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Alaska Democrats organize to conduct private primary

Suzanne Downing
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5
Alaska Democrats organize to conduct private primary

RANKED VOTING, MAIL-IN, YOUTH VOTE, GENDER CHOICE

Alaska Democrats are not going to caucus in gymnasiums to determine who their nominee is for president this year.

They are adopting a plan similar to that used by Alaska Republicans, which is a caucus-by-ballot. You don’t stand around a gym for hours, you simply mark your ballot and get on with your life. But it’s not a state-run or state-funded operation. It’s operated by volunteers — political volunteers.

Part of an MRAK exclusive series on the 2020 presidential election.

The Alaska Democratic Party barely received approval from the Democratic National Committee in time to execute its plan, and is now scrambling to get enough volunteers and materials to make the process go smoothly. The clock is ticking and the credibility of the party is certainly on the line after the disastrous experience Alaska Democrats had with their own party in 2016. Back then, the delegates that went to national convention didn’t vote for Bernie Sanders, as they had their instructions to vote for Hillary Clinton.

Party insiders still are not thrilled that the DNC held onto Alaska’s new primary plan for six months before issuing its approval, giving the state party little time to get their logistics in place, as well as their people, their training, and their checks and balances. Their first big deadline is less than two weeks away.

For now, the Democrats’ struggle seems to be to set up meetings in every one of the 40 House district to try to get the word out about how it’s going to work this cycle.

Details have begun to emerge as to how Democrats will nominate their presidential candidate:

All presidential candidates wanting to appear on the Democrats’ private primary ballot must file with the the Alaska Democratic Party by Jan. 24, 2020. There is a fee of $2,500, which will help the party pay for the logistics and a coordinator who has yet to be hired.

All registered Democrats in Alaska will receive a postcard from the Alaska Democratic Party about six weeks before the primary polling process begins.

That postcard will be mailed on Feb. 19, and will describe how to cast an absentee ballot or how to vote in person at one of the several voting centers that will be set up around the state. The postcards will arrive around Feb. 20-21, giving absentee participants little time to send in a request for a mail-in ballot.

Absentee ballots must be postmarked by the voters by March 24 to be counted.

On April 4, the Democrats will hold in-person, caucus-by-ballot voting from 10 am until 2 pm at centers in these communities and boroughs: Anchorage, Fairbanks, Juneau, Mat-Su, Kenai, Dillingham, Bethel, Nome, and Kotzebue. The voting will be overseen strictly by volunteers; there are no paid staffers in most of this process. Ballot security will be an issue. People can register as Democrats on the spot and then vote in this party process.

Democrats who find themselves in other communities can choose to vote at any of the sanctioned Democrat polling stations — they do not need to vote in their home community or precinct.

RANKED VOTING, HERE THEY COME

Democrats will also roll out “ranked choice” voting for their private primary process.

Ranked voting in Democrat-run private primaries being experimented with in Alaska, Hawaii, Kansas, and Wyoming this year. Nevada Democrats will use it for early voters in their 2020 caucuses.

CONFUSED? RANKED CHOICE, THE ICE CREAM ANALOGY

Many people are confused by ranked-choice voting. The ice cream analogy is one of the easiest to understand:

Suppose you are voting for your favorite ice cream: Chocolate, Vanilla, Strawberry are the choices.

The final vote is Chocolate wins with 40 percent of the vote, Vanilla comes in with 36 percent, and Strawberry has 24 percent. But none gets 51 percent.

The Strawberry vote is tossed out as the lowest vote getter.

The second choice of those Strawberry voters went 70 percent for Vanilla and 30 percent Chocolate.

Now, 70 percent of the 24 percent Strawberry voters is awarded to Vanilla, and 30 percent of the 24 percent of Strawberry voters is given to Chocolate.

That means Vanilla now gets 17 more votes. Voila! 36 plus 17 = 53 percent of the vote, so Vanilla wins because Chocolate, once ahead, now only has 47 percent of the vote. 

