Kenai voters gave a resounding “Thanks, no thanks” to the Borough Assembly majority, which had passed a “mail in election” ordinance for the borough.
The move to mail-in elections was led by Assembly Chair Kelly Cooper, who is also running against Rep. Sarah Vance for House Seat 31.
Cooper and Assembly member Tyson Cox had said they were elected to make decisions like this for the people, and that they knew the will of the people.
Apparently that was not the case. Some 67 percent of voters on the Kenai Peninsula rejected the mail-in election that Cooper had ramrodded through with little public input.
FAIRBANKS PUTS CONSERVATIVES ON ASSEMBLY, SCHOOL BOARD
All three conservatives running for Fairbanks Borough Assembly seats won on Tuesday.
Aaron Lojewski won by 1,900 votes, as Tammie Wilson won by 1,100 votes, and Jimi Cash won by 1,000 votes. Lojewski and Cash are incumbents.
Absentees are not yet counted but are unlikely to change the outcome for these races.
Also, two conservatives won for the School Board in Fairbanks — April Smith won by 700 vote sand Maggie Matheson won by 1,300 votes.
Overall, conservatives in Fairbanks appear to be winning 7 of 8 elected seats.
KENAI LANDSLIDE FOR PIERCE
Kenai Borough residents returned Charlie Pierce to the Mayor’s Office for his third and final term. He won over Linda Farnsworth Hutchings by at least 21 points. At nearly 60 percent, it’s a landslide.
Also Richard Derkevorkian defeated incumbent Democrat Hal Smalley, who has held the seat on the Assembly on and off for decades.
Newcomer Teea Winger offed Democrat Tim Navarre, the incumbent, for City Council. Incumbent Henry Knackstedt also won for city council.
WASILLA
It looks like Doug Holler is leading for mayor of Wasilla, but there are a lot of votes yet to be counted. Glenda Ledford is trailing in second and Stuart Graham is third.
THAT’S NOT WHAT ONE BETHEL MEDICAL OFFICIAL REPORTED
It took truth about a week to get its shoes on and correct the record on hospital capacity in Alaska, during this era of COVID-19.
Alaska State Hospital and Nursing Home Association CEO Jared Kosin today corrected a misperception that the hospitals are running out of beds. He said hospital capacity is holding up fine, even with COVID-19 patients.
“There’s been a lot of questions about ICU capacity, hospital capacity, and the health of our system,” Kosin said.
Those questions may have come after a Yukon-Kuskokwim Health Corporation medical doctor said the state is running out of hospital beds for COVID-19 cases, and that Bethel’s medical clinic had to keep a patient an extra day because there were no available beds in Alaska’s largest city.
“This was an ICU-level patient, and all the ICU beds in Anchorage were full,” said YKHC Chief of Staff Dr. Ellen Hodges, to KYUK radio. “So we’ve already reached, I think, the limits of our capacity of the healthcare of the state. So it makes some of these mitigation strategies more important.”
That is just not the case, according to what Kosin said today in a video report that was embedded in Gov. Mike Dunleavy’s video message on the virus.
Dunleavy started his report by saying that officials have learned that the virus is not as deadly as it was once believed to be. The death rate is going down, even while number of cases is going up, he said.
From June to early October, the hospitalization rate for COVID-19 patients is 2-4 percent, far less than the 10 percent it was prior to June.
“So in other words, even though our case numbers are going up, hospitalizations and the death rate are going down,” Dunleavy said. “That’s because we understand this virus more. We understand how to deal with folks who are infected.”
And the medical community has learned how to keep the virus away from those who are most vulnerable, he noted.
“I just want to make sure we understand that none of us should be terrified today. None of us should be scared today. We should be concerned, and we should make sure that we take all the precautions necessary to prevent ourselves from getting the virus,” Dunleavy said. “The chances of you going into the hospital if you get the virus is slim.”
Dunleavy acknowledged that the virus is still highly contagious and dangerous to some people, and precautions are still important.
“This virus is not the extinction event we thought it was going to be,” Dunleavy said.
Earlier today, the Municipality of Anchorage put out a Nixle alertwith a completely different message, warning people that they were in grave danger of getting the virus if they gather in groups.
“Are we seeing an unusual number of ICU patients coming through the door? And the answer so far, is no,” the hospital association’s CEO Kosin said.
“This month, in October, on a per-day basis, we’re averaging about 57 patients in the ICU beds in Anchorage. Last month, the average was 54 patients. The month before that, in August, it was 53 and in July it was 56. So far, trends are consistent with ICU beds,” Kosin said.
