Must Read Alaska’s Suzanne Downing will be the emcee at the Cannery Lodgeon Friday, Oct. 16 for Oktoberfest with the Kenai Republican Women’s Club.
Tickets are at this link and the club expects the event to be sold out, with a maximum of 100 tickets and only a few of them left.
Special guests are Gov. Mike Dunleavy and First Lady Rose Dunleavy, Sen. Peter Micciche (auctioneer), Reps. Ben Carpenter and Sarah Vance, candidate for House Ron Gillham, and Nick Begich, who is co-chair of the Don Young campaign. Representatives from Sen. Dan Sullivan’s campaign will also be in attendance.
The fundraiser and party will feature fabulous Trump gear, a silent and short outcry auction, wine wall, brat and pretzel dinner, no-host bar and a lively Oktoberfest atmosphere. Oktoberfest attire is welcome but not required, the organizers said. The maximum donation is $5,000 per individual donor (corporate donations not permitted).
The Cannery Lodge is offering a special rate of $113 for overnight guests Oct. 16. To book a room call (907) 261-9499 and mention KPRW Oktoberfest $113 rate.
Al Gross admitted on Sunday that he had donated to Bernie Sanders in 2016. He said he did so because Hillary Clinton, according to him, was a “failed candidate.”
But evidently not that flawed. Gross, the Democrats’ nominee for U.S. Senate, donated to Hillary Clinton in 2008, according to his federal campaign donation history.
In a debate hosted by ComFish Alaska and the Kodiak Chamber of Commerce and conducted on the Zoom program, Gross and Sen. Dan Sullivan sparred over fish politics, Pebble politics, and health politics.
But Gross didn’t only give money to Socialist Bernie Sanders. In 2019, he gave $6,000 to the Alaska Democratic Party. He donated to Alyse Galvin in 2018 when she ran against Congressman Don Young for the first time, and Mark Begich in 2008, when he took on Sen. Ted Stevens.
After Gross stated on Sunday, he said “All of my money is from individual contributors,” Must Read Alaska took a look at his campaign income and donation history.
Over all, Gross has not been a generous contributor to political causes. He’s kept his pursestrings tightly closed until this past year when he poured over a million dollars into his own campaign for Senate.
That is false.
A review of the Gross campaign contributors shows over 41 instances of contributions from political action committees, totaling tens of thousands of dollars.
In addition, George Soros, the billionaire anti-capitalist, has donated to Gross’ campaign. Two donations are included as an illustration, but the total from the Soros family is nearly $17,000.
Soros is held in such poor esteem around the world that even his home nation of Hungary passed “George Soros” laws to ban the facilitation of illegal immigration.
The list of funds that have given donations to Gross’ campaign include many that are attached and controlled by Democrat Party U.S. Senators, such as these:
Anchorage Assembly Chair Felix Rivera has scheduled a special meting for the purpose of reorganizing the Anchorage Assembly. That meeting is Friday, Oct. 16, at 5 pm in the Assembly Chambers at the Loussac Library.
Mayor Ethan Berkowitz has resigned effective Oct. 23. If no change is made, Rivera will become acting mayor until a special election is held. Rivera might not be acceptable to the majority of the Assembly.
Anchorage Charter states that if a vacancy occurs, a special election shall be held not less than 90 days from the date of the vacancy, or if the vacancy occurs less than 90 days before an election, the vacancy is not filled.
Observers say that Forrest Dunbar will be put in as acting mayor in the meantime, which would give him an advantage as he runs for mayor during the regularly scheduled April 6 election. Presumably he would also run for acting mayor during the special election.
It doesn’t always work out well, however, to take over the sunset of a mayor’s second term, as Dunbar would be doing. It happen to Matt Claman in 2009, who had stepped into the shoes for Mayor Mark Begich, when he left office early to join the U.S. Senate. There were 15 in the race, which ended up in a runoff between Dan Sullivan (not the senator) and Eric Croft.
