her seat. No other credible conservative challenged Lisa in the primary, thinking Mayor Dan was actually running. Mayor Dan would have smoked Murkowski in the primary.
We also wouldn’t have Obamacare, since Lisa was the deciding vote when President Donald Trump fell one vote short of fully repealing it.
Lisa defended her saving of Obamacare by claiming she was worried it would negatively impact abortion spending. Lisa is a staunch supporter of abortion. It seems to be the issue she cares about most.
There have always been people trying to rig the system in Lisa’s favor to make sure she remains a viable and important swamp creature. Her swampy masters knew Lisa’s increasingly hard-left bent would make it close to impossible for her to ever win a Republican primary in Alaska again.
So, they dumped multiple millions into the state and gave us the insanity that is Ballot Measure 2 — ranked choice voting.
It was a shifty and clever move, but it won’t work.
Regardless of what the media tell you, Alaska is still a red state. Even with the tens of millions in outside money for ballot harvesting in the last election in Alaska, Trump still easily beat Biden.
To win a statewide race in Alaska, you have to have conservative support. There’s no politician more loathed by Alaska conservatives than Princess Lisa.
The person most likely to replace Murkowski may very well be current Commissioner of the Department of Administration, Kelly Tshibaka.
Tshibaka is similar to Sullivan. She too is a Harvard grad and has served in high positions in the federal government.
Tshibaka was appointed to the position of Chief Data Officer in the U.S. Post Office of Inspector General in Washington D.C. before moving back to Alaska where she was raised as a child.
Tshibaka, like Sullivan, is extremely bright, articulate, and clearly driven. She’s everywhere on social media right now and even though she hasn’t announced her candidacy, she’s obviously running for something.
Tshibaka is a Christian, but not the kind that only goes to church on Easter and Christmas. She lives it and is a compelling speaker when talking about her faith.
Tshibaka’s authentic faith and her openness about it is why liberal bloggers and Leftists hate her so intensely. They’re always looking to bash her. They may not realize it’s because of her faith that they hate her, but it is.
The other wild card for taking out Lisa is former governor and global celebrity Sarah Palin. Palin’s the only conservative that could outraise swamp creature Murkowski. Palin’s grass roots fundraising in the Lower-48 has become legendary.
But Alaskans have grown weary of Palin’s drama and her ever increasing bizarre behavior. And then there’s the quitting thing. If she only made it two and a half years as governor, what makes us think she could do the full six-year Senate term.
Tshibaka is better positioned than Palin to win the hearts of Alaska conservatives.
What an upgrade for Alaska it would be to have Sullivan and Tshibaka representing the state in the U.S. Senate.
Dan Fagan hosts the number one rated morning drive radio show in Alaska on Newsradio 650 KENI. He splits his time between Anchorage and New Orleans.
District 14 Republicans officers met in Eagle River on Wednesday and voted unanimously to work to recall Rep. Kelly Merrick.
The grounds will be that she voted for a speaker who is part of the Democrat-controlled caucus, and because she lied to the district.
District members say she told them she would not caucus with the Democrats, and thus she was endorsed by the district in 2020. But she flipped last month and, on the invitation of Democrat Rep. Zack Fields, joined the Democrat-controlled caucus.
The meeting was held after an executive board meeting. The group will not be able to file for a recall petition until 120 days from Jan. 19, 2021, which is May 18. The group already has more than 50 signatures on an application for a recall petition, but will need to bide its time before filing with the Division of Elections for the petition booklets.
Merrick attended via Zoom from Juneau and defended herself, saying the Republicans gathered tonight do not represent the community, but she does. However, the members present say they are confident they will get enough signatures to bring Merrick to a recall vote, and that Eagle River is fired up that their representative emboldened the Democrat-led binding caucus.
The Alaska courts have ruled, in their decision to allow the recall to proceed against Gov. Mike Dunleavy, that nearly any justification may be used by the public to recall an elected leader.
From the family of Andy Teuber, for immediate release:
Andy Teuber was a talented, energetic, successful, and proud Alaskan. We knew him as all of these things, but also as our loving, kind, and gregarious father, brother, cousin, partner, and spouse. We cannot express in words the depth of our sorrow for his loss. We will have many occasions to share our happy memories of this remarkable man with his many friends and associates, and we will announce the arrangements in future communications.
