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.
Across what’s left of newsrooms in Alaska, mainstream and public broadcasting journalists sheltered Mayor Ethan Berkowitz for 72 hours — until they just couldn’t.
It wasn’t until the mayor acknowledged at 4:30 pm on Monday that there are compromising photos of him in the possession of a broadcast reporter that the Anchorage Daily News and other news outlets decided it was a story. Up until that point, it was a figment of Must Read Alaska’s imagination.
The mayor begged everyone to respect his privacy.
This isn’t the first time the ADN has protected Berkowitz. One of the most egregious examples was when his wife, Mara Kimmel, ran over a pedestrian when Berkowitz was queuing up his run for Congress.
The ADN buried that story, never linking Kimmel to her politically ambitious husband, who was just leaving the Legislature to launch his bid against Congressman Don Young.
Over this past summer, the ADN gave Alaskans an example of what journalism is — they pursued the story of a flirtatious set of text exchanges between former Attorney General Kevin Clarkson and a woman who works in the Governor’s Office.
Those text messages became uncomfortable for her, although at the beginning of their exchanges, she appeared fully onboard with a text relationship. They were relatively innocent, but there were plenty of “kissy” emojis from Clarkson to the woman, and the newspaper was relentless in its pursuit of more salacious material it could write about in this case.
Even last week, the newspaper’s top investigative reporter, Kyle Hopkins, was complaining on Twitter that he couldn’t get access to more personnel records pertaining to Clarkson and the still-unnamed woman, who had finally tired of the relationship and took it to a “friend” who took it to the newspaper.
Andrew Halcro, of the Anchorage Community Development Authority, who is a surrogate for the mayor, has posted daily on Twitter how many days it has been since the governor would not release personnel records of Clarkson. Halcro fell silent over the weekend on his daily rant.
The Alaska Press Club had to get in on the action, sending a letter to the governor demanding release of personnel documents.
The Alaska Press Club letter demands that the governor stop criticizing the press just because he doesn’t like their coverage. It was signed by Julia O’Malley, Tom Hewitt, Victoria Barber, Kortnie Horazdovsky, Jacob Resneck, Angela Denning, Michelle Theriault Boots, Anna Rose MacArthur, Lori Townsend, and Tegan Hanlon.
Awkward, guys.
There is no doubt that the full story of reporter Maria Athens and Ethan Berkowitz has not been told. Athens, who started this storm, has more photos of the mayor — frontals views of him in compromising positions, which he sent to her and which she has in a phone that may or may not be in the possession of law enforcement. She has shown these photos to people who have described them to MRAK.
The photographic evidence suggests that this relationship went on during a time when he was running for office, before 2017. The nude photo of him was evidently taken in his private office bathroom in City Hall while he was beginning to be known as the “nothing to report” mayor, the one who never had anything to tell the Anchorage Assembly during his Mayor’s Report on the agenda.
As of now, the mayor has admitted only to what he had to admit to and no more. But there is more. A lot more. The problem with the Anchorage Daily News editorial team, is that they thought Athens had faked the first nude photo of him — the now-infamous back shot. They wanted more proof, and Maria Athens all of a sudden was not a credible reporter in their eyes.
Partial view of the Berkowitz nude selfie. There are others.
The “nothing to report” ADN newsroom just could not believe that the photo was anything but a fake, and so remained mum on Friday, Saturday, Sunday and until the mayor’s written confession came late Monday afternoon.
This is because Berkowitz is a Democrat, and until he said the photo was real, it was not the time to “believe all women,” as the Left likes to say.
The mayor is the Left’s golden boy, and the newsroom needed absolute proof before they would run with a story that would reflect poorly on him.
The double standard is stunning, protecting Berkowitz at all costs at a time when many believe he is — or was — preparing to run for governor.
The local Alaska mainstream media now has the perfect opportunity to prove it is unbiased.
Alaskans should expect weeks of follow up stories on the mayor’s infidelities and not simply accept the mayor’s carefully worded press release.
The ADN will surely print the nude photos of the mayor as they did with the attorney general’s texts. The ADN will surely keep hounding this mayor as they do any Republican in office.
Our unanswered questions that we offer to their reporters at no charge:
Was the relationship ever physical?
Were there any other women that you have had extramarital affairs with?
Why did you, Mr. Mayor, wait three days to disclose these inappropriate messages?
Which part of this, Mr. Mayor, do you consider to be inappropriate? Doing it on City Hall property? Your committed relationship? That she was reporting on City Hall politics?
Assembly Members Jamie Allard, Crystal Kennedy, and John Weddelton are the only three who voted in favor of a public hearing. The rest of the Assembly — Forrest Dunbar, Suzanne LaFrance, Felix Rivera, Meg Zalatel, Austin Quinn-Davidson, and Kameron Perez-Verdia — refused to allow public testimony, indicating that no public hearing is planned for Tuesday.