Sullivan had nearly 44 percent, but 45 percent was required to win outright. The next closest was Eric Croft, who came in at a distant 19.63 percent. Claman was far down the list at 5.71 percent.
Dunbar, if he became temporary mayor, would inherit the mantle of failed administration, with higher crime, homelessness, and taxes. He is famous for saying the Constitution is a racist document, and is considered the most leftwing of any of the announced candidates.
The term of the mayor ends on June 30, with the new mayor starting July 1. If Rivera or Dunbar become acting mayor, their seats would remain unfilled and the acting mayor cannot vote, but can only veto.
The runoff election has the same percentage provision as a regular election, meaning the victor needs to have 45 percent, and a runoff would bump up against the regular April 6 election.
Another twist to the story is that four Assembly members have recall petitions filed against them.
Rivera and Assembly member Meg Zalatel are the subjects of a recall by a group of midtown Anchorage residents, who are awaiting a decision from the City Attorney for whether or not their petition may move forward, while at the same time a lawsuit is pending over the City Attorney’s denial of a prior recall petition request.
In a separate case, Assembly members Austin Quinn-Davidson and Kameron Perez-Vervia are the subjects of a recall attempt by David Nees and Dustin Darden.
Anchorage elections are held by mail, and this means there could be as many as four mail-in elections in Anchorage between now and a possible runoff after the April 6 election, if no candidate gets at least 45 percent on the first round.
Announced candidates include Dunbar, Eric Croft, Bill Falsey, Bill Evans, Dave Bronson, and Mike Robbins.
The resignation of Mayor Ethan Berkowitz, announced Tuesday at the Anchorage Assembly meeting by his Chief of Staff Jason Bockenstedt, overshadowed the Assembly’s vote to extend the mayor’s emergency powers for the fifth time.
As AR 2020-379 was introduced, an intense battle ensued as Assembly Members lined up to pitch their particular amendment to the resolution.
Assembly Member Suzanne LaFrance got things started by introducing an amendment to change the emergency powers end date from December 31 to Nov. 30. The amendment passed 10-0.
Assembly Member John Weddleton joined the debate by proposing an amendment that would require public testimony for any further extension of the emergency powers. The amendment passed 10-0.
Assembly Member Meg Zaletel added an amendment to Weddleton’s amendment that would require a public hearing to occur two weeks before the emergency powers end date. The amendment passed by a 9-1 vote.
And finally, Assembly Member Crystal Kennedy introduced the most unique and promising amendment, which confirms that this current extension’s sole intention is to allow time to move all processes and operations from an emergency powers status to the city’s standard Municipality of Anchorage operation. This amendment passed by an 8-2 vote. Meg Zaletel and Forrest Dunbar both opposed the amendment.
Ultimately, the Assembly voted 9-1 in favor of extending the emergency powers, which gives the mayor vast power over operations during his final 10 days in office, after which the power will transfer to Chairman Felix Rivera, who is positioned to step into the role of acting mayor until a special election is called. Jamie Allard was the sole Assembly member who voted against the extension.
Ethan Berkowitz has left his position as mayor in disgrace. But it’s not just his extramarital affair with a former news anchor that will forever leave a black mark on his record.
Berkowitz was an abject failure as mayor in just about every way. He leaves a city behind with an economy in shambles thanks to his unreasonable, destructive, and rigid lockdowns. He denied the businesses he destroyed the help the federal government offered and instead used most of the money for his pet liberal projects.
Berkowitz also grew the drug-and-alcohol-addicted vagrant population exponentially.
His rubber stamp Assembly majority did nothing to curb Berkowitz and his Leftist agenda. It has been the most radical agenda ever imposed on the people of Anchorage.
It should be said there’s no evidence that’s surfaced, thus far, corroborating the charge by former news anchor Maria Athens that Berkowitz sent naked pictures of himself to an underage girl’s website. Athens put her career on the line with the charges and has yet to back them up. It appears she got some bad information and then decided to run with it anyway.