We regret at this difficult time that we are also compelled to address the unfair, hateful, untrue, and malicious attacks recently published against Andy. We feel that these attacks do not describe the extraordinary man whose loss we mourn so deeply. There is much more to be said on this, but for now we request the space and time to mourn and remember our Andy as the great man we knew him to be.
We appreciate all of your kind thoughts and prayers in this difficult time.
The Alaska House of Representatives disintegrated into chaos today after Rep. Sarah Vance of Homer asked the body to approve a “Sense of the House” regarding the treatment of other members.
“I move a Sense of the House regarding comments … that brought discredit upon the House of Representatives, and that no member should be objectified on the House floor and no such comments be again be uttered on the House floor,” Vance said. She asked for unanimous consent.
She was referring to comment made by Rep. Zack Fields last week, when he stated during “special orders” that Rep. Sara Rasmussen was a traffic hazard in her district when she wore short skirts and that for her birthday he would be supplying her with sweatpants to wear in her district.
Neither Fields nor Rasmussen were present for Wednesday’s floor session, as both were in quarantine for possible Covid-19 exposure.
House Speaker Louise Stutes called for an “at ease” to consult with former House Speaker Bryce Edgmon and other lawmakers at length. The at-ease went on for several minutes, before Stutes referred Vance’s “sense of the House” to a committee — Community and Regional Affairs — where Stutes presumably could put it to death.
Fields, a hardline Democrat from downtown Anchorage, is a member of Stutes’ caucus and his crass remarks about Rasmussen’s body in the House Chambers has raised the ire of several women in the Democrat and Republican caucuses.
Fields is powerful because he is the one who courted Republican Kelly Merrick over to the Democrat side, and put Stutes in as Speaker.
There were several awkward pauses. Rep. David Eastman of Wasilla objected to the motion being referred to committee, and Stutes again called another “at ease,” until she eventually called for the House to stand in recess until 4 pm.
WOMAN’S COMPLETE ALLEGATION, AND RESPONSE FROM ANDY TEUBER
(Update: The U.S. Coast Guard has called off the search for Andy Teuber’s helicopter.)
You cannot libel the dead, the saying goes. But you also can’t always get their side of the story.
From the Anchorage Daily News perspective, the owners may hope their news story about former Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium CEO Andy Teuber came after his helicopter crashed on Tuesday and not before, because they may have committed character assassination against Teuber, with sexual abuse allegations that open the newspaper up to litigation from Teuber’s widow.
Widow? Teuber was married? That’s right, and we’ll get to that in a moment. This is a story of a powerful man, a beautiful woman, and a relationship gone very wrong. If Shakespeare was alive, he’d find a more elegant way to tell it, but Must Read Alaska just has a set of documents that tell both sides of the story.
To be clear, at this writing it’s not yet certain that Teuber was in the helicopter that went down near Kodiak. Must Read Alaska presumes it was Teuber; after all, it his helicopter, he was piloting it, and he is missing on the way to Kodiak, and helicopter debris was found. We don’t yet know if he survived, but he is long overdue. The pieces all add up to his untimely death at age 52.
The woman making the allegations said she had been sexually targeted by Teuber and forced to have sex with him in order to keep her job at ANTHC. She offered a letter she had written to ANTHC resigning from her job, and detailing exactly why, in sordid detail.
The letter paints her as the victim.
Teuber’s side has never been told. He begged the ADN to hold the story until he could get back to Alaska; he was out of state getting married.
There are basic facts not reported by the ADN that put Teuber, but also the complainant in this matter, in an unflattering light.
The woman who went to the press, Savanah Evans, has powerful political ties. She is related to U.S. Sen. Sullivan through his wife Julie Fate Sullivan and is reportedly close with the Sullivans.
In a letter sent on Feb. 23 to “Whom it may concern,” Evans wrote that Teuber forced her to have sex with him and held the threat of employment over her head. He denies those allegations and says she was the sexual aggressor.
Within 10 minutes of Evans’ letter being sent to ANTHC in February, Teuber had resigned from the organization. He quit the University of Alaska Board of Regents. Engaged to a long-time girlfriend, he got married out of state and planned to start his life over.
Evans’ letter with her allegations is printed in full here, followed by Teuber’s written responses to questions posed to him by the Anchorage Daily News regarding this incident.
