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Dunleavy continues outreach at White House and media

Suzanne Downing
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13
Dunleavy continues outreach at White House and media

CNBC, FOX, WALL STREET JOURNAL, AND MEETING WITH PRESIDENT

Gov. Michael Dunleavy is once again on an ambassadorial tour for Alaska, and is in Washington, D.C. this week talking to the media and attending meetings with the White House.

On Monday, he spoke to an auditorium of conservatives at the Heritage Foundation in Washington, D.C. touching on the familiar themes of how Alaska is a resource state, how spending ballooned for years, and how he’s trying to tamp down spending now that prices have dropped.

The topic of the speech is familiar territory for Alaskans, with no new announcements made.

His speech was announced in advance to the media on Friday, and was posted on social media again on Monday, and was available for Alaskans to watch on livestream, as they often must do when Alaska’s public officials give public addresses.

But the Anchorage Daily News, which fawned on Gov. Bill Walker when he went on tour, characterized it as an unexplained escape from Alaska.

In the ADN report on the speech, Dunleavy was shown as leaving Alaska after filing the state budget last week, and indicates the reporter feels rebuffed that he could not obtain a trip itinerary.

Further, the story leads with an observation that Dunleavy hasn’t made any public appearances in Alaska since Dec. 11, when he delivered the proposed budget to the Legislature; five whole days without a public appearance in Alaska:

“In his first public appearance since releasing his proposed state budget, Gov. Mike Dunleavy spoke Monday morning at the Heritage Foundation in Washington, D.C.

“The purpose of the governor’s East Coast trip wasn’t immediately clear, and the governor’s press office did not respond to requests for an itinerary. Dunleavy traveled to the East Coast in October on a national media swing and met with President Donald Trump, who subsequently tweeted his support of the governor against the recall campaign.

“The Heritage Foundation, a conservative think-tank, offered a friendly reception for the governor, who left Alaska for his most recent trip after revealing his proposed spending plan on Wednesday.” – Anchorage Daily News

Media critics noted to Must Read Alaska that the story signals frustration on the writer’s part.

After Dunleavy’s remarks, he gave an interview to The Daily Signal, a news website run by the Heritage Foundation. His interview is in a quick-read format at this link.

On Tuesday morning, Dunleavy was a guest on CNBC’s Squawk Box, where he spoke about the upcoming vote on impeachment of the president. He’ll be doing Fox, Bloomberg, and the Wall Street Journal editorial board, as he acts as an ambassador of Alaska.

On Monday, he also attended President Donald Trump’s roundtable on regulatory reform with nine other governors, the president, vice president, the OMB director and several members of the president’s cabinet. The topic was how to make better decisions that help businesses by ensuring that regulations are not onerous. This is Dunleavy’s sixth meeting with the president since winning office in 2018.

DUNLEAVY’S REMARKS AT WHITE HOUSE ROUNDTABLE

GOVERNOR DUNLEAVY:  Mr. President, it’s a pleasure to be here.  I want to thank you for all of things that you’re doing.  Because I don’t think what people realize is that numbers don’t lie; the numbers don’t lie when you’re talking about unemployment, investment, et cetera.

And what you’re doing for the country is, obviously, helping Alaska tremendously.  Kind of far away, tucked up there in the north — but we now have record unemployment in Alaska.  Our GDP is up now two quarters in a row.  Personal income is up higher than it’s been in 10 years.  More personal wealth is being created in Alaska.

I also want to do a shout-out from the troops.  I don’t know if folks know this, but whenever the President flies over to Asia, he lands in Alaska and refuels.  But unlike some others in the past, he gets out of the plane, and he goes and he meets the troops.  And they talk about it all of the time.  All of the time.

THE PRESIDENT:  It’s true.  Every time.  Every time.

GOVERNOR DUNLEAVY:  And I get an opportunity to talk with the President.  And it’s not just a “BS” session, but it’s about: What can we do to help Alaska?  What’s happening in your state?  What do we need to work with?