The confusion for Athens began when she was interviewing a woman by the name of Molly Blakely on Friday. Blakley mistakenly told Athens her daughter was an underaged escort for the mayor a couple of years ago. But Blakley’s daughter never told her mother that Berkowitz was a customer. Instead, she told Blakley she was an escort for a short man who worked for the state of Alaska. Blakely assumed it was Berkowitz because of his diminutive stature.
The daughter confronted her mother after the story broke telling her it wasn’t Berkowitz. The daughter released a voice mail Blakely left on her phone backing up her claims.
“I was calling to tell you that I told the police that it wasn’t him. I don’t know what more to say. No one knows anything about us being involved in any way. Yes, what I told her (Athens) triggered her. I did not make it up on purpose. I didn’t even make it up. You told me that and I just added one and one together and I made an assumption that was wrong.”
But it was too late. Blakely’s misinformation set the scorned Athens off. Berkowitz’s former lover exploded in anger. Blakely and Athens then traveled to Kriner’s Diner. There, Athens, in front of several witnesses, left the following loud, animated, and profanity-laced message on Berkowitz’s voice mail:
“Ethan, it’s Maria Athens from Fox, ABC, CW, Newsnet National Alaska. I just learned through my uh Emmy award-winning journalism you’re also a pedophile and like little girls and children and there’s a website. I’m so fucking exposing you. I’m gonna get an Emmy so you either turn yourself in, kill yourself, or do what you need to do. I will personally kill you and Mara Kimmel my God damn self you Jewish piece of living fucking shit. You have met your match mother fucker. You have met your mother fucking match. I can’t believe I am such a good person and thought I loved you. I fucking hate, I don’t even hate you. I will pray your Zionist fucking ass you piece of shit loser. And I’m putting this on the news tonight. Bye. Have a great Friday you mother fucker.”
Blakely later sent a text to her daughter describing witnessing Athens leaving the phone message:
“She is super unstable. Was even yelling the F word in Kriner’s diner. And people were calling her out on FB and she was cussing them out too. This was the reason I called. To tell you she lost her mind. Apparently, she had a 3 year affair with him. And he never left his wife. I knew none of this. She called him and threatened to kill him and his wife, On a voice message!!!”
Later on Friday, Athens released on Facebook from her TV station a video promising to air a story that evening on how Berkowitz shared his genitalia on an underaged girl’s website. This appeared to be based on the new revelation, which was false, that Berkowitz hired an underaged escort.
All Athens has offered as proof thus far is the nude picture Berkowitz sent to her while they were dating. After she posted her video claiming reliable sources told her the mayor was involved in sending nude pictures to an underage girl’s website, she posted the nude picture of Berkowitz with the heading: “PROOF Mayor Ethan Berkowitz #TakeThatHaters.
Athen’s use of the word “proof” in her heading above the picture seems to indicate she wanted those challenging her on Facebook to believe the nude photo of Berkowitz was tied to an underage website. But the picture proved nothing.
Blakely’s daughter heard of the video Athens cut from her TV station. She asked her mother via text: “Do you have the video?” Blakley responds: “I’ll get it, but know she made this all up!!”
The teased story never aired after Scott Centers, the station’s general manager and Athen’s fiancé’ got into a physical altercation in the station’s parking lot. Athens was arrested for that altercation.
We can’t know for sure if what Athens alleges about Berkowitz exposing himself to underage girls is true. And since there is no evidence proving it, we should give the mayor the benefit of the doubt, no matter how much we dislike his policies.
But this we do know; Berkowitz had a careless and reckless affair with Athens, and it cost him his political career. Berkowitz has no one to blame but himself.
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.
We find ourselves waiting with bated breath for the news media’s outright indignation, its thunderstruck fury at Democratic Mayor Ethan Berkowitz’s confession to some sort of hanky-panky in recent years with a reporter.
After all, unless he resigns, he is mayor of Anchor Town for about six more months. Plenty of time for the media to peel the onion and get to the truth.