TOP CHOICE LOSES

In our ice cream analogy, voters who selected the least favorite ice cream as their first choice have their votes added to the totals of their second favorite ice cream, allowing them to vote twice.  And although Chocolate was the favorite, when Vanilla and Strawberry combined their votes, they were able to topple Chocolate.

Ranked choice voting is something that the liberal Outside-funded “Alaskans for Better Elections” is trying to put into law in Alaska through a ballot initiative.

But it could work against the Democrats in Alaska, and their primary experiment will tell them a lot more about whether they want to go down that road.

In 2008, when Sen. Ted Stevens was being challenged by Mark Begich, Stevens would have won under the ranked-voting scenario. The spoilers in the race were the Libertarian and Alaska Independence Party candidates. Those Libertarian and AI voters would probably have ranked Stevens as their second or third choice, rather than Begich:

For the Alaska Democratic Party’s upcoming experiment in ranked voting, the party could have five candidates on its caucus ballot.

Depending on whether Bernie Sanders or another Democrat gets a ground game going in Alaska, ranked-choice voting could mean that the more radical Democrat nominees prevail for Alaska Democrat delegates heading to the national nominating convention.

Why? A person voting for Bernie Sanders (as 82 percent of participating Democrats did in the 2016 Democrat Party caucuses) will not likely choose Joe Biden as a second choice, but will choose someone like Elizabeth Warren. Likewise, a Joe Biden voter will probably not pick Bernie Sanders as their second choice, if they have someone like a Michael Bloomberg or Tom Steyer on the ballot.

The youth vote could also be a factor: All voters who are 17 years old and who would turn 18 by the General Election will be allowed to participate, which may further skew the vote for Sanders in the upcoming vote.

Results of the Democrats’ private primary will be announced before midnight on April 4. Any candidate getting more than 15 percent of the ultimate tally could be entitled to “soft” bind a delegate for the national convention.

DEMOCRATS WILL STILL CAUCUS

Each House district Democrat committee will hold caucuses on Saturday, April 18 to elect officers and delegates for the 2020 state convention, which will be held in Fairbanks this year on May 15-17.

Delegates elected to the state convention will elect delegates to the national convention, July 13-16 in Milwaukee, Wis.

The Democrats’ delegate selection process is going to be gender-sensitive, to the point that it may serve to disenfranchise natural-born women in favor of transgendered individuals who are identifying as women. (According to data from the Social Security Administration, transgendered men-to-women outnumber women-to-men nearly two-to-one.)

“To ensure the district-level delegates are equally divided between
men and women (determined by gender self-identification) delegate positions within each district will be designated by presidential preference beginning with the highest vote-getting presidential preference. This assignment of delegate positions will continue with the next highest vote-getting preferences in descending order, with positions assigned to either male and female,” the Democrats’ manual reads.

The manual, approved by the national party, states that in the case of people who don’t want to choose a gender, they will not be required to: “In the case of non-binary gender delegates, they shall not be counted in either the male or female category.”

The DNC in December awarded the Alaska Democratic Party one additional at-large delegate for the 2020 national nominating convention. In 2016, the Alaska Democrats sent 20 delegates to the national convention.

Poll pays you to say which message works on ‘Better Elections’ propaganda

Suzanne Downing
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11
Poll pays you to say which message works on ‘Better Elections’ propaganda

ILLEGAL POLL SOFTENS TARGET FOR INFLUENCE CARPET-BOMBING

The “Better Elections” ballot initiative, funded with money from progressive groups outside Alaska, is running a web-based poll to find out what messages would make Alaskans more likely to vote for the initiative, which will likely appear on a statewide ballot this year.

“If you qualify and complete the survey,” the polling company says it will give you a $5 Visa gift card or $5 Amazon gift card. The entire poll appears to be in violation of state election laws, and there’s no real $5, nor any way for Alaskans to determine how they might actually qualify.

