In addition to a major show of police force at Tuesday’s Anchorage Assembly meeting, Must Read Alaska has learned through a law enforcement source that a SWAT team was stationed, locked-and-loaded, and ready to roll just two miles away.
SWAT teams are typically made up of elite police marksmen who are trained to deal with high-risk situations such as standoffs and hostage rescues. Think of the Nakatomi Plaza hostage rescue team scene in Die Hard.
There were no instances at the Assembly that would have required the use of a hostage rescue team, but one woman was escorted from the meeting after she yelled her support for President Donald Trump.
Tensions at the Assembly meetings have been high since Anchorage residents started getting engaged with the political process, only to discover their pleas for reasonable policies around the COVID-19 pandemic have fallen on deaf ears. Many attending are discovering that their local government has been taken over by the far Left.
The FBI Anchorage office wrote that it had no credible threats for locations in Alaska.
“Throughout Alaska, the FBI Anchorage Field Office supports our state, local, and federal law enforcement partners with maintaining public safety in the communities we share together. The FBI Anchorage Field Office has not received any specific threats regarding locations in Alaska. We are working with our law enforcement partners to continuously share information based on tips submitted by the public. We ask anyone with information to contact the FBI at 907-276-4441 or go to tips.fbi.gov to report potential violence or criminal acts,” the agency wrote in a memo.
“We understand that there is concern for public safety; as such, the Department of Public Safety is in close communications with our law enforcement partner agencies and, if necessary, will take appropriate response actions to any potential credible threats. At this time, no credible threats have been found. Public safety truly is a team effort in Alaska. We are very fortunate to have strong working relationships with law enforcement officials at all levels of government throughout this state that we can count on when it comes to planning and taking appropriate steps to safeguard the wellbeing of Alaskans. If an emergency arises, please call 911 to make a report.”
The House Republicans issued a press release on Saturday afternoon, saying all 20 Republican are sticking together.
There are actually 21 Republicans in the House, but Kodiak’s Louise Stutes has said she would not caucus with the Republicans, which has been her decision for several years. She is the lone member of the former Muskox Caucus, which was made up of rogue Republicans.
House Republicans met for several hours on Friday in the Butrovich Room in the Capitol, trying to figure out who they can invite in from the Democrats to give themselves a working majority.
None of the Republicans appear to be a flight risk, according to those who were knowledgeable with the meeting.
Last year, a group bolted from the Republican caucus, led by Rep. Stutes, the late Rep. Gary Knopp, and the former Reps. Jennifer Johnston and Chuck Kopp. Those who went with them to organize with the Democrats included the former Rep. Gabrielle LeDoux, the former Rep. Tammie Wilson, and Reps. Steve Thompson and Bart LeBon of Fairbanks, who were the only ones of that group returned to office by voters.
“All 20 members in attendance reaffirmed their support for a Republican led majority in the House,” the release from Rep. Cathy Tilton’s office said.
“The Alaska Legislature faces a daunting task in 2021,” said Rep. Bart LeBon(R-Fairbanks). “We must reconcile state finances and address the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. We have to take action to keep Alaskans safe, keep our state functioning, and rehabilitate our economy.”
“Alaska needs common sense leadership in state government that prioritizes resource development, grows the private sector, and puts Alaskans back to work,” said Rep. Kelly Merrick(R-Eagle River). “We need to be able to push back on a federal government that will do their best to devastate Alaska’s economy and way of life.”
“House Republicans stand ready to work with everyone – rural and urban legislators, Independents and Democrats, as well as Governor Dunleavy and our Senate colleagues in order to balance the budget and navigate the COVID-19 crisis,” said Rep. Steve Thompson(R-Fairbanks). “We must make policy changes that have broad support from Alaskans of all ways of life, and all corners of the state. That is how we create stability for Alaska’s communities and economy.”
“Alaskan families and businesses have been hit hard by the pandemic. We need to strike a healthy balance between providing services the public relies on and controlling spending, so we don’t further damage the Alaskan economy that has been on hold for almost an entire year,” added Rep. Cathy Tilton (R-Wasilla). “We want to see businesses and families investing in Alaska for future generations.”
House Republicans are in discussions about coming together and working for all Alaskans. That dialogue will continue until a majority is formed and the House can undertake the important work of moving Alaska forward, the release stated.