And I would say, Mr. President — and I’m being honest — I can’t think of a President that’s helped Alaska more than you have, with trying to deregulate a number of the projects that we’ve been working on, helping us gain a leg up again to be one of the top energy-producing states in the country.  And I just want to thank you.

And, in terms of regulation, in terms of helping the military spouses, we’re doing our part.  We’re looking at 239 different regulations to either modify or roll back in over 100 professions.

We have a large indigenous population in the state of Alaska.  About 15 percent of our people are Alaska natives.  And your work on — working on missing indigenous women, your work on public safety, your work on opioids — again, the numbers don’t lie.

You’re doing a tremendous job.  And I want to thank you on behalf of the people of Alaska, because what you’re doing is helping us tremendously as well.

THE PRESIDENT:  And now logging — we did a big thing on logging.

GOVERNOR DUNLEAVY:  Absolutely. 

THE PRESIDENT:  And we did a very big thing on ANWR, which is potentially the biggest in the world.  We’ll see what it is ultimately, but it’s potentially the biggest site in the world.  So it’ll be very interesting to see how that turns out.

Watch the regulatory roundtable here.

Dunleavy also had a meeting with Education Secretary Betsy DeVos to discuss how to improve reading and math among Alaska’s schools, and the tribal compact he is focusing on to improve outcomes in rural schools.

Wayback machine: Democrats’ impeachment quotes that didn’t age well

Suzanne Downing
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5
Wayback machine: Democrats’ impeachment quotes that didn’t age well

House Democrats didn’t always express their sheer determination to impeach President Donald J. Trump. Some quotes from the past show that once upon a time, some leading Democrats shared a different point of view, when it came to President Bill Clinton:

  • Rep. Jerry Nadler blasted impeachment complaining “they have been persecuting this President since the day he took office because they cannot abide the thought that we could have a President fighting for us.”
  • Nancy Pelosi admitted that Democrats have been bent on impeachment for over 2.5 years.
  • Then Rep. Chuck Schumer complained that impeachment was not bipartisan: “We are routinely using criminal accusations and scandal to win the political battles and ideological differences we cannot settle at the ballot box.”
  •  Rep. Maxine Waters said impeachment was a “coup d’état” because “they are trying to do with this impeachment what they were unable to do at the ballot box” and called on Congress to “stop the madness” and “to get on with the work of the American people.” That was 21 years ago, when President Clinton was impeached.
  •  Rep. Zoe Lofgren said that moving forward on impeachment “on a partisan basis … will do damage to our country.” (Only Democrats support impeaching President Trump.)
  •  Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee blasted impeachment based on “very insignificant” facts and no violations of the Constitution.
  • Rep. Barbara Lee said impeachment was an “attempt to undo a government that is duly elected by the people.”

OTHER FUN FACTS

Rules Committee Vice Chair Rep. Alcee Hastings was impeached in 1988 for “conspiracy, bribery, perjury, falsifying documents, thwarting a criminal investigation, and undermining the public confidence ‘in the integrity and impartiality of the judiciary.’”

Even Democrat voters are rejecting impeachment. A new CNN poll found that since November support for impeachment amongst Democrats has dropped by 13 points.

Anchorage Assembly to consider alcohol tax and sales taxes for April ballot

Suzanne Downing
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23
Anchorage Assembly to consider alcohol tax and sales taxes for April ballot

THREE SALES TAX PROPOSALS AND A BEVY OF BONDS

Voters may have said “no” to the Anchorage Assembly’s proposed alcohol tax this past April, but three hard-left Assembly members want a do-over.

Assembly members Felix Rivera, Austin Quinn-Davidson and Forrest Dunbar are asking the Assembly to approve putting an alcohol tax on the ballot just one year after the public gave it a thumbs down. The tax would include dedicating the proceeds to “public safety and health purposes.”

Dunbar is running for mayor, and Rivera and Quinn-Davidson are up for re-election in April, along with their tax plan.

Christine Hill has filed against Rivera, and William Pohland is running against Quinn-Davidson. Bill Evans, a conservative, has filed for mayor, but that election is not until 2021.