The poll asks participants to identify if they are an Alaskan, are male or female, Democrat, Republican, or other, where they live, their phone number, and what they think about people like President Donald Trump, former Sen. Mark Begich, among other recognizable names. The poll asks you how likely you are to vote in the upcoming election, and then gets down to the real matter at hand: What argument will most likely persuade you on the Better Elections Initiative:

The questionnaire then proceeds to ask participants which messages would most discourage them from voting in favor of the ballot initiative.

The Better Elections ballot initiative would dismantle party primaries, allowing anyone to vote for any candidate across party lines during the Alaska primary. It would also institute ranked voting. And it would make it harder for third-party groups to conceal the identities of their donors.

Unite America, a liberal group that is trying to take over Alaska’s election system, has contributed over $600,000 to the Alaskans for Better Elections group.

No group has yet formed to oppose the ballot initiative, which many believe would harm conservative candidates.

Ranked voting depends on a complicated computer calculation that could reduce voters’ confidence in the integrity of the election process, since it makes it more likely that the top candidate would ultimately lose in an “instant run-off,” if he/she didn’t get over 50 percent of the vote.

The “instant run-off” works like this:

 If a candidate wins over 50 percent of first-preference votes, he/she is the winner. But if no candidate reaches over 50 percent of first-preference votes, the candidate with the fewest first-preference votes is dropped. Then, the first-preference votes cast for that failed candidate are eliminated, which changes the percentage for the second and first choice candidates. A new count is made to see if one candidate reaches the majority. If not, the candidate with the lowest votes is dropped off and the process is repeated until someone has an outright majority.

The poll doesn’t describe the exact mechanisms of the Better Elections initiative, but only the propaganda surrounding it. There is no disclaimer on the poll, which is likely a violation of state law since it is an issue that is heading for the ballot. It’s unlikely that the Alaska Public Offices Commission will be able to track down the shadow group and penalize it, since it’s impossible to see who is actually authorizing the poll.

Revenue Department sold off key stocks at end of year

Suzanne Downing
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5
Revenue Department sold off key stocks at end of year

The Alaska Department of Revenue, which has $7.7 billion in public fund investments, sold off some of its key holdings at the end of 2019, including shares in Berkshire Hathaway, Apple, Verizon, and Broadcom, according to Barron’s, a financial publication..

“The Alaska Department of Revenue, which collects and invests public funds, cut back on holdings in some of America’s largest companies. It sold class B shares of Berkshire Hathaway (ticker: BRKb), Apple (AAPL), Verizon Communications (VZ), and Broadcom (AVGO) in the fourth quarter. Notably, three are lagging behind the 1.1% gain in the S&P 500 so far in January through Friday’s close. The department disclosed the changes in a form it filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission,” Barron’s reported.

Dunleavy fundraiser/rally raises cash to defend gov.

Suzanne Downing
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25
Dunleavy fundraiser/rally raises cash to defend gov.

SUPREME COURT DECISION NOTWITHSTANDING, IT’S FULL-STEAM AHEAD FOR BOTH SIDES

About 200 people came through the fundraiser for Gov. Mike Dunleavy in Anchorage on Friday evening, Jan. 10. More than $60,000 was raised; the suggested donation was $250 to the Stand Tall With Mike account.

The event in the Megan Room at Davis Constructors took place just hours after a court decision that allowed the Recall Dunleavy Committee to proceed with signature gathering on the next petition it must file to get the matter onto a statewide ballot.

The fact that the fundraiser was scheduled for the same day as the court hearing indicates the Stand Tall With Mike group had a good idea the judge’s ruling would not be favorable to the governor, and was proceeding with the raising money for what will be a battle to fend off a gloves-off, anything-goes attack on him this year, much like his opponents went after him during the 2018 election cycle.