Democrats plus Rep. Stutes also total 20, which means the House cannot organize until there is a majority established.
She may no longer be chair of the powerful Energy and Natural Resources Committee as of Jan. 20, but Sen. Lisa Murkowski is landing on her feet.
Alaska’s senior senator has been named the chair of the Congressional Fire Services Caucus. The caucus works to support the nation’s firefighters. It’s likely the first of many such appointments that the Murkowski will announce in coming days as the new Senate and House organizations take shape.
“I will continue to advocate for the health & safety of our fire service members, empowering them to serve & protect the public to the best of their abilities,” she wrote. “Throughout my time as a U.S. Senator, I’ve developed relationships with some of Alaska’s bravest men and women: our Fire Chiefs and firefighters. I’ve worked on a number of initiatives at the federal level of great importance to the fire service. In recent years, as communities across Alaska have faced record-high fire seasons, I met with firefighters—career and volunteer—and saw firsthand the dedication and grit it takes to do their job. And in spite of COVID-19, our fire services have never faltered; they adjusted operations as needed and continued toward their mission to protect their respective communities and each other,” said Senator Murkowski. “I’m proud to chair the Congressional Fire Services Caucus in the 117th Congress in support of firefighters who face disasters head-on, with great courage and commitment. I will continue to advocate for the health and safety of our fire service members, empowering them to serve and protect the public to the best of their abilities.”
Co-chairing the caucus are Sen. Jon Tester, D-Montana, , Sen. Tom Carper, D-Delaware, Rep. Steny Hoyer, D-Maryland, Rep. Bill Pascrell, D-New Jersey, Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, and Rep. Mike Bost, R-Illinois.
The U.S. State Department says that in the autumn of 2019, before the first identified case of COVID-19, several researchers at the Wuhan Institute of Virology became sick with an illness that may have been COVID-19.
“This raises questions about the credibility of WIV senior researcher Shi Zhengli’s public claim that there was ‘zero infection’ among the WIV’s staff and students of SARS-CoV-2 or SARS-related viruses,” the State Department reported on Jan. 15, 2021.
“Accidental infections in labs have caused several previous virus outbreaks in China and elsewhere, including a 2004 SARS outbreak in Beijing that infected nine people, killing one. The CCP [Chinese Communist Party] has prevented independent journalists, investigators, and global health authorities from interviewing researchers at the WIV, including those who were ill in the fall of 2019. Any credible inquiry into the origin of the virus must include interviews with these researchers and a full accounting of their previously unreported illness,” the agency wrote in a new fact sheet.
None of that cooperation is likely to happen from the Chinese, but the report goes on to detail the experiments going on at the Wuhan lab, including, “starting in 2016 – and with no indication of a stop prior to the COVID-19 outbreak – WIV researchers conducted experiments involving RaTG13, the bat coronavirus identified by the WIV in January 2020 as its closest sample to SARS-CoV-2 (96.2% similar).”
Secrecy is standard operating procedure for China. The State Department says that the U.S. has raised concerns for years about China’s past biological weapons work, which fall under obligations of the Biological Weapons Convention.
The lab was engaged in international coronavirus research after the 2003 SARS outbreak and has since studied animals including mice, bats, and pangolins [anteaters], the report says.
“Despite the WIV presenting itself as a civilian institution, the United States has determined that the WIV has collaborated on publications and secret projects with China’s military. The WIV has engaged in classified research, including laboratory animal experiments, on behalf of the Chinese military since at least 2017,” the State Department alleged.
Friday was the first day when candidates for Anchorage mayor could officially file for office.
At 10 am, Dave Bronson arrived at City Hall with his wife Deb Bronson, and campaign manager Bernadette Wilson. Bronson is running for mayor. He then did his requisite interview with reporters and finished the day with a fundraiser with key supporters, including campaign consultant Art Hackney.
Next into the office was Bill Evans, who arrived with campaign manager Cale Green, to file. He, too, made the rounds with the media and finished his day with a discussion on Zoom with Alaskans for Open Meetings, a grassroots transparency advocacy group.
Mike Robbins came shortly thereafter with his wife, Tetyana and his campaign Brian Mentzer. Running on a populist platform, Robbins spoke to the media and had a fundraiser with two dozen business owners at the Peanut Farm that evening.
But the man to beat filed elsewhere on Friday at 8 am.