THE SAVANAH EVANS LETTER
To Whom it May Concern:
My name is Savanah Evans. I have been employed with the Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium (ANTHC) since April 22, 2019. Unfortunately, I am writing to you today to give my formal notice that I am resigning from ANTHC, effective immediately.
I appreciate the opportunities this employment has provided me. However, the work environment is hostile. I understand a letter like this should go directly to Human Resources, however, I do not feel comfortable expressing my concerns to Human Resources or to any compliance division of ANTHC. My distrust of Human Resources and any compliance tools afforded to employees of ANTHC stems from the established institutional protection of President Teuber. Human Resources, Ethics and Compliance and Executive Leadership have overlooked and been unresponsive to similar abuses and perversion of President Teuber’s power, which, until today, I have been subjected to on a regular basis.
The sight of the Administration’s offices, the boardroom, and the boardroom executive suite fills me with anxiety, concern, hurt, anger, and shame. For over a year, I have been abused regularly by President Teuber, and it happened under ANTHC’s roof.
The sad part of what I have to say is, it is rumored that there have been other ANTHC employees who have experienced this pain and abuse and silently endured what I now know to be true. If this is not stopped now, the cycle will continue. My present situation and the past 16 months have taught me that our own people are now allowing and enabling those with power to do this to women. If I don’t speak up, I am no less guilty than those who have heard the rumors and done nothing. I will be no less guilty than those who have done nothing but swept it under the rug. I will not be part of this cycle – I have documented evidence of this abuse, and I want it to stop. I want this organization to protect the tribal members who we are to serve and all employees.
ANTHC is the largest tribal health organization in the state. FTCA coverage and potentially sovereign immunity may be used as shields and ANTHC may choose to vigorously defend absolutely horrendous actions by its most powerful leader, Andy Teuber. My hope is you don’t. My hope is you replace him and create an effective reporting program to report all abuse including abuse by the executive leadership members.
I want to share with you just a snapshot of what I have been dealing with for the last 16 months. I want to share with you a piece of who I am and who I have been forced to be over my course of employment with ANTHC:
I am a single mother of a 4-year-old daughter. I am an Athabascan from the Koyukon region. I was excited to begin work at ANTHC on April 22, 2019 working in the Talent Bank for Kirsten Kolb. I did a variety of administrative work and supported the Marketing department, I did well and was hired as a full-time employee. I have always had a desire to learn and grow both personally and professionally, so when the position of Administrative Assistant to the President of ANTHC was posted I applied and was hired.
During my first week President Teuber coordinated with Leah Pili to have me fly to Kodiak to “learn the operations at KANA”. President Teuber had dinner with me on that Friday night and later that evening requested via text message that I send him an inappropriate photo. I ignored his text message, and I did not comply with his request. Nothing physical occurred on my first trip to Kodiak. However, he asked that I return to Kodiak on October 11 to help with the KANA annual meeting and again, Leah helped coordinate my trip to Kodiak. After dinner and a walk at the harbor, President Teuber reached around me and kissed me. He then took me back to his room and had sex with me. You may wonder if this relationship was consensual. It is not, when the person controls your employment.
On October 15, 2019, there was a dinner with a representative from Moda insurance, to which President Teuber requested I bring logowear. When I delivered the logowear, President Teuber asked me to stay for dinner. President Teuber had several glasses of wine during dinner and continued to drink alcohol after the dinner at Fletcher’s. He was so intoxicated, I agreed to give him a ride home. I wish I hadn’t. I wish I had provided an Uber for him, because once at his house, he pulled me into the downstairs back bedroom and had sex with me and wouldn’t get off of me to let me leave. I was finally able to push him off and rush out. Later he texted me, simply saying “I’m sorry; that wasn’t cool.”
Approximately two weeks later, I made it clear to President Teuber I wanted to end the sexual relationship and that’s when the “Fly Incident” occurred. President Teuber flew into a rage about flies in his office stating that he couldn’t work under such conditions and ordered Clinton Demientieff and I to pack up his office things so that he could work from home. He also required that anything that needed to be signed must be delivered to his house by me. During my first trip to deliver papers for his signature, he pushed me into the downstairs front bedroom for sex and told me that, “You always listen better after I fuck you”. My self-worth was plummeting and my shame rose to unbearable levels. On November 23 , 2019, I tried to take my own life as I was unable to deal with the depression that took hold of me as a result of the treatment from my direct supervisor.
