Assembly member Chris Constant, who represents downtown Anchorage, took to Facebook today to badmouth Kriner’s Diner, a popular midtown cafe.

In his pointed warning to the cafe, Constant referred to restaurant code violations discovered at the establishment in the past.

They were minor violations, such as inadequate lighting and food not being stored in its original container. They had nothing to do with cleanliness, but Constant told his Facebook followers that (wink wink) the health report would tell them everything they need to know about the restaurant.

Constant, who was recently reelected in April, was jabbing at a family-owned restaurant hit hard by the Mayor Ethan Berkowitz’ previous shutdowns.

Kriner’s Diner owner Andy Kriner is now defying the mayor’s order to shut down for an entire month. He says his business cannot afford to close down.

This week, Kriner had more customers than usual in his establishment on C Street, as the public has flocked in to support the renegade restauranteur. Some people are writing checks to him to help him cover the cost of the $500 per day fine the mayor has promised to levy against him.

The code enforcers arrived at Kriner’s today to attempt to shut it down with a stop work order. They were booed by the diners.

Kriner says he will open up again on Wednesday at 9 am in defiance of the mayor’s orders.

It will be Day 3 of the Kriner Resistance, with fines that could, at $500 per day, total $1,500.

He isn’t the only one.

Little Dipper Diner on West Dimond Blvd. also said it will be open on Wednesday for dine in.

“As most of our guest already know we are Family owned and operated. We are not trying to be unlawful, but we feel EO15 is just so unfair, we just will not survive this month of closure after the last one, we barely survived that.

“The municipality is not helping us or anyone other restaurant or bar in any way.”

“We have put our whole lives into this restaurant and don’t want to lose everything we’ve worked so hard to obtain,” the owners wrote.

Kriner and others who defy the mayor could find their restaurants subject to surprise health inspections, as it’s clear that Assemblyman Constant was already trying to dig up dirt on Kriner. Will he go after the others who defy orders as well?

As much as restaurant health inspections are important, they are also used as political weapons. The mayor’s three restaurants miraculously score 100 on their inspections.

Berkowitz’ restaurants also likely had forewarning that he was going to shut down indoor dining, and they’ve managed to get dining tents up to continue operations, even while Berkowitz whipsaws the local economy with his shut-open-shut policies..

The mayor and his minions are now lashing out, saying that his restaurants did not receive special treatment or have special knowledge.

But even the Cabaret, Hotel, and Restaurant trade group said that its membership was shut out of final discussions just before the latest shutdown, which lasts for the entire month of August. The restaurant group expressed its frustration in a letter to its membership statewide.

BUSY DAY AT THE DINER THAT WOULDN’T OBEY BERKOWITZ

A war of words over restaurant closures in Anchorage broke out on Facebook today, as more than one popular restaurant in Anchorage openly defied Mayor Ethan Berkowitz’ order to close and people took to social media to discuss it. But it was the one restaurant that got everyone talking, even though a couple of other ones looked like they defied the ban as well.

Kriner’s Diner turned on the “open” sign this morning as usual and by noon the code enforcers of the municipality had arrived and taped a “Stop Work Order” on the building. The code enforcers, who warned Kriner of possible jail time, were roundly booed by the diners inside.

In the end, Andy Kriner said he was more at risk of having to close temporarily at 3 pm because he was running out of food, not because of the stop work order. The restaurant will be open again at 9 am on Wednesday, he said.

On Facebook, people were posting pictures of themselves at the cafe on C Street, and business was brisk. Some people came in and left money on the counter for the Kriner family, to pay the $500 per day fine the mayor was threatening to levy.

Also on Facebook, incensed critics raged about the irresponsibility of staying open and the patrons who supported the restaurants.

Harriet Drummond, the House Representative for District 18, ranted about the “incredibly dangerous behavior,” while her husband, Elstun Lauesen said that the Kriner’s Diner crowd were “hopeless, miserable people.”

• There were 40 new cases of coronavirus diagnosed in Anchorage in the last 24 hours.
• Alaska has the sixth lowest case load per capita in the country.
• Hospitals rooms are half empty in Anchorage. There are 27 reported COVID-19 cases in Alaska hospitals currently.

Then came a text message from Mayor Ethan Berkowitz to the owner of Kriner’s Diner. The mayor wanted to talk.

“Come on in,” Andy Kriner responded on text. There was a phone call. Evidently the mayor was trying to convince Kriner that the CARES Act money would cover his losses. Kriner did not seem to have time; there were people to feed.

The war was definitely on as diners enjoyed their meals and as a server bought meals for veterans. Former House Speaker Mike Chenault was spotted, and so was a local reporter, who shall go unnamed.