Wearing a Carhartt jacket and hoodie, Assemblyman Forrest Dunbar filed his candidacy at the Division of Elections office in at the Ship Creek Avenue office in downtown Anchorage, right next to the far-left campaign headquarters of the Ship Creek Group, which is providing Dunbar with campaign services. It was an entirely different look from his garb at the Pride parade in Anchorage a couple of years ago.
Dunbar is a liberal’s liberal. Three years ago, he, John-Henry Heckendorn of the Ship Creek Group, and Rep. Jonathan Kreiss-Tompkins were credited by Politico for turning “a red state purple,” by getting candidates to shape-shift as moderates and registering some as “nonpartisans” in conservative districts.
The progressive posse of young Turks ushered three new liberals to the House of Representatives, all of whom got caught up in “me-too” scandals and ended up leaving office in various degrees of disgrace. The fourth they aided and abetted, Jason Grenn, served just one term in the House before voters in his district booted him and elected Republican Rep. Sara Rasmussen.
Dunbar, a lawyer with the Alaska Army National Guard, where he serves as an assistant judge advocate, is part of a clique of downtown radicals up-and-comers on a mission to turn Alaska Democrat.
How radical? So radical, Dunbar is on record saying the U.S. Constitution is “shot through” with racism.
A guy like that, with his Berkowitz-supporting baggage, should be easy to beat in Anchorage, one might think.
But Anchorage is now Biden Country. Oil patch workers have left by the thousands, as the economics of oil changed, and now government and nonprofit workers represent a greater majority. Anchorage gained thousands of blue-voting health care workers, funded by the Obamacare expansion. Many conservative voters have fled to the Mat-Su Valley.
Every district in the municipality –15 through 28, except for the two in Chugiak-Eagle River — voted a majority for Joe Biden for president this past November. And Anchorage voters cast their ballots for Ethan Berkowitz for mayor, not once, but twice, even though there were solid fiscally conservative choices during both the 2015 and the 2018 races.
Also filing at the Ship Creek office on Monday was was liberal Bill Falsey, former municipal city manager under Berkowitz, who will appear less radical than Dunbar, but who also has the “Berkowitz baggage” in spades. Falsey has been a functionary, rather than a lawmaker, however. His problem is more of “what did he know and when did he know it” about Berkowitz’ proclivities and bathroom nude selfie. Few expect Falsey to go the distance, but he’ll get his name out there, get some experience under his belt, and decide if elected office is really for him.
Part of the hardline shutdown bloc on the Assembly, Dunbar has been locked-and-loaded in favor of former Mayor Berkowitz and Acting Mayor Austin Quinn-Davidson in the scorched-earth policy against private businesses in Anchorage. Lately, he mostly phones in his appearances at the Assembly meetings, unwilling to face the wrath of the public and its harsh condemnation of many who have started attending the meetings.
A man who has been a public servant much of his career (he was briefly a lawyer for Stoel-Rives), Dunbar is an experienced campaigner, having run unsuccessfully against Congressman Don Young in 2014, and for Assembly twice. He’s playing the long game to take another shot at Congress in 2022 or perhaps the governorship. But running Alaska’s largest city? That’s a plum position, which governs 40 percent of the state’s population and will launch him to the next level.
Dunbar knows he is the one to beat, and said that’s why his signs were vandalized over the winter. He blamed Must Read Alaska and its readers for vandalizing them and made it clear he’ll be running against Must Read Alaska as much as he’ll be running against candidates:
“My campaign is, right now, the most successful on the progressive side. For months, Must Read Alaska and other Republican mouthpieces have been attacking me. They know I’m the one most likely to draw together a moderate and progressive coalition that can beat them. It’s sort of a trickle-down vendetta,” he told the Anchorage Press.
He can’t seem to resist criticizing Must Read Alaska during Assembly meetings and in the leftist press.
Dunbar has the support of the usual suspects of Democrats, with endorsements from Sen. Elvi Gray-Jackson, Sen. Bill Wielechowski, Rep. Harriet Drummond, Rep. Zack Fields, Rep. Liz Snyder, and Rep. Andy Josephson. Also, former Sen. Johnny Ellis gave him the nod.
These are powerful endorsements as all of them have won in their districts and can get their voters out. They have enormous pull due to their own campaign infrastructures, lists, and ready-and-willing lieutenants.