His manipulation and invasion of private life knew no bounds. On August 1, 2020, I was on the Kenai Peninsula celebrating my daughter’s birthday when I received communication from President Teuber. He alluded to having a positive COVID-19 test and informed me I should immediately act as if I were also positive. In response to this, not wanting to spread COVID-19 to my loved ones and my community, I immediately drove back to Anchorage and got a rapid COVID-19 with the rapid testing machine in the boardroom executive suite. That night at 10:40 pm I got my negative test results and texted it to President Teuber. He responded that he was coming to the office. When he arrived there were no words exchanged, he simply unbuckled my pants, pulled them down, and had sex with me, and when finished he joked about never having had sex with his mask on. As I was leaving the consortium office building and getting into my car, he drove up and said “Thanks – I feel a lot better now.” . This is yet another degrading, dehumanizing example of the requirement to keep my job. Any time I tried to ignore his calls or texts during my personal non-work private time, he would swear at me, demand responses, and threaten me by referring to my job and stating that I have it because of him. I have records that will demonstrate the facts above.
I made it clear multiple times that I did not want to have a “quid pro quo” relationship with my superior, when I didn’t comply, I paid for it during the workdays. Andy unrelentingly coerced, forced, and required sex of me. In December of 2020, I was given my evaluation for the period of time between October 2019 – September 2020. The summary of performance states:
“Summary of Employee Performance during this evaluation period does not meet expectations”.
On December 23 , 2020, I was told I would be transferred within the organization and was placed in the Special Assistant to the CFO office. On February 8 , 2021, it was proposed by Leah Pili in association with HR that my salary should be reduced from $89k to approximately $60k.
President Teuber has repeatedly asked me to destroy evidence, keep our conversations private, and has told me I would be “ill advised” to share or disclose any of the events that have transpired over the past 16 months. And again, given that all reports of issues like this are decided by the very person inflicting the abuse. I believe him when he says that there will be consequences, both from the organization and from President Teuber, for speaking out about the truth of this ongoing abuse. There is much more than what I have put in this letter of resignation – it’s only a glimpse of what I have endured over the past 16 months.
Therefore, I respectfully resign, effective immediately. /s/ Savanah Evans
WHAT TEUBER SAID TO THE ADN
The allegations are specific and damning, and Evans says she has lots of text messages from him to back up her claims of emotional and sexual abuse.
But Teuber also has a side of the story. In what may be his last written words, he begged the Anchorage Daily News to hold off publication of their accusations of him.
He wanted to get to Kodiak to be with his daughter when the news broke. He was rushing on Tuesday because the newspaper told him they would not wait. He was distraught, but did he intentionally crash the helicopter?
Teuber had also gotten married on Monday, March 1, out of state to Amy Belisle of Anchorage. Must Read Alaska has seen the marriage certificate. It’s clear that Belisle knew of the allegations against her fiancé and married him anyway.
Here is what Teuber wrote on Monday:
Today is my wedding day and I am out of state;
This afternoon, I was contacted by reporters from the Anchorage Daily News, who paraphrased allegations made against me by a former ANTHC employee with whom I had a completely consensual personal relationship. I have never, and would never, engage in a non-consensual or “quid pro quo” personal relationship with anyone. The allegations of wrongdoing that I have been made aware of are false, and these allegations and their timing appear designed to portray me unjustly and falsely; to damage my personal and family relationships; but especially to sabotage my recent engagement and new marriage; and to undermine my professional prospects;
My former position with ANTHC was governed by a contract which includes strict confidentiality provisions. Unless authorized to do so, I am not able to respond to allegations involving ANTHC, its business, or its current or former employees or practices;
I intend to cooperate fully with ANTHC’s investigatory process, and to provide relevant documentation and evidence refuting the allegations of wrongdoing made against me;
On advice of counsel I must withhold further comment at this time.
Here is exactly what Teuber told the ADN, including material the newspaper chose to not include in its story:
Michelle: As you know, I have been out of state attending my wedding. Please note that I am a private citizen, and I do not consider myself a public figure. You have insisted that I respond on very short notice, and at a time when you know that it would be extremely difficult for anyone to do so. You have presented me with a Hobson’s choice of either responding in detail about private relations between consenting adults, or see false allegations about my private life published in your paper, treating Ms. Evans’s false allegations as true. To be clear, I believe Ms. Evans has strong personal and financial motives to attack me, and you are being manipulated to advance those motives on an accelerated timetable deliberately timed and designed to hurt me and my family.