Voters in April were not impressed with the Assembly’s plan to use the proposed drink tax to provide homeless services. Under Mayor Ethan Berkowitz, the homelessness situation has intensified, and Berkowitz’ public safety promises have failed to produce a safer community. Anchorage is on track to match a record year for homicides

52 percent of voters said no on the alcohol tax, in what many perceived as a vote of no-confidence.

Now, the “tax pack” appear to believe it’s a matter of marketing this alcohol tax to the voters. They’re also wording the tax question so it can pass with 50 percent plus one vote.

The ordinance cites public safety, child abuse and domestic violence, and substance misuse treatment. It avoids the word “homelessness,” which turned off voters last time. Funding for “public safety and health” is a vast and general category that includes dealing with street people, drug addicts, public inebriates and more.

The tax they propose is the same as the one earlier this year — 5 percent, whether you drink it in a bar, or buy it at a retail store.

Anchorage Proposed Alcohol TaxDownload

The Assembly just passed the highest budget in the city’s history. At $540 million, it’s 14.5 percent higher than the budget in 2014, before Mayor Ethan Berkowitz took office.

The alcohol tax would bring in as much as $15 million per year, by skimming up to 40 cents for a six pack of beer, and 50 cents for a mixed drink. That’s nearly 3 percent more for the city budget.

TWO OTHER SALES TAXES FOR ANCHORAGE?

It’s not the only sales tax in the works for Anchorage’s ballot in April.

A little-known group named Project 20 is pushing to put a a three-year sales tax on the April ballot. Project 20 also would tax alcohol, but other retail items are taxed as well at 3 percent, with a cap for purchases over $900. Project 20 is registered at the Alaska Public Offices

Some of the projects that the 3 percent sales tax would pay for include creating a mushing district, addressing homelessness, and improving areas in the downtown corridor:

A third sales tax will be discussed at tonight’s Anchorage Assembly meeting. AO 2019-156 would enact a sales tax, half of which would be dedicated to property tax relief and the other half dedicated to public safety. The tax would expire in 2028, unless continued by voters. It is being proposed by Assemblyman Fred Dyson of Eagle River.

It’s unlikely that all three sales taxes will be approved by the Assembly for the April ballot.

Bonds are also up for discussion for the April ballot:

  • AO 2019-145: $82,833,000 for capital projects for schools.
  • AO 2019-149: $39,300,000 for roads and storms, and would increase the tax cap.
  • AO 2019-150: $3,950,000 for parks and trails and would increase the tax cap.
  • AO 2019-152: $2,050,000 for fire protection and would increase the tax cap.
  • AO 2019-153: $5,095,000 for public safety and transit.
  • AO 2019-154: $4,375,000 for capital projects and would increase the tax cap.
  • AO 2019-155: $2,200,000 for Girdwood capital improvement and would increase the tax cap.

Those bonds will be discussed at the Assembly meeting on Tuesday evening.

The Anchorage Assembly meets at the Anchorage Assembly on Tuesday. The meeting starts at 5 pm with a business meeting at the Loussac Library Assembly Chambers, and usually runs past 11 pm.

The meeting agenda is at this link.

Homicide in Mountain View, 34th for Anchorage this year

Suzanne Downing
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6
Homicide in Mountain View, 34th for Anchorage this year

Update: Police are looking for person of interest, 43-year-old Tierre Eady. Detectives believe he may have information regarding the homicide at the Holiday Station on Mountain View Dr. today and would like to speak with him. Eady is 6’0” tall, 210 pounds with short cropped black hair and brown eyes. If you have knowledge of his whereabouts, please call Police Dispatch at 311, option 1.

Police are seeking the public’s help to gather facts surrounding a homicide that occurred at the Holiday Station at 4627 Mountain View Drive at 10:12 am on Monday, Dec. 16.

When officers arrived, they found a man who had life-threatening gunshot wound. The man died at the scene.

Investigators say there was some kind of altercation before the shot was fired. No arrests have been made.