The campaign to unseat Dunleavy has had a year’s head start. Documents filed in court show that the website name “RecallDunleavy.com” was purchased on Feb. 18, 2019 — just five days after the governor’s amended budget was sent to the Legislature. It’s clear that the governor’s attorneys were correct when they said this is a policy battle in search of grounds for recall:

A year’s head start on fundraising and publicity has given the Recall Dunleavy group a cash advantage — it has raised far more than $60,000. The exact amount is unknown, but it raised $40,000 at a Sitka fundraiser alone. The group has paid staff and the names, addresses and email addresses of 50,000 Alaskans who signed the initial application for the recall petition. Major funders of the recall campaign include Ed and Cathy Rasmuson, parents of Sen. Natasha Von Imhof, and principals of the Rasmuson Foundation.

Recall Dunleavy Committee needs those 50,000 people to sign the next petition, and will need to get another 30,000 signatures from around the state, just to make sure it has enough to meet the 71,252 threshold. The committee is hoping to do this and force a special election, when the more motivated voters — largely Democrats and angry liberals — would be likely to make time to go to the polls. The group seeks to avoid the November General Election ballot, when Trump voters are likely to come out.

The Stand Tall With Mike group has been slow in forming because it was unclear for months whether the attempt to recall the governor had a sound legal basis.

Judge Eric Aarseth’s ruling on Friday made it clear that anything goes in politics. His ruling is not likely to be overturned by the Alaska Supreme Court. Therefore, those supporting the governor will now need to raise millions of dollars to defend against what will become a vicious attack on his official conduct and his character.

The $60,000 raised to defend the governor is a drop in the bucket. Stand Tall With Mike will likely require over $1 million to essentially run another campaign in 2020, two years after he was elected by a wide margin.

Everything that Dunleavy does between now and that to-be-calendared special election will be scrutinized, and will be fodder for his opponents to use against him as further evidence of the need to recall him.

The Supreme Court hearing, whenever that occurs, is just a speed bump to what is going to be a savage political year in Alaska.

‘We don’t like it’ becomes legal argument to recall

Suzanne Downing
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21
‘We don’t like it’ becomes legal argument to recall

By ART CHANCE

Once again I was up at oh-dark-thirty on a cold morning and someplace I didn’t really want to be.   

I was representing MRAK and covering the hearing on the summary judgments in the Dunleavy recall matter.

Art Chance
Art Chance

It’s been awhile since I’ve been in a hearing room, but at least these days I can show up without a suit and a tie tied with fearful symmetry.  Instead of the front table, I now get to sit as inconspicuously as possible in the back of the room and diligently take notes, then try to explain what happened.

First, this was not any sort of trial as most people understand that word; there was no factual evidence presented nor witness testimony, and there was no jury, and no verdict determining whether or not the Governor was recalled.   

This was really just boring legal stuff and the outcome was totally predictable.   

In a summary judgment proceeding, the parties have to agree that there are no disputes of fact and that the court has unchallenged jurisdiction.  In a matter such as this, the allegations made by the plaintiff, the complaining party, are presumed to be true.   

The only questions are questions of law as to whether the complaint is sufficient in facts and law to move to the next step, in this case an appeal to the Supreme Court or absent an appeal, to move into the recall process.

Alaska’s recall law limits the complaint and response to two hundred words; I’d have trouble ordering lunch in 200 words, and I’m a pretty good technical and legal writer.   

The Recall Dunleavy mob just plays emotion on allegations of incompetence and unfitness; they don’t define them, and they don’t really provide any objective examples.   

In one attempt, Allegation 3(B) they tried to pose an example, and the judge threw it out as legally insufficient, and he’s right.   This whole thing is a sham.

When I did this sort of stuff for a living, I always advised my principals that if they started a beef that was going to court and involved major interests, especially Democrat interests, they could expect to lose any motions to dismiss, any motions for injunctions, and almost always to lose in the trial court; in the State’s cases, the Superior Court.  

 I did this stuff for about 25 years and I can count on my fingers the times the State won a motion to dismiss, or won on a temporary restraining order or an injunction.   

I can count on my fingers the times in my area that we ever won at the Superior Court level.   Yet, I can also count on my fingers the times we lost at the Supreme Court level.  