For Berkowitz’s part, he says he had a “major lapse in judgment … several years ago when I had a consensual, inappropriate messaging relationship with reporter Maria Athens.” He says he is sorry and apologized to the people of Anchorage and his family. He says he is “embarrassed and ashamed.”
Athens, if you will recall, went on social media Friday with a bombshell claim Berkowitz posted inappropriate nude photos to a website.
Now, the news media, trepidatious for days about reporting any of this smarm surely will do what they do – doggedly dig to the bottom of the “inappropriate messaging relationship,” whatever that is. Surely there are more pictures than what have surfaced. None of the texts in those messages has been publicized. What else is involved? Who said what to whom? Was the mayor’s private City Hall bathroom involved? Details. The public wants details.
Answering those questions – and many, many more – is what the media do. Just look at how they recently and relentlessly charged after flirtatious text exchanges between former Republican Attorney General Kevin Clarkson and a woman who works in the governor’s office. No mercy. No holds barred. They are still trying to get answers. That is the kind of thing the media do – and surely will do to in this case to get the truth in the Berkowitz affair.
We fully expect in a few days, or maybe weeks, to have the whole, sordid, salacious Berkowitz story along with its seamier details after the media does their thing.
Mayor Ethan Berkowitz has resigned. His resignation letter was read at the Anchorage Assembly meeting tonight. The resignation is effective Oct. 23.
Berkowitz, while not in attendance, announced his resignation through a written statement read by Chief of Staff Jason Bockenstedt.
“It is with profound sadness and humility that I resign as the mayor of the Municipality of Anchorage,” Berkowitz said. He said as a private citizen it would be easier for him to deal with the damage caused by his admission of guilt to an extramarital relationship, and he wanted to protect his family.
The audience broke into a rousing applause.
On Monday, Berkowitz admitted to having an extramarital sexting relationship with TV news reporter-anchor Maria Athens, who had posted a nude photo of him on Facebook last week.
Check back as this story is developing.
The full video of his resignation letter being read is at this link:
Last week the mayor denied claims made by Athens about his involvement with kiddie porn. The Anchorage Police issued a statement saying they had not found any basis for the claim and the case was closed.
An effort to reorganize the Assembly to put Assembly member John Weddleton in as chair failed on a vote of 8-3. This means Assembly Chair Felix Rivera will become mayor on Oct. 23. He is part of the hard-left radical group that runs the Assembly.
Voting to place Rivera in as mayor rather than Weddleton were those hard leftists: Suzanne LaFrance, Kameron Perez-Verdia, Chris Constant, Forrest Dunbar, and Pete Peterson, and Austin Quinn-Davidson, Meg Zalatel, and Felix Rivera.
Using judicial power to make new laws for Alaskans, the Alaska Supreme Court has upheld a lower court ruling that says Alaskans don’t need a witness signature on their absentee ballots this year.
The next opportunity the courts will have to show their willingness to be activist is later this week, when a court case from the Alaska Center [for the Environment] is suing to make sure that even if a voter fills out an absentee ballot wrong (without a signature or date of birth, etc) it can still be counted. That case will be heard at 9 am Thursday in Superior Court.
The Monday Supreme Court decision came after an hour of court arguments. Although statutes clearly state that each ballot needs a witness, the court has effectively invalidated Alaska law because it wanted to.
The rationale is that there are so many Alaskans voting absentee this year that there may be a lot more rejected ballots, if the voters don’t follow through and get the witness. In other words, it’s a numbers game — the Supreme Court decided in advance that there will be a problem getting witnesses for too many people.
More than 115,000 Alaskans have requested absentee ballots, and the State says nearly 14,000 have already been voted and returned.
With the court having thrown out the witness requirement, will it now also throw out other requirements that ballots be filled out properly?
Alaskans are getting a lesson in just how liberal and activist its judges will go to throw out election integrity because of their better judgment.