If the public is denied the opportunity to testify, will residents continue to abide by shutdowns? Can the Anchorage economy withstand another hunker down in Anchor-town?
Tuesday’s vote comes at a pivotal point for Anchorage residents and businesses. The city’s economy, public health, and the Mayor’s moral authority are all in crisis mode heading into tomorrow’s Assembly meeting.
It’s unclear whether the city’s economy, which teeters on the brink of possible collapse, can sustain another lockdown. Small businesses, like Momma O’s, CampoBello Bistro, Marco T’s Pizzeria, and Red Chair Cafe are closing their doors daily. With little financial assistance available from the Municipality, more are sure to follow suit.
The Assembly allotted just $6 million to the CARES Act’s small business stabilization program while allocating over double the amount, $12.5 million, to purchase homeless facilities.
Assembly Members Dunbar, LaFrance, and Quinn-Davidson will propose adding $10 million to the small business relief program, but many contend the gesture is still not enough to stabilize the city’s fragile economy.
Tourism and hospitality programs and some nonprofits received a separate allocation.
Adding to the crisis is the sudden rise in confirmed COVID-19 cases around the state. Epidemiologists have estimated that Alaska’s total case count will double in roughly 20 days, based on current modeling.
Tuesday’s vote will play an essential role in Anchorage’s economic outlook as the mayor may call for another citywide lockdown.
Yet, Berkowitz has more than rising COVID-19 cases on his mind.
On Friday, Mayor Berkowitz was at the center of an explosive story by former FOX News reporter Maria Athens. A video posted to Athen’s Facebook page claimed the Mayor exposed his genitalia on an underage girl’s website. Athens reported having photographs and “reliable sources” on the matter. To this point, the post is still up on her Facebook page, garnering over 1,000 comments, and nearly 1,000 shares.
That afternoon, the Mayor’s office released a brief statement calling the story defamatory and false, citing Athens as hostile and unwell.
Assembly member Forrest Dunbar and former member Eric Croft, both members of the Mayor’s inner circle, have come to the Mayor’s defense over the weekend, releasing separate statements vouching for his unquestionable character.
Today at 4:30 pm, Mayor Berkowitz released a statement admitting to having, what he called, an inappropriate messaging relationship with Maria Athens several years ago. Since his initial statement on Friday, the Mayor’s office had been silent on the matter, until he announced today a previously secret relationship with Athens.
Now, many residents are questioning the Mayor’s moral authority to retain his emergency powers, which give him nearly absolute control over city functions.
In his statement, Berkowitz said, “It takes time to rebuild trust, and I hope you afford me the opportunity to do so. During the remaining months of my term, I will continue working on the important issues we face.”
Today’s bombshell will have a ripple effect on the mayor’s political clout moving forward. As protesters line the Loussac Library tomorrow night, Mayor Berkowitz may be forced to do the “walk of shame” in front of critics who do not wish to see his executive powers extended.
Will the Assembly continue to entrust Anchorage’s future to this administration and relinquish their authority, with the city’s economy on the brink, or will they vote to maintain a separation of powers and begin the slow process towards economic recovery?
Tuesday promises to be a dynamic day in the Municipality of Anchorage.
Mayor Ethan Berkowitz today issued the following statement:
I apologize to the people of Anchorage for a major lapse in judgment I made several years ago when I had a consensual, inappropriate messaging relationship with reporter Maria Athens. I’m embarrassed and ashamed for the hurt I’ve caused my family and our community. I take responsibility for my actions. A joint investigation into the recent allegations made by Ms. Athens was completed by the Anchorage Police Department and FBI and found no evidence of criminal conduct.
It takes time to rebuild trust and I hope you afford me the opportunity to do so. During the remaining months of my term, I will continue working on the important issues we face.
Please consider my family’s privacy during this difficult time.
The statement came out at 4:30 pm on Monday. At the same time, Assembly Chairman Felix Rivera issued the following statement:
We were informed today of improper and distasteful actions taken by our Mayor. While an investigation by APD and the FBI found no illegal activity based on the allegations made against the Mayor last Friday, we now understand that the Mayor engaged in a consensual yet inappropriate relationship with an adult. We are disappointed and disheartened by this news and send our heartfelt support to First Lady Dr. Mara Kimmel and the rest of the Mayor’s family, who we know are going through a very difficult time.
Despite today’s news, there remains much work to do to improve the lives of local residents and the Assembly is dedicated to continuing its important work.
The Assembly meets on Tuesday to vote on extending the mayor’s emergency powers in the midst of a surge in COVID-19 cases in Alaska.
On Oct. 14, the mayor and his wife were expected to be honored at the Congregation Beth Shalom’s Shining Light Awards, which was to be held online for the first time. The Synagogue announced today that the entire event has been cancelled, or “unavoidably postponed.”