This is the 34th homicide in Anchorage in 2019, with the 35th homicide victim. Also, it’s the seventh homicide in December. The record for homicides was set in 2017 with 37.

Mountain View Drive is temporarily shut down between N Pine Street and N Bliss Street, and there will be a large police presence in the area as officers investigate.

Detectives are seeking witnesses who were in the area this morning and may have information. Anyone with information about this investigation, including surveillance video, is asked to call Dispatch at 311. To give an anonymous tip, you may contact Crime Stoppers at 561-STOP or online at AnchorageCrimeStoppers.com

Must Read: Articles of impeachment of Trump

Suzanne Downing
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28
Must Read: Articles of impeachment of Trump

JUST RELEASED BY HOUSE COMMITTEE

Here are the complete articles of impeachment of President Donald J. Trump, as released Sunday night by the House Judiciary Committee’s Democrat majority.

Impeachment ReportDownload

The committee approved two articles — abuse of power and obstruction of Congress. The committee vote went along party lines.

The House Rules Committee meets Tuesday to establish the rules for the debate on the House floor, preceding the full vote..

The House is scheduled to debate and vote on Wednesday. Debate on the issue is likely to consume the entire day, and Speaker Nancy Pelosi said she will not require Democrats to vote a certain way, but that this will be a matter of conscience. Democrats will try to get the vote accomplished for the evening news cycle.

Because Democrats control the House, the resolution will likely pass with a majority, although some Democrats are expected to vote against in, particularly those who serve districts where Trump is popular.

This will be the third impeachment of a president in U.S. history; Andrew Johnson and Bill Clinton were impeached, but no president has been removed from office through impeachment.

The charges will then go over to the Senate as a “privileged resolution,” which means the Senate must take it up immediately, with the senators serving as the jury. U.S. Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts will preside.

The prosecutors will come from the ranks of the House Democrats and the president will choose his own defense lawyers. The trial is expected to take place in January.

Anchorage poised to gamble on gov-to-gov relations with Eklutna Tribe, allow casinos

Suzanne Downing
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23
Anchorage poised to gamble on gov-to-gov relations with Eklutna Tribe, allow casinos

The Anchorage Assembly is getting ready to establish government-to-government relations with the Village of Eklutna, which is within the Municipality of Anchorage near Chugiak. The Tribal Council of Eklutna estimates the population of the tribe to be about 70, with members scattered across Alaska.

That’s about the size of a large family, with aunts, uncles and cousins in the mix.

A resolution to be voted on Tuesday recognizes the tribe as a sovereign entity, but does not describe what sovereignty means in this context.

In general terms, tribal sovereignty means there is an inherent authority of indigenous tribes to govern themselves within the borders of the United States. However, most tribes are deeply dependent on federal, state and local governments, and are unable to actually function as sovereign entities. Tribes are sometimes called “domestic dependent nations” inside the U.S., as wards of the government that operate a limited amount of their own affairs.

The Anchorage resolution “recognizes there are inherent rights, opportunities, protections, and obligations that come with self-governance,” yet fails to describe those inherent rights, opportunities, protections, and obligations. Are they Second Amendment rights? What inherent rights do some Americans have that others don’t?

The resolution is silent on the definitions.

Anchorage Resolution EklutnaDownload

The matter of tribal gaming looms large in this discussion. In October, the tribe sued the Department of Interior for blocking the tribe’s attempt to open a gaming operation along the Glenn Highway near the Birchwood Airport in Chugiak. Mayor Ethan Berkowitz has come out in support of tribal gambling enterprise, which he has described as modest. The initial plan is for electronic bingo games.

Eklutna Tribe vs. Interior LawsuitDownload

Last year, the Interior Department ruled that the tribe does not have governmental authority over the specific land earmarked for the gaming facility. The land does not constitute “tribal land” under the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act, according to DOI.

Currently, there is just one tribal gambling operation in Alaska at the sole sovereign Indian Reservation in the state. Metlakatla opted out of the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act, and chose to retain rights to its land, which is in federal trust status. The tribe runs an electronic bingo hall in the village.