MAYOR RELEASES PRIVATE AUDIO TO DAMAGE HIS ACCUSER
Mayor Ethan Berkowitz came halfway clean on Monday after admitting that he had had an inappropriate “messaging” relationship with TV reporter Maria Athens.
But he didn’t come all the way clean. Instead, he asked everyone to respect his privacy.
That alleged “messaging” relationship was something Athens had never discussed last week. Her actual allegation was that the mayor had been posting lewd photos to a kiddie porn website and she said she had “reliable sources.”
She was readying to go on the air with the allegations on Friday, when the station manager at the local YourAlaskaLink Fox News affiliate told her no — the story was good, but she was in no condition to tell it just then.
Athens had on Facebook posted a photo of Berkowitz’ naked body — a selfie that he took and sent to her — on Friday afternoon, as some kind of proof that Berkowitz was capable of doing such kiddie porn activity. But the photo raised a lot more questions.
Mayor Berkowitz was quiet over the weekend, after his initial denial and rebuke of the broadcast reporter, issued by his official press office on Friday.
It would have been a difficult weekend at his house, where his wife, Mara Kimmel, was likely not amused to see her husband’s naked body splashed all over Facebook.
In his Monday statement, Berkowitz was asking the public to respect his privacy.
But at the same time, Berkowitz released to a Democrat-friendly political blogger/operative a private voicemail from Athens that he had received on Friday, a voice recording that made her look unhinged, dangerous, and anti-semitic. In the voicemail, Athens threatened to kill him.
Why would the mayor ask for privacy from the public and in the same hour amp up the war with Athens in the public arena?
He wants it both ways. It’s a powerful man pushing a broken woman to the brink.
Must Read Alaska has spoken with Athens extensively and, while much of the conversation was off the record, she sticks by her original story that the mayor was engaged in kiddie porn. She provided clues to why she thinks that and those clues have been passed along to law enforcement.
THE PROTECTION SQUAD TO THE RESCUE
The questions surrounding the deference given to the Anchorage mayor by the media and his own police department continue.
The media tried to extinguish the story over the weekend, while Berkowitz surrogates Forrest Dunbar, Eric Croft, Andrew Halcro, Chris Constant, and Casey Reynolds took to social media to defend the mayor. Many of their social media posts have since been removed.
This is a case of powerful men in Anchorage trying to discredit a woman who is clearly in crisis. They’re trying to save Berkowitz in order to save their Democrat political machine, which has just thrown a rod.
Critics reached out to Must Read Alaska to say that the quick investigation of Athens’ kiddie-porn charge by the Anchorage Police Department, and their hasty statement that there are no merits to the charge is something that defies explanation. The quick closing of the case calls into question the integrity of Police Chief Justin Doll.
Athens’ claims, in spite of the mayor’s denials, are not completely unfounded. The public now knows he capable of lying to them: He lied in the Friday press release when he denied Athens’ allegation, while blistering her as “hostile” and “unwell.”
That press release was — by every measure — an abuse of his power. He had no right as a public official to speak about her health or to accuse her from his position of power.
On Monday, came his apology, and again the statement that he did nothing criminal, repeating on the record that brief announcement by the Anchorage Police Department, which he controls.
But in fact, he engaged in a relationship with a reporter who covered him at City Hall, and then lied about it to the public, and painted her as a madwoman. From what information Must Read Alaska has gathered, it was more than just a sexting relationship. He has not told the whole truth.
ABUSE OF POWER
The disparate nature of power and the abuse of that power is now the story. If Athens is unwell, then Berkowitz is using his powerful platform to take away her credibility and to paint himself as the victim.
This speaks to Berkowitz having a predatory character, a man who will do anything to save himself.
Athens, who made $29,000 a year as a TV anchor, is not the one who ran for office and has the public trust of an elected official.
She is not the one with emergency powers over the citizens of Anchorage, powers granted by his allies on the Anchorage Assembly.
It is Ethan Berkowitz who ran for office. And now he is bullying a powerless woman who has little to lose, while he has everything to lose if he doesn’t shut her up or drive her to harm herself.