Gavin Christiansen, a candidate for Senate Seat F, Wasilla, is in big trouble. On the ballot as a petition Libertarian candidate, he is in custody for murder after a road rage incident on Sunday.
According to Troopers, Christiansen, 38, was involved in a road rage incident involving a firearm. During the call, Christiansen reportedly shot and killed Devin Moorhouse, 35, of Anchorage.
Prior to Christiansen contacting the Troopers, Moorhouse’s vehicle struck Christiansen’s vehicle at a gravel pit off of Willow-Fishhook Road in Willow.
That’s when Christiensen reportedly fired shots at Moorhouse’s vehicle as Moorhouse drove away, with Christiansen in pursuit. The chase went on for five miles, after which Moorhouse wrecked his vehicle in a ditch near milepost 37 of Willow-Fishhook Road, where the final shooting incident took place.
Christiansen was arrested and is in Mat-Su Pretrial, held on Murder in the First and Second Degrees. Moorhouse’s family was notified. During the incident, a child was in the Moorhouse vehicle but was uninjured.
Must Read Alaska has learned that the two men knew each other. The two were recently sparring on Facebook.
Palmer Police have been to Christiansen’s house numerous times on calls relating to domestic disputes. As for Moorhouse, he had been arrested in Juneau in 2012, after a drunk driving spree where he eluded police and finally wrecked his car into a tree.
District F is currently represented by Sen. Shelley Hughes and is one of the more conservative areas of the state.
Senate hearings begin Monday at 9 am as part of the confirmation process for Judge Amy Coney Barrett, who is President Trump’s nominee for the U.S. Supreme Court.
With only three weeks left until the voting ends for the 2020 General Election, this confirmation hearing has everything to do with politics. A conservative justice on the Supreme Court is, for many conservatives, more important than even winning the White House.
Replacing the late Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Judge Barrett, 48, could become the youngest member to join the high court since Clarence Thomas in 1991.
The Senate Judiciary Committee will hold hybrid in-person and telephonic meetings, with vice presidential nominee Sen. Kamala Harris attending remotely. Hearings are expected to continue over four days.
Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina chairs the Judiciary Committee and Sen. Dianne Feinstein of California is the ranking leader for the Democrats. The committee is made up of these senators:
Alyse Galvin, running for U.S. Congress as the Democrats’ nominee, has an impressive list of her prior donations to campaigns of Democrats, ranging from Anchorage Mayor Ethan Berkowitz to AFL-CIO President Vince Beltrami. She also donated to current vice presidential candidate Kamala Harris and former presidential candidate Hillary Clinton.
Since 2012, Galvin has donated more than $13,500 to state Democrat candidates, even though she has been unemployed much of that time. A few of the names of her candidate donation list make up the “who’s who” of the Alaska Democrats:
Mayor Ethan Berkowitz, embroiled in a current scandal
Byron Mallott, left office prematurely in scandal
Bill Walker, served one term, left in scandal
Austin Quinn Davidson, serves on Anchorage Assembly
Harry Crawford, former representative
Suzanne LaFrance, currently Anchorage Assembly, running for House
Liz Snyder, running for House
Adam Wool, current representative
Matt Claman, current representative
Geran Tarr, current representative
Kameron Perez-Verdia, current Anchorage Assembly
Forrest Dunbar, current Anchorage Assembly
Meg Zalatel, current Anchorage Assembly
Elvi Gray-Jackson, current state senator
Berta Gardner, former state senator
Bryce Edgmon, current representative
Ivy Spohnholz, current representative
Tiffany Zulkosky, current representative
Andi Story, current representative
Sarah Hannan, current representative
Zack Fields, current representative
Felix Rivera, current Anchorage Assembly
Eric Croft, former Anchorage Assembly
Tom Begich, current state senator
Hollis French, former state senator
House Democratic Campaign Committee
A review of Galvin’s FEC reports shows she donated to:
Political newcomer and kombucha businessmen Brian Daniels has unseated Linda Combs on the Palmer City Council. With absentee and questioned ballots now counted, he edged out the incumbent Combs by 13 votes.
“Some of you might know me from my days at Vagabond Blues or as current co-owner at 203 Kombucha. I’m also a huge music nerd and absolutely love the talent that Palmer has to offer…which has culminated into starting a music production company called 3000-21 Productions,” Daniels wrote. He is a graduate of Colony High School.
With Daniels joining the Palmer City Council, the edge is decidedly more liberal with a 4-3 liberal advantage. Daniels’ kombucha business was one of the prime sponsors of a Black Lives Matter rally this summer in Palmer.
Some 1,211 people voted in the Oct. 6 municipal election. Also elected was Sabrena Combs. 729 people voted absentee, questioned, early, or special needs ballots, while only 482 voters showed up at the polls on election day.