There a several reasons for this; the most charitable is that the judges generally believe that the State can afford the time and money and can fix anything with money, so they’ll let a matter proceed until somebody decides it isn’t worth it to appeal again.  

Second, in high profile cases, Superior Court judges would just as soon let the Supreme Court decide rather than take the heat themselves.   

And the worst case, and there are some, is the judge who thinks that if he just does the Democrats a “great service” s/he’ll get the next appointment by a Democrat governor to the Court of Appeals or the Supreme Court.  There is not a lot of majesty in the Law.

I’ll not join some of my conservative/Republican friends in criticizing Judge Aarseth; the Alaska Bar and Bench is generally liberal and was designed by the Founders to be that way.   If you don’t like it, amend the Constitution.   

Until then, if you’re a conservative learn to live with it and win; they’re liberal, but they’re not stupid, so you have to take a position that would embarrass them if they ruled against you.

Aarseth’s decision to deny summary judgment is actually a conservative decision. The only surprise for me is that he did throw out one of the plaintiffs’ allegations, but even that was a decision based on Alaska Courts’ decisional precedence. 

Really, a lower court judge never goes far wrong by just sticking to what judges before him/her have decided on the issue; let the big guys sort it out or pitch it to the Legislature.  

Aarseth basically did that: He laid this on the Legislature. There’ve been some pretty controversial recall cases and the Legislature has on several occasions considered the recall law in Title 15; they’ve never seen fit to change the cause standards for recall.   

As Judge Aarseth opined; recall is fundamentally a political rather than legal process, and he chose not to have the Judiciary intercede in that process. If we wanted to have a really wonky and legalistic discussion, I could quarrel with his decision, but I understand why he did it and don’t think it was fundamentally wrong.

What is important about this for conservative/Republican activists is that this was a blatant exercise in “lawfare.”   

This is an utterly BS complaint; it is utter leftist craziness.  The communists, excuse me, Democrats set up their recall project before the Governor even took office; this was a recall looking for a reason, the same thing we’re dealing with in the sham impeachment of President Trump.

We really need to look at our recall laws, but we don’t control the House, the Senate is practically a Quisling Majority, so that look at the law isn’t likely.   

Right now, “We don’t like it” is a legal basis to recall a rightfully elected governor.  So, I think we need to stand behind Governor Dunleavy to actually stand up to the lawfare campaign; we’ll be there.   

It’s time to go win an election rejecting recall.

Art Chance is a retired Director of Labor Relations for the State of Alaska, formerly of Juneau and now living in Anchorage. He is the author of the book, “Red on Blue, Establishing a Republican Governance,” available at Amazon. 

Lousy election overhaul petition gets its signatures

Suzanne Downing
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8
Lousy election overhaul petition gets its signatures

THE ANCHORAGE DAILY PLANET

Backers of a proposed ballot initiative aimed at massively changing elections in Alaska have turned in more than 41,000 signatures in a bid to qualify the measure for this year’s ballot. It needed only 28,000 signatures.

It is discomfiting so many people were duped.

Backed primarily by moneyed Outside interests, the initiative boasts 25 pages of legalese that would radically change Alaska election law. Pushed by Alaskans for Better Elections, it would, among other things, institute ranked-choice voting, open primaries and limit campaign contributions.

Make no mistake, ranked-choice voting is a terrible idea designed to favor independents and the Left. You could end up voting for somebody you would never vote for in any other circumstances. A Republican could end up with his or her vote going to a Democrat. A Democrat could end up supporting a Republican he or she detests.

The Heritage Foundation describes ranked-choice voting as “a scheme to disconnect elections from issues and allow candidates with marginal support from voters to win elections.”

By any standard, California Gov. Gavin Newsom is no right-wing crank. He vetoed ranked-choice voting for runoffs in his state, saying it “often led to voter confusion, and that the promise that ranked-choice voting leads to greater democracy is not necessarily fulfilled.”