The government-to-government compact would help the municipality have a seat at the table to further the gambling plans, which the tribe has been working on for two decades.

While many Alaskans are concerned that this new interpretation of sovereignty could open the floodgates to the development of casinos, others see economic opportunity and jobs.

The Eklutna members are arguing that the plot of land in question is part of their ancestral homeland, and that the tribe is active in land management and protection. The lawsuit says that the Department of Interior has ruled in favor of tribes in other states that want to operate “Class II” gambling facilities on non-reservation allotments.

Eklutna as a tribal government was organized in 1961, long after Anchorage was a growing metropolis. At the time, its membership was about 50. It is a federally recognized tribe, and among the smallest.

Its mission is “to empower Idlughet Qayeht’ana (Eklutna Village Dena’ina) by promoting the history, culture and identity of our sovereign nation, and to assist in the education and well-being of our Tribe.”

The resolution is sponsored by Assembly members Chris Constant, Kameron Perez-Verdia, and Forrest Dunbar, who is a declared candidate for mayor.

Governor to speak at Heritage Foundation

Suzanne Downing
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16
Governor to speak at Heritage Foundation

Gov. Mike Dunleavy is heading to Washington, D.C. this weekend; on Monday he will speak to an audience at the Heritage Foundation. His remarks on his commitment to transparency in budgeting, his approach to fiscal discipline, will take place at 11 am Eastern Time, 7 am Alaska time.

“Following years of deficit spending, in his first year in office and facing a $1.6 billion fiscal gap, Alaska Governor Mike Dunleavy proposed a budget that aligned expenditures with revenues,” the Heritage Foundation wrote in its introduction of the event.

The event will be live streamed at www.heritage.org.

The Heritage Foundation is a conservative think tank based in Washington, D.C., that focuses on public policy.

Increasingly radical AFN loses its largest corporate members, ASRC, Doyon

Suzanne Downing
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37
Increasingly radical AFN loses its largest corporate members, ASRC, Doyon

UPDATE: Doyon is also out of AFN, Must Read Alaska has just learned.

The Alaska Native Corporation ASRC board of directors has voted unanimously to leave the Alaska Federation of Natives.

No explanation was given by the corporation, which is the largest of the 13 regional Native corporations set up after President Richard Nixon signed the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act, or ANCSA, into law in December, 1971.

KTUU reported that AFN President Julie Kitka was putting a positive spin on the development, saying that AFN still hopes to work with ASRC.

But losing its wealthiest member has to be a setback for her increasingly radicalized organization; AFN was founded in 1966 but is a very different organization today under Kitka’s leadership. During the most recent convention, it became apparent that the radical elements had taken control. ASRC’s Chairman Crawford Patkotak (Ahkivgak) rose to speak against the climate change resolution during the convention in October, but his remarks were not heeded by AFN, which passed the resolution anyway.

ASRC has also recently joined forces with other business entities in Alaska under the banner of “One Alaska,” to fight the latest oil tax hike initiative called “Our Fair Share,” which is now in the signature-collecting stage. An increase in the oil tax would put a chill on the investment decisions still pending for major North Slope oil projects that are predicted to bring a renaissance of prosperity to Alaska.

During the recent AFN conference, the organization declared a climate change emergency that may have played poorly in the board rooms of the Native Corporations, some of which have businesses that intersect with Alaska’s oil patch. ASRC, based on the North Slope, has extensive financial ties with oil exploration and production, and is the largest Alaska-based corporation.

ASRC owns Petro Star Inc., the only Alaska-owned refining and fuel marketing operation in the state, with two refineries along the Trans-Alaska Pipeline that serve Alaska communities from the Interior all the way to Dutch Harbor. It’s one of its several successful lines of business that bring handsome dividends to shareholders.

Other Native Corporations could follow ASRC’s lead as they watch AFN use the youth from rural areas to push an anti-business agenda. AFN’s political focus now includes shutting down the oil industry due to climate change concerns.