Although I request that you not publish a story including these false and malicious allegations against me, if you do, you have given me no choice but to respond (set forth in bold type below) to your specific questions as follows:
1. When did you learn of any allegations against you by Ms. Evans?
a. On Tuesday, February 23 at approximately 8:15 am
2. When did the board receive Ms. Evans letter of resignation?
a. Unsure. This is a question best addressed to ANTHC.
3. When did you resign?
a. Tuesday, February 23, a few minutes after learning of the allegations.
Were you asked to resign, and if so, by whom?
a. No.
Did you provide a letter of resignation? If so can you provide it?
a. I did not submit a letter.
6. Ms. Evans says that you created a hostile work environment for her at ANTHC. Do you dispute that?
a. Yes, I dispute this.
7. She said that she did not feel able to bring her complaints about you to Human Resources officials within ANTHC, nor any compliance division within ANTHC, because ANTHC has “established institutional protection of President Tueber” and because human resources, ethics and compliance officers and executive leadership have “overlooked and been unresponsive to similar abuses and perversion of President Teuber’s power.” Do you dispute this?
a. I dispute this, but am not able to further comment as it involves questions for ANTHC, about whom I am not authorized to speak.
8. Have you been accused of harassment, ethics violations or abuse by other employees, and if so, how were those complaints handled and resolved?
a. I have not.
9. Ms. Evans says ANTHC is “allowing and enabling those with power” to abuse women. How do you respond to this accusation?
a. This never happened to my knowledge, but I am not able to further comment as it involves questions for ANTHC, for and about whom I am not authorized to speak.
10. Do you agree that the current process for reporting abuse committed by executive members is flawed?
a. I am not able to comment as it involves questions for ANTHC, for and about whom I am not authorized to speak.
11. Ms. Evans said that during her first week working for you, she was flown to Kodiak and you at one point asked her to send you an inappropriate photo. How do you respond to this accusation?
a. During the very first occasion when we were alone, Ms. Evans demanded sex from me in a very direct and aggressive way. After she made her interest plainly known, we did engage in intimate relations, which were always willing, voluntary and consensual, and often initiated by Ms. Evans.
(Sources have detailed to Must Read Alaska the specific sexual offers allegedly made by Evans, but we are not repeating them here.)
12. Ms. Evans said that she returned to Kodiak later, in October 2019, to help with the annual KANA meeting and that during that trip, you “reached around (her) and kissed (her). He then took me back to his room and had sex with me. You may wonder if this relationship was consensual. It is not, when the person controls your employment.” How do you respond to this accusation that you forced Ms Evans to have sex with you?
a. I have never forced or coerced sex from anyone, including Ms. Evans. I do not recall every occasion when we had relations, but any time we did she freely participated.
13. Did you consider the sex to be consensual? If so, how did you know it was consensual?
a. It was always completely voluntary and consensual, and many if not most times she was the initiator.
14. How many of your assistants and past personal staff have accused you of sexual harassment?
a. I have never been made aware of any such allegation.
15. How many of your assistants and past personal staff have accused you of emotional abuse?
a. I have never been made aware of any such allegation.
16. How many of your assistants and past personal staff have accused you of sexual assault?
a. I have never committed sexual assault against anyone, and I have never been accused of this.
17. Ms. Evans says that on Oct. 15, 2019, she agreed to drive you home from Fletcher’s bar in Anchorage, because you’d been drinking, and that when you arrived at your home “he pulled me into the downstairs back bedroom and sex with me and wouldn’t get off of me to let me leave.” How do you respond to this accusation?
a. I do not remember this particular night, and this allegation is false to the extent that she is accusing me of coercing or forcing her to do anything against her will. As stated previously, any and all occasions where Ms. Evans and I engaged in intimate relations were completely voluntary, and many if not most times initiated by her.
18. Ms. Evans said that she “was finally able to push him off and rush out. Later he texted me, simply saying ‘I’m sorry; that wasn’t cool.’” How do you respond to this accusation?
a. Again, this allegation is false as stated above.
19. Was this incident reported to police?
a. Not to my knowledge.