As for opening primary elections? Why? Closed primaries replaced onerous behind-closed-doors candidate selection. Open primaries hamstring a party’s ability to choose its strongest candidates and field those who adhere to and support its platform. How does that strengthen the electoral process and offer the best candidates?

Lt. Gov. Kevin Meyer moved to keep the question off the ballot, claiming the myriad extensive changes violate the state constitution’s single-subject requirement for initiatives.

Superior Court Judge Yvonne Lamoureux in October ruled against him and allowed the group to begin signature-gathering. The judge’s decision in under appeal.

If the question makes it onto the ballot, we can only cross our fingers and hope Alaskans finally see it for what it is – a way to dismantle our election system.

Breaking: Judge lets recall petition go to ballot, while appeal is certain

Suzanne Downing
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41
Breaking: Judge lets recall petition go to ballot, while appeal is certain

It was apparent throughout today’s hearing that no matter what charges a group might lodge — true, false, frivolous, or ridiculous — the voters should have the right to decide on the merits of whether a lawmaker should be recalled in Alaska. It doesn’t matter if the ballot describes falsehoods in its allegations. It will be up to Gov. Mike Dunleavy to essentially run again in a special recall election, and tell people that he did not commit those offenses that are being alleged.

Judge Eric Aarseth issued his ruling today after the Recall Dunleavy Committee and the Attorney General presented their opposing views in Superior Court.

Whatever the allegation are, they are is taken as true, the judge opined. It’s up to the voters to decide “if they are true or not true.” His ruling will be appealed by the governor’s supporters, Stand Tall With Mike to the Alaska Supreme Court.

It was expected that the lower court judge would rule in favor of the Recall committee.

One allegation, however, was struck as false. It said the Legislature was precluded from performing its responsibilities. He said the Legislature could override a veto. But the judge said the other allegations could be interpreted as true.

This court is of the opinion it doesn’t have the discretion to create more stringent definitions” than previous courts, he said.

This story will be updated.

The judge allowed the petitioners to get their next petition from the Division of Elections by no later than Feb. 10, when they can start collecting the 78,000 signatures they will need to place the item on the ballot. The Stand Tall With Mike group said they would ask the judge to stay that decision, although Aarseth had already indicated how he would rule.

Juneau Empire downsizes, shedding photog & sports

Suzanne Downing
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8
Juneau Empire downsizes, shedding photog & sports

Facing a changing media market and less interest in print newspapers by the public, the Juneau Empire has let go two key members of its editorial staff: The staff photographer and the local sports reporter.

Photographer Michael Penn has been with the newspaper since about 1995, and is the longest-serving staff person in the news department. In fact, it’s hard to imagine any editorial department staffer with a longer tenure than Penn in the history of the newspaper, which was founded in 1912 as The Alaska Daily Empire. Nolin Ainsworth has been the local sports and outdoors writer, and he’s now off the roster as well.

“The unfortunate reality, however, is that newspapers of our size can no longer support these dedicated positions,” wrote Robert Monteith, the general manager of the Empire in today’s Friday edition. He went on to acknowledge that the financial pressures would continue without the support of subscribers and advertisers.

In June, the newspaper ceased publishing its print edition on Mondays and rolled the weekly Capital City Weekly into its Thursday edition, basically shutting down the stand-alone publication.

For those who were raised with the Empire, it’s painful to see the capital city newspaper shrink yet again. The newsroom had a staff of 20 when the new millennium started, but is down to four now — an editor and three writers, all of whom are entitled to vacation, sick leave, and an 8-hour day.

Putting out a newspaper under those conditions is going to be a herculean task.

Must Read Alaska publisher Suzanne Downing was the editor of the Juneau Empire when it launched its digital presence on the World Wide Web in the late 1990s.

Ferry changes needed

Suzanne Downing
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18
Ferry changes needed

By WIN GRUENING

It will take more than a public corporation to save Alaska’s ferry system

The study commissioned by Gov. Dunleavy concerning future operations of the Alaska Marine Highway System’s (AMHS) is still being finalized for publication.