The patrons cheered when a group of veterans showed up for breakfast, and gave them and Assemblywoman Jamie Allard of Eagle River a standing ovation. Allard arrived with legislative candidate Kathy Henslee, who is running for House District 23. The two were having breakfast before hitting the road for the door-to-door campaigning.

After the code enforcers left, a patron exited the building and tore the stop work order off the wall on his way out.

Saying she has violated the state’s open meetings statutes, a group in Anchorage has begun the process of recalling Assembly member Meg Zaletel, who represents Midtown Anchorage, including Airport Heights, U-Med, and Taku-Campbell.

Why Zaletel, and not the others on the Assembly?

Evidently she is the most vulnerable for a recall. If she had not been in a three-way race in 2019, she would have barely won her seat. Her current term represent Assembly District 4, Seat F ends in 2022.

A recall is in the works for Assembly member Felix Rivera, but since he was reelected in April, the recall effort must wait until he has served six months.

According to the group, Zaletel committed “removable misconduct by violating the Alaska Public Meetings Statutes at the Anchorage Assembly meeting July 28th, engagingly in willful, flagrant, and obvious collision to limit public testimony inside the assembly chambers. Zaletel conducted municipality business following the barring of public presence within the chambers except those approved by the assembly in a manner not disclosed to the public prior to the meeting.”

On July 28, Zaletel was presiding over the Assembly meeting, to which the public was barred by order of Mayor Ethan Berkowitz.

But one member of the public was allowed into the meeting to testify — Mike Abbot, the former Municipal manager. He now runs the Alaska Mental Health Trust and was brought into the chambers to explain land availability issues to the Assembly. No one else from the public was allowed in.

Mayor Ethan Berkowitz has for several weeks barred the public from entering the municipal library building, where the Assembly meets. He is using his emergency powers to order restaurants, bars, bingo halls, and churches closed as well.

“The misconduct occurred with and despite video evidence of ample physical space and availability to comply with the Mayor’s emergency powers proclamation which, regardless of intent, would not override AS 44.62.31’s proscription of actions limiting public participation in Assembly meetings.

“Zalatel disenfranchised both the economically disadvantaged without the electronic means to view the assembly, the 70+ members of the public outside the chambers desiring to be admitted, and the hearing and visually impaired public left without Robert means of participation.”

The group just needed 10 names and addresses of municipal voters to apply for the recall petition. Once the petition is issued, the group will have 60 days to collect the required signatures. The petition must have signatures from enough voters to equal 25 percent of the number that voted in the last election for that office. The group is looking for signature gatherers to volunteer.

The last election was in 2019. Some 9,872 voted for candidates for the seat, so the group will need 2,468 good signatures to force a special recall election.

A group of activists supporting David Eastman have encountered a setback: Their ambush recall effort against challenger Jesse Sumner has been rejected by the Borough Clerk, on advice of outside counsel. Sumner serves on the Mat-Su Borough Assembly and last week a band of Eastman supporters tried to start a recall against him.

Outside counsel said none of the complaints made by the group had anything to do with his office in Assembly.

Sumner is running for House District 10, Wasilla and would have to step down from his seat on the Assembly if he wins.

The recall effort was launched by John Nelson, who himself is a candidate for U.S. House and who is a supporter of Eastman.

But the petition was thinly veiled campaign tactic against Sumner, and is a possible violation of campaign finance laws, according to MRAK sources.

The novel approach at campaigning could draw a penalty from the Alaska Public Offices Commission since John Nelson is an experienced candidate and his collaborators have also been involved in campaigning for years. APOC penalizes experienced campaigners more than novices and it would be hard to characterize Nelson as a novice. But someone would have to file a complaint.

Early voting began in Alaska today and ends on Primary Election Day, Aug. 18.

Bill Falsey, municipal manager for Anchorage, has declared he will run for Anchorage mayor. The position comes open next April 6, and formal filing is in January.

Falsey has worked in city government for five years, joining the staff of Mayor Ethan Berkowitz in 2015 as an attorney.

He played a pivotal role in facilitating the sale of Municipal Light & Power to Chugach Electric and has been a central figure in advising and leading during the 2018 earthquake recovery, the 2019 wildfires, and the 2020 pandemic.

A graduate of Dimond High School in Anchorage, he has a B.S. degree from Stanford University and law degree from Yale University. He clerked for the Alaska Supreme Court and has been in private practice as a lawyer.

His website is www.falseyformayor.com.

Also announced to be running for mayor are former Assemblyman Bill Evans, Eric Croft, Assemblyman Forrest Dunbar, and possibly Assemblyman Chris Constant.

Filing for office opens at the City Clerk’s office on Jan. 15, 2021, and closes Jan. 29, 2021.