ASRC is looking at how to grow jobs for shareholders and how to add value to Alaska’s economy, while defending whaling, which is an important quality of life issue for its shareholders, sustaining them for thousands of years.

ASRC endorsed Gov. Mike Dunleavy in 2018, while AFN endorsed Mark Begich after Gov. Bill Walker withdrew from the race. During the AFN conference in October, radicals disrupted Dunleavy’s remarks. He had been invited to speak but was shouted down by the radicals in the audience. It was an unprecedented act of disrespect to an invited guest, and occurred while First Lady Rose Dunleavy, who is Inupiaq, stood by her husband on the stage, in shock.

[Read: Governor shouted down at AFN by protesters]

That may have been the turning point for Native Corporations, who are voting with their feet. It signals a marginalization of AFN if the companies that finance their conventions decide to withdraw.

In an internal letter, CEO and President Rex Rock said the decision was to reprioritize the company’s efforts toward its home region, to focus on the needs of Alaskans on the North Slope, stakeholders, and communities, and the people the company strives to serve. He said the company would continue to work with AFN on issues where there is alignment.

Calista and Doyon also own oil-related companies. Must Read Alaska learned this evening that Doyon has also decided to leave AFN.

Planned Parenthood wants midwives and nurses to get in on the abortion action

Suzanne Downing
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8
Planned Parenthood wants midwives and nurses to get in on the abortion action

A lawsuit by Planned Parenthood against the State of Alaska and State Board of Nursing claims the prohibition against nurses and midwives performing abortions is an illegal barrier for women seeking to end their pregnancies.

Planned Parenthood filed the lawsuit Thursday, saying that state law and the Board of Nursing provide no justification for barring nurse practitioners and midwives from performing abortions.

Planned Parenthood affiliates in other parts of the nation have filed 11 similar lawsuits against states that restrict abortion procedures to licensed physicians. It’s part of the Planned Parenthood attempt to expand abortion across the 50 states during a time when the U.S. Supreme Court is more balanced than it has been for years.

Gov. Mike Dunleavy has replaced all but one of the members of the Board of Nursing, and the executive director was replaced after the Legislature made a scathing report about the board’s poor performance.

The new Board of Nursing is decidedly more conservative than the board appointed by Gov. Bill Walker, who also had attempted to appoint a Planned Parenthood employee to the Board of Midwives. The entire Board of Nursing is named in the lawsuit.

[Read: Walker appoints Planned Parenthood veterans to Midwives Board]

Planned Parenthood says the rights of women are being violated because abortions can only be performed by physicians.

The abortion industry group wants others in the medical profession to be able to perform what they call “low-risk aspiration procedures,” which are, in fact, the most common type of abortion procedure.

Those procedures are generally done with a syringe or mechanical vacuum up to 12 weeks after the last menstrual cycle, when a baby has most of his or her vital organs and systems fully formed. The baby, which in its 12th week is about the size of a kiwi, cannot survive outside the womb. The basic brain structure is complete by week 12. The baby spends the rest of its gestation maturing those organs to be prepared for birth.

There were 1,283 abortions reported in Alaska in 2018, up from 1,255 reported the previous year. 98 percent of those abortions were performed by the 13th week of gestation, according to the annual report from the Department of Health and Social Services.

Planned Parenthood has an active training program in Washington and Hawaii to help non-doctors enter the field of abortion services, since fewer physicians are interested in entering the field.

Laws that allow for physician-only abortions were put in place across the nation after Roe v. Wade to protect the health of the surviving mother from untrained and unlicensed abortion providers. Now, a handful of states allow advanced nurse practitioners and others to perform early-stage abortions.

In Alaska, where there are so few abortions performed, having an out-of-practice nurse or midwife perform an abortion on occasion may actually introduce new risks, critics say.

The lawsuit joins a long list of others filed by those opposing the Dunleavy Administration and its conservative mandate from voters. Another lawsuit regarding abortion is claiming Gov. Dunleavy’s veto of funding to the court system over its abortion mandates is illegal.

Status report: Democrat-led lawsuits, ballot initiatives flood Administration
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