The delay in releasing the report has generated some angst among ferry critics and advocates alike.  But it’s critical that the report is vetted closely, and factual errors and inconsistencies are eliminated before its release.

Win Gruening

The report, created under a $250,000 contract to the Anchorage-based firm, Northern Economics, is expected to identify potential reductions of the State’s financial obligation to AMHS but also include analysis of options available for reshaping the system, such as through a public/private partnership.

Many critical of ferry service cuts have characterized the idea of folding AMHS into a public corporation as the cure-all for what ails the ferry system.

But it’s wishful thinking to believe that a public corporation, by itself, can do this.

Without systemic changes in the state’s transportation plan, re-creating AMHS as a public corporation is akin to re-arranging the deck chairs on the Titanic.

A Juneau-headquartered organization, Southeast Conference (SEC), has been the most ardent proponent of forming a “ferry authority” overseen by a professional board of directors. According to SEC Executive Director, Robert Venables, such a structure “would be better to control costs…and raise new revenue streams.”

Most recently, however, SEC seems more focused on protesting system cuts and promoting costly modifications to vessels. SEC’s advocacy of retrofitting AMHS’s newest vessels, “Alaska Class Ferries” (ACFs) designed as “dayboats”, with crew quarters would negate operational costs savings essential to the long-term survival of the system.

Ferry service frequency should improve when vessels now undergoing winter maintenance and retrofits come back online.  But, blindly restoring service to previous levels without substantial reductions in costs is not a solution.  Unless AMHS can continue to reduce its operational costs, adding service, especially on low volume runs, will only drive the subsidy back up. 

BC Ferries, by comparison, subsidize their ferries at approximately 25%, half of AMHS’s subsidy after its budget reductions.

Ironically, it was a unanimously endorsed Southeast Conference regional plan in 1977 that proposed extending roads where possible, eliminating double crews on most vessels and operating primarily day-shuttle ferries.  If that original plan had been fully implemented, it’s likely we wouldn’t be in the fix we are today.

What proponents of adding crew quarters won’t acknowledge is that dayboats with single crews can still be used on longer runs by overnighting vessels in a destination port similar to airline operations today.   

Ferry advocates’ insistence that Alaska’s “roads don’t make a profit” and reducing ferry service would be like “shutting down the Parks Highway” is a faulty comparison.   99.5% of Alaska’s vehicular traffic occurs on roads and over 80% of the highway operations/maintenance budget is offset by users through gas taxes and other fees.  

In contrast, ferries historically have moved less than 1% of vehicular traffic with only 30% of the operational costs paid by users and 70% subsidized by state general funds.

Roads will always be less expensive than ferries.  Despite this, SEC has declined to support the Juneau Access Road Project in upper Lynn Canal that would minimize the need for ferries and allow the system to be downsized, thereby reducing costs.

This project, connecting Juneau with Haines and Skagway, remains the best way to accomplish this.  And to lessen the burden on the State, why not consider making the proposed Lynn Canal Highway a toll road?

The 2018 Juneau Access EIS estimated potential daily road traffic averaging 810 cars (counting both directions).  Annual highway maintenance was estimated at $2.4 million/yr. A toll of around $8 per vehicle would offset this cost and, when added to the Katzehin-Haines shuttle ferry fare, it’s still under $30 each way for vehicle and driver.

That’s the kind of public transportation improvement that can be realized with a day-shuttle ferry operation coupled with a road extension.

Whether a public corporation would be willing to support increased road access as well as raising selected fares, privatizing some services, and renegotiating labor contracts to help lower ferry subsidies remains to be seen. 

Such a balanced approach could garner broad-based support from the Legislature, the Administration and the traveling public.

Win Gruening retired as the senior vice president in charge of business banking for Key Bank in 2012. He was born and raised in Juneau and graduated from the U.S. Air Force Academy in 1970. He is active in community affairs as a 30-plus year member of Juneau Downtown Rotary Club and has been involved in various local and statewide organizations.

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