Looking at COVID-19-positive patients who are in ICU beds, “thankfully, the trends are pretty similar.” On a per-day basis, Anchorage hospitals are averaging 9.6 patients in ICU beds in Anchorage. In September, the average was 9.1
“Are we seeing a rise in overall hospitalizations due to COVID? Again, thankfully, the answer is no,” he said. In October, the average number of COVID-19-positive patients in Anchorage hospital beds is 25. In September, the average was 29 and in August it was 28.
“The takeaway at this time is hospital capacity is holding up,” he said. “We are managing the situation. The situation has been pretty consistent for the last couple of months.”
Why the Bethel doctor would report that Anchorage beds are full is a mystery, when the state’s COVID-19 data hub shows no such thing.
Hodges had told Lower Kuskokwim School District Superintendent Kimberly Hankins about the Anchorage bed shortage and the update was reported on public broadcasting on Sept. 30.
I am not supporting Ballot Measure 2. Let me make that more clear: I support any effort to defeat Ballot Measure 2.
First, I believe in the right of political parties to select their best nominee in a primary. This ballot initiative would leave parties less effective by making their freedom of association less authoritative.
Even though I was not selected as the Republican nominee this last primary, I support the process for Republicans to elect Republicans.
I am disappointed in the outcome of this year’s primary and think some of the policy priorities were not correct, however the voters spoke and I respect that. I firmly believe that too few vote in a primary, and that is a shame, but it is their choice to leave the outcome to those who do vote.
This initiative also changes some important reporting measures that should be debated in detail and be open to amendment through the legislative process. Too often, complicated measures are proposed to us Alaskans without a good understanding of the context of current law. This portion of the initiative should be rejected.
Finally, the change in voting is wrong. This has a style of first, second and third choice if no clear majority wins. If we can only support one candidate and cast our only vote for them and a majority for that person isn’t achieved, then our vote is thrown out and the others who have many choices will have their vote counted again.
Ballot Measure 2 takes the “one person one vote” away from us and I can’t let that happen.
Sen. John Coghill is the senator for Senate Seat B, Fairbanks.
Ballot Measure 2’s main purpose is not to rid Alaska politics of so-called dark money as its proponents claim. Far from it.
Backers of the 25-page, confusing, and convoluted proposition are trafficking in dark money. They’re deep in it. If dark money had that same red dye as money stolen from banks, you could spot backers of Ballot Measure 2 in a crowd of thousands.
Ninety-nine percent of the money behind Ballot Measure 2 comes from out-of-state billionaires from New York and California. They aim to disrupt, corrupt and wreck Alaska’s election process. For these outside fat cat Leftists to sell themselves to Alaskans as anti-dark money represents the purest form of hypocrisy.
What do they want? Most of all they intend to save one of their own. Prop Two backers have a lot riding on the vibrancy, health, and welfare of the Washington D.C. Swamp.
Ballot Measure 2’s first and foremost objective is to save the Senate seat of the Alaska queen of the D.C. swamp, Lisa Murkowski. For the past 18 years, Murkowski has elbowed, nudged, and positioned herself into the deepest end of the D.C. Swamp. Her reelection is crucial to her fellow swamp creatures.
Murkowski’s swampiness is why she so fervently and ferociously opposes President Donald Trump on just about everything. Trump came to D.C. to drain the swamp. Murkowski is the embodiment of the swamp. Ranked choice voting proposed by Ballot Measure 2 is a byproduct of the swamp. Ballot Measure 2 = Murkowski reelected = swamp sustainability.
The ballot measure is intentionally designed to confuse. But its objective is simple: Weed out conservative candidates.
Murkowski is toast if she runs for reelection under Alaska’s current primary system. She could never again win a Republican primary after she single-handedly saved Obamacare and refused to back U.S. Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh.
The passing of Ballot Measure 2 is her only hope. The swamp needs her back in the Senate in two years. Screwing up Alaska’s election process is the only way that’s going to happen.
What’s a few million here or there for Lower 48 billionaire swamp creatures to drop into the state to save one of their own?
It’s important to note that Alaska’s current election system isn’t broken. We saw several Juneau swamp creatures like John Coghill, Cathy Giessel and Gabrielle LeDoux ousted in August.
Swamp creatures tried this so-called rank choice voting in Maine and it was a disaster. Swampy billionaires spent enough to convince Maine voters in 2016 to fall for their scheme. Like Alaska, Maine is a cheap media market.
In Maine’s 2018 Second Congressional race among four candidates, rank choice voting allowed the winner to get fewer than 50% of the vote. More than 8,000 ballots were exhausted through multiple rounds of counting.