With a city that is more resembling Seattle and San Francisco than Anchorage in its heyday, will center-right Bill Evans be an acceptable alternative as a moderate, or is Anchorage ready for a Mayor Dunbar, who would be even more radical than Berkowitz?
Like former Mayor Berkowitz, Dunbar attended Harvard University and earned his law degree from Yale University. He worked as a public defender, and for the Peace Corps in Kazakhstan. He was born and raised in Alaska, and graduated from Cordova High School.
In his campaign literature, Dunbar lays out his vision for Anchorage:
1. With the cooperation of the business community, we should turn portions of Fourth Avenue and E Street into pedestrian promenades. Other cities have done this with great success, and studies have shown that boosting foot traffic in this way increases safety and commerce, particularly in the evening.
2. We need to take advantage of the $40 million investment toward homeless services promised by our private partners over the next five years, and make our own commitments to substance abuse treatment, behavioral health, housing and other initiatives — such as early childhood care and education — that get to the core of this and other problems. Those private funds must not be seen as a replacement for state or municipal support, but rather as a complement to what we can do. We have a unique window of opportunity; we must not let it pass us by.
3. We should work to strengthen the city’s sense of indigenous place, in part through acknowledging original Alaska Native place names. We should improve signage, and continue to build better relations with the Eklutna Dena’ina and other tribal entities. Aside from being the right thing to do, this approach is also the economically smart thing to do; surveys have shown that the No. 1 desire from tourists in Anchorage is greater immersion in Alaska’s rich Native cultures.
Finally, it’s important that Anchorage avoid some of the chaos and division we have seen in Juneau and Washington, D.C. Through a combination of good people, structural advantages and institutional investment, the Anchorage Assembly remains a comparatively well-functioning body. We generally maintain a sense of cooperation, avoid grandstanding and strive to uphold the public interest. Our municipal government delivers basic public services such as snow removal, police protection and emergency medical services, and that will always be my primary goal.
Bill Evans, a lawyer and former Assemblyman, appears to be positioning himself as the candidate who most in the middle can support. Robbins, a business owner, and Bronson, a pilot, are appealing to those who are truly unhappy with the direction of Anchorage and are seeking a measurable change in direction.
Those who are studying the past two mayoral elections watched as the conservative and moderate candidates lost by 18 or more points. Mayor Berkowitz beat conservative Amy Demboski by 20 points in the runoff in 2015, and bested moderate-conservative Rebecca Logan by 18 points in 2018.
Since 2018, Anchorage has gotten even more blue, with Democrats gaining registrants in every House district in the city limits, as every district is losing Republican registrants. The Alaska Democratic Party will be fully engaged in this “nonpartisan” election.
The candidates know that April 6, 2020 is the “primary” and that with 10 candidates or more likely on the ballot, getting that magic 45 percent support is unlikely for any of them, and a runoff has to be factored into their race plans.
Political analysts presume Dunbar will be in the runoff, that the Alaska Demcoratic Party machine will bring its forces to bear, and that anyone who didn’t vote for Dunbar on April 6 will either stay home and allow the government and nonprofit workers to decide the outcome, or will settle for the alternative.
And that gives the three leading contenders — Robbins, Bronson, and Evans — much to consider as they try to define themselves and their opponents, in advance of the ballots being mailed to voters on March 15 — just 58 days from now.
According to a memo from the governor’s chief of staff, a number of State of Alaska offices will be closed to the public this coming Monday through Thursday, Jan. 21, in an abundance of caution as unrest continues in response to the upcoming presidential inauguration.
The closures in Juneau include:
Juneau State Office Building
Alaska Office Building
Court Plaza Building
Community Building
Dimond Courthouse
Facilities Center
Governor’s House
Behrend’s House
In Anchorage, the buildings closed are:
Atwood Office Building
Linny Pacillo Office
“The safety of the public who visit state facilities and our employees is a matter of the utmost importance. Public safety conditions in the area around the listed facilities will be closely monitored up until and then shortly after the Presidential inauguration. As time progresses, and if conditions change, employees will be notified to any modifications to this policy,” the notice said, signed by Ben Stevens, chief of staff to Gov. Mike Dunleavy.
The petition to recall Anchorage Assembly Chairman Felix Rivera has enough valid signatures to place the question on the April 6 ballot.
The only thing that can stop it now is the lawsuit that Rivera filed on Jan. 5 to get a court to dismiss the recall petition as illegitimate.