Have you been contacted by police about this incident?
a. No.
Has ANTHC hired an outside counsel or attorney to investigate this matter?
a. I am not sure what you mean by “this matter,” but all questions about what ANTHC is or is not doing should be directed to ANTHC.
22. Do you have a personal attorney representing you in this matter? If so, whom?
a. Yes, I do, and he has contacted you off the record on my behalf.
23. Ms. Evans said that you began working from home about two weeks later, and that she was required to deliver papers to your house for signature. She said that during her first visit to his home, for work purposes, “he pushed me into he downstairs front bedroom for sex and told me that, ‘You always listen better after I fuck you.’” How do you respond to this accusation?
a. I am not sure of the timing referred to in this question, but this allegation is false.
24. Ms. Evans describes an encounter on Aug. 1, 2020, when you came to the office while COVID-19 positive and had sex with her, telling her aftward, “Thanks – I feel a lot better now.” How do you respond to this accusation? Did this occur in a room behind the ANTHC boardroom, within the executive suite?
a. This allegation is false.
25. Ms. Evans writes that, “Any time I tried to ignore his calls or texts during my personal non-work private time, he would swear at me, demand responses, and threaten me by referring to my job and stating that I have it because of him.” How do you respond to this accusation?
a. I did at times express myself strongly to Ms. Evans, but all such expressions were job performance related.
26. Is there a recording of you berating Ms. Evans? If so, has the board been provided with that recording?
a. I am aware of a recording that Ms. Evans made of a conversation regarding a work-related and very stressful situation while I was on personal time. Beyond this, I am unable to comment on ANTHC business.
27. Ms. Evans writes that she “made it clear multiple times that I did not want to have a ‘quid pro quo’ relationship with my superior, when I didn’t comply, I paid for it during workdays.” How do you respond to this accusation?
a. This allegation is false.
28. She writes that you “unrelentingly coerced, forced and required sex of me.” How do you respond to this accusation?
a. This allegation is false, and as stated above, any and intimate relations were completely voluntary and often initiated by Ms. Evans.
29.Ms. Evans said that her job performance, provided in December, stated that her performance “does not meet expectations.” Is this correct?
a. I have not seen her job evaluation, and beyond this I would refer you to ANTHC.
30. She said that on Dec. 23 — after she told you she no longer wanted to have sex as part of a “quid pro quo” relationship — she was told that she would be transferred to a job as special assistant to the CFO, with her salary reduced from about $89,000 to about $60,000. Is this correct? In other words, is it accurate to say that when Ms. Evans told you she no longer wanted to have sex she received a pay cut?
a. This allegation is false. There never was a “quid pro quo” relationship between us. I had no involvement in setting her salary or benefits. As far as the terms of her employment and duty assignments made by her supervisor, such questions should be directed to ANTHC.
31. Ms. Evans writes that you repeatedly asked her to destroy evidence and told her it would be “ill advised” if she were to share or disclose any of the events that transpired over the past 16 months. Is that correct?
a. I never told her to “destroy evidence.” She and I both agreed that our personal relationship should be handled with discretion.
32. Has ANTHC destroyed any of your electronic records, including email, phone or text archive?
The Coast Guard has found debris of an overdue helicopter approximately 66 nautical miles northeast of Kodiak, Alaska, Tuesday.
Missing is Andy Teuber, 52, from Anchorage, who recently resigned from Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium, where he had been the chief executive officer. On Tuesday, the Anchorage Daily News revealed why Teuber had resigned — an employee accused his of forcing her to have sex with him. She released a letter with the details about his abusive pattern that caused her to resign from the organization.
The helicopter Teuber was reported to be flying is a black and white Robinson R66 with the tail number N1767.
Teuber owns Kodiak Helicopters LLC, which owns the missing helicopter.
A MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter crew and an HC-130 Hercules airplane crew from Coast Guard Air Station Kodiak was searching for the missing helicopter.
Watchstanders at the Coast Guard Sector Anchorage command center received notification from a family member at 5 pm that Teuber left Merrill Field Airport at 2:09 pm with intentions of traveling to Kodiak. Teuber’s last known location was approximately 66 nautical miles northeast of Kodiak.
Watchstanders issued an urgent marine information broadcast and directed the launch of aircrews from Coast Guard Air Station Kodiak and searched late into the night.