“A ballot becomes exhausted when a voter overvotes, undervotes or exhausts their choices. For example, a voter accidentally ranks two candidates as their first choice, or only ranks one candidate who is eventually eliminated from the contest,” wrote Jacob Posik of the Maine Heritage Policy Center.
“The ballot becomes exhausted and no longer contributes toward the final denominator used to determine a majority winner. It’s as if these voters never showed up on Election Day,” Posik concluded.
Ballot Measure 2’s greatest sin is to violate the long American tradition of one person, one vote.
This is not the first time Murkowski backers were willing to manipulate the election process to make sure she kept her place in the D.C. Swamp.
During her write-in campaign in 2010 after losing the Republican primary to Joe Miller, state officials changed election rules that year to benefit her. Murkowski’s name was prominently displayed on a list with other write-in candidates outside the polling place. That had never been done before.
Native corporations danced around the edges of campaign finance laws and dumped millions into Murkowski’s election efforts. The oil companies, lobbyists, the nonprofit cabal, the healthcare industry, deep-state types, and anyone benefiting from federal government bloat and largess also poured in millions to help Murkowski return to the swamp.
You must admit Murkowski is sly and conniving when it comes to keeping her place in the deep end of the D.C. Swamp. It’s no coincidence many of those working on promoting Ballot Measure 2 are former Murkowski staffers and current supporters. Will voters fall for it? Murkowski hopes so.
Dan Fagan hosts the #1 rated morning drive radio talk show in Alaska weekdays on Newsradio 650 KENI. He splits his time between Anchorage and New Orleans.
In a letter to State Representatives Louise Stutes and Bryce Edgmon, Gov. Mike Dunleavy has reiterated he stands in favor of responsible mining, in favor of process, and in favor of helping to lift Alaskans out of poverty.
He specifically mentioned the importance of improving the lives of those in the Bristol Bay region and asked Stutes and Edgmon to stop being obstructionists against every proposal, and start bringing forward actual solutions to improve the economy.
Dunleavy was responding to criticism from Stutes and Edgmon, who told him in a letter last week that he needs to back off of his support for Pebble Mine. The two want Dunleavy to block any state permits for the proposed mine.
Dunleavy was having none of it. His response went on for three pages.
“As governor of Alaska, one of my duties is to create economic opportunity for the benefit of all Alaskans, utilizing every available resource within our borders. No serious person would disagree that accessing the mineral deposits within the Bristol Bay Mining District, if done in a way that protects the watershed, would transform the lives of Alaskans living in the region. My role is to ensure that each project is subject to a fair and rigorous review process, and that every opportunity to create thousands of jobs is fully explored. Preemptive vetoes, particularly in a region suffering from generational poverty and a chronic lack of economic options, have no place in Alaska,” Dunleavy wrote.
Dunleavy also pointed out that demand for strategic minerals is growing and Alaska can supply it to the nation, and help the country avoid its dependency on hostile foreign powers, such as China.
“I cannot accept your argument that I should not, in my role as governor, seek to move viable projects forward for the benefit of economically-depressed regions and our national security, particularly when my only act of ‘promotion,’ both privately and publicly, has been to call for a fair federal review and permitting process. You are no doubt aware of this fact given that you cite a letter, drafted based on my conversations with Pebble project stakeholders, which stated exactly that.”
“You are also aware that, at every juncture of this process, I have stated the best available science will determine the future of the Pebble project. This is true of every resource development project in the state of Alaska. No resource will be sacrificed for the benefit of another. Like Kensington and Greens Creek mines in Southeast Alaska, any proposal within the Bristol Bay Mining District must demonstrate that it can operate in harmony with our fisheries.
“Regardless of the fate of the Pebble project, let me be absolutely clear: I will not stop fighting for the people of the Bristol Bay region who continue to suffer from an acute lack of economic opportunity,” Dunleavy wrote.
He pointed out that the salmon fishery is something he is unwilling to jeopardize, but it takes wealth out of Alaska. Most of the workers in Bristol Bay are from elsewhere, and only 76 local workers filled the 5,471 processing jobs in 2017. For those from the region who fish, they are earning far less than Outside crews. Only 25 percent of commercial permit-holders are Alaskans.
“In the off season, year-around residents are left to cope with unemployment rates that often exceed 12 percent and poverty levels that are more than double the statewide average,” Dunleavy wrote.
This results in real tragedy in families of Southwest Alaska, a vast majority of whom are Native. Suicide and lower life expectancy, low high school graduation rates, and more — Dunleavy said the poverty is unacceptable to him.
“It is disheartening that a representative of this economically depressed region, with so many of their residents deprived of meaningful opportunities to improve their life, would foment opposition to plans to address these inequalities,” Dunleavy wrote, referring to Edgmon.