That lawsuit is expected to be heard in the courtroom of Judge Dani Crosby in the next two weeks. The surrogate plaintiff for Rivera is Dr. Peter Mjos, MD, also associated with a long-ago lawsuit against Assembly member Dick Traini, which went to the Supreme Court. Traini won three days before the election, but it was too late for him to start his campaign, which is how current Assemblywoman Meg Zalatel got on the Assembly.
Zalatel is busy in her spare time fundraising for the Rivera defense fund, and both Zalatel and Rivera voted on Tuesday to change municipal election laws, prior to the April 6 municipal election.
“The 300 petition sponsors and 4999 signatories of the Rivera Recall Campaign labored diligently over the last 60 days to utilize the democratic remedy enshrined in our Alaskan constitution to remove our representatives for gross misconduct. We are deeply disappointed by the lawsuit filed by Peter Mjos attempting to subvert our right to a legitimate and fair ballot process. We are, however, even more disturbed that the current political leadership of Midtown – Rep. Andy Josephson, Senator Elvi Gray-Jackson, and Assembly Member Meg Zaletel are fundraising for that lawsuit in an attempt to satirize the principles of democracy and representative government,” said Russell Biggs, one of the recall petition sponsors. “Given the clear conflicts of interest that both Meg Zaletel and Felix Rivera had regarding this impending recall election – and the fact that they did not recuse themselves from the highly controversial election law amendments the Anchorage Assembly approved last night – one can easily understand why the Midtown residents have lost confidence in their elected officials.”
The second tranche of legislative bills filed in advance of the 32nd Alaska Legislature was released Friday.
It includes a few that were bills not taken up during the last two years, such as the one from Rep. Matt Claman, which gives privileges to legislators as arms of the State to conduct marriage ceremonies. That bill is HB 62.
Claman also wants mental health education mandates by state law, with HB 60.
Rep. Chris Tuck has a bill to change aspects of voter registration laws and to change laws around poll watchers. That’s HB 66.
Sen. Mike Shower also has an election-related bill,SB 39, which would close loopholes that may allow fraud in elections.
SB 44, by Sen. Scott Kawasaki, would require the Board of Fisheries to prioritize personal use fisheries when implementing fishing restrictions to achieve a management goal. It’s an important bill because many believe Kawasaki is running for governor in 2022. He is a Democrat from Fairbanks.
The Palin and Heath families are in mourning after Sarah Palin’s mother, Sarah “Sally” Heath, died on Tuesday at the age of 80. The news was shared by Sarah Palin on social media, and Bristol Palin, Sally Heath’s granddaughter, who has more than 500,000 followers on Instagram.
Sarah Palin wrote on Facebook: “1/12/21 we kissed Mom goodbye. For our family, she’s always been the best part of our world. Mom lived with such purpose and intention to do good – always – for others. We’ll miss her more than anything.I wish everyone could know how unconditional love, for which Mom is known, equips and empowers the recipient of that love. It births fearlessness. We knew she was our forever advocate on earth, and will now intercede directly to the Throne. Mom is singing hallelujah and dancing with Jesus; she’ll continue to guide while anticipating our eternal reunion. Because of this, I can ask: “What is there to fear?!” Every single day, through every heartbreak, hardship, rejection and frustration, she opened eyes to silver linings. Nothing is more solid in my life than my absorption of her belief that Through It All… It Is Well . The most optimistic person ever“We were together, I forget the rest.” – Walt Whitman”
Bristol Palin shared photos on Instagram, one of her holding her grandmother’s hand with a rosary, and another that had a passage from The Bible.
Bristol wrote: “Heaven gained an angel yesterday as our dearest grandma sal passed away peacefully, and surrounded by her loved ones.”
Bristol described Sally Heath as “overflowing with grace” and “the most selfless, wholesome part of life.”
“We will forever be grateful for everything that she has instilled in our family and those around her,” Bristol wrote.
Sally Heath was a school secretary in Sandpoint, Idaho, married to Chuck Heath, a science teacher. A few months after Sarah Palin was born to the couple, they moved to Skagway, Alaska, where Chuck had been hired to teach. They relocated to Eagle River in 1969, and then to Wasilla in 1972. Sarah Palin, former governor of Alaska, was the third of four children the couple had.
. The most optimistic person ever
“We were together, I forget the rest.” – Walt Whitman”