“The American dream cannot be realized while constrained by dependency on government. I have yet to meet any Alaskan who wishes to live in this manner. A lack of regional development only prolongs this dependency and denies Alaskans their natural right to self-determination,” the governor wrote.
He then asked the two representatives, who are strong advocates for the Alaska commercial fishing industry, to share their plans for the rest of the Bristol Bay Area economy — an economy in which their own constituents might be helped.
“As you know, our legislative session is just months away, and Alaskans are in desperate need of our help. I stand ready and willing to join you in support of resource development projects that provide the year-around jobs and the opportunities needed to ensure the region’s long-term success. The economic adversity facing Bristol Bay poses a steep challenge, but the odds are far from insurmountable if we take action today,” Dunleavy wrote.
Lt. Gov. Kevin Meyer will exhaust the state’s appeal process to protect the integrity of the elections, and try to convince the Alaska Supreme Court to overrule Superior Court Judge Dani Crosby’s opinion that absentee ballots don’t need to be witnessed. He filed an appeal this afternoon.
Crosby issued her ruling on Monday, eliminating the witness requirement for the 2020 General Election. Crosby said that the plaintiffs — the League of Women Voters and Arctic Village Council — had not, in fact, tried to game the calendar by delaying the time of their lawsuit so as to create a crisis.
That aspect of “laches” is likely to come up in the appeal as an abuse of the judge’s discretion. Also, Crosby said that her ruling comes because “it is important to recognize that older individuals, immunocompromised individuals, and members of racial minority groups are at a higher risk of contracting the disease and experiencing severe consequences.”
This is a breaking story and will be updated when MRAK gets the appeal document.
The Municipality of Anchorage is using the Nixle technology platform in a novel way, one that some say is “nanny state” activity.
According to Nixle, text messages from the Municipality and police are for matters of great urgency, such as missing persons, walk-aways from halfway houses, and active crime scenes to avoid. The platform uses email messages for non-urgent messages, according to Nixle’s own terms of use and descriptions.
Now, the Muni appears to be using Nixle to promote panic over COVID-19.
In an “Alert” sent by the Office of Emergency Management, Nixle recipients were warned in the headline, “COVID-19 has killed 210,494 Americans. Cases are surging. COVID-19 could affect you. Take action now to save lives.”
Nixle is a tool that official government agencies sign up for and community members may also sign up for. It’s a way to get emergency information out to people via text messages. But it has rules about use of text messages — they are for urgent notifications.
COVID-19 must be that bad, because hundreds of Nixle users were advised today — via text message, not email — that “GATHERINGS ARE NOT SAFE.”
COVID-19 has killed 210,494 Americans including 36 Anchorage residents. Cases are surging. COVID-19 could affect you.
But it doesn’t have to happen. Together, we must stop COVID-19 with simple steps and smart choices.
• Avoid social gatherings, especially indoors. GATHERINGS ARE NOT SAFE. • Stay home except for essential trips. • Feeling even mild symptoms? Get tested. Stay home. • Wear a mask and stay at least 6 feet from others outside your household.
Not all Nixle users were impressed. Several contacted Must Read Alaska and asked if this means Mayor Ethan Berkowitz is readying another round of shutdowns.
“You’ve got to be joking. This is ridiculous to say the least,” wrote one respondent.
“Wow! More fear mongering! Who approved this? To scare people away from going to the polls? This is ridiculous,” wrote another.
“Berki, you are a joke. Stop the insanity,” and “Wow, politicization at its finest. I will be unsubscribing from Nixle now that it’s a part of the Berkowitz propaganda machine,” were two other comments.
The management of the Performing Arts Center has told Save Anchorage it cannot hang a banner on the side of the Alaska Performing Arts building.
The Black Lives Matter banner that hung there for weeks is now down. It had been approved for the side of the building by the Berkowitz Administration through Oct. 2.
Jamie Allard, Assembly member for the Eagle River area, said the management of the center has been hard to reach, and has not returned her calls, but that a new email she received, there was a clear “no.”
The management of the PAC said that the current banner policy is being revisited due to the kerfuffle over the Black Lives Matter banner, which had turned the building wall into a “public forum.”
But so far the policy has not yet been changed, and that means the Save Anchorage group is being treated unfairly and that the municipality has showed preference to the Black Lives Matter group, Allard said.
In an email to Allard, the PAC management carefully wrote: “As a result of the complaint filed with his office, Municipal Ombudsman Darrel W. Hess informed ACPA that banners for events not happening inside the building create a ‘public forum’ and should not be allowed. As such, the current PAC banner policy is being revised to allow only PAC events to be advertised on any banners placed on the building and no banners that create a “’public forum’ be allowed.
