After eight days of sometimes rambling and regularly wandering testimony over the course of two weeks, the $1 million lawsuit former Alaska Dispatch News editor Tony Hopfinger filed against old boss Alice Rogoff is set to be handed to an Anchorage jury today.
Superior Court Judge Andrew Guidi set closing arguments in the so-called “napkin case” for 8:30 a.m. Tuesday. The jury should get the case by afternoon.
[Editor’s note: The jury has, on Tuesday, been given the case for judgment.]
Along the way she blew up what she summarized as a professional marriage to Hopfinger and now ex-wife Amanda Coyne, the co-founder of the Dispatch; helped get friend Bill Walker elected governor of Alaska; finally divorced Rubenstein; and left a trail of chaos in her wake.
A group of Democratic lawmakers and lawmakers-elect has sent a letter to Gov. Mike Dunleavy, asking him to rescind his letter that was sent to over 800 at-will State employees asking for their resignation.
Gov. Bill Walker has also objected to the letter sent to the exempt and partially exempt employees.
In their letter, the lawmakers said that asking employees to state their expressed “positive desire” to serve in the Dunleavy Administration is ill-considered, “and we call on you to reverse course on it immediately.”
“We certainly recognize your right to seek the resignations of those state employees whose positions are more policy-oriented in nature—department commissioners, directors, executive staff, and the like. However, your resignation demand goes far beyond that. The state employees whose resignations you have demanded are professionals with specialized education, training, and skill sets—and years of experience.”
The letter was signed by Sens. Bill Wielechowski, Donny Olson, and Tom Begich, and Reps. Matt Claman, David Guttenberg, Chris Tuck, Les Gara, Scott Kawasaki, and Sens.-elect Jesse Kiehl and Elvi Gray-Jackson.
Notably, several Democratic lawmakers did not sign the letter, and two who did are leaving office in January — Reps. Les Gara and David Guttenberg.
The Democrats signing the letter did not offer what number of resignations they would find acceptable, or which specific positions or employees they sought to protect from having to send in a letter that states they want to continue to work for the new administration.
The transition team had decided that rather than pick and choose, it was more fair to send the letter to all who are in the category of at-will employees.
Dunleavy won with 53 percent of the statewide vote, winning more votes than the other three candidates combined (Mark Begich, Billy Toien, and Gov. Bill Walker, who received just 2 percent).
Incoming Gov. Mike Dunleavy announced today he will retain Education Commissioner Michael Johnson.
In a statement, the incoming administration said:
“The State of Alaska’s constitution is unique in that the education commissioner’s authority is based in state statute, which establishes the commissioner as the principal executive officer of the Department of Education and Early Development. (AS Title 44, Chapter 27, Section 10).
“A governor may advocate for a new commissioner, or demand it by replacing the Board. Governor-elect Dunleavy plans instead to work with the existing commissioner to address Alaska’s education challenges.”
“I met with Commissioner Johnson to hear his assessment of where we are, and where we need to go,” said Dunleavy. “We had a healthy discussion about needed improvements, and shifting our focus to getting better results for students. In the end, our priorities aligned and we decided we could work together on changing how we deliver education in this state.”
Dunleavy spent 30 years in education as a former teacher, principal, and school administrator. In addition, Dunleavy was a Mat-Su school board member; education consultant; head of Mat-Su’s public homeschool program; and was a program manager for the University of Alaska’s statewide mentor project.
Throughout the campaign, Dunleavy pledged to change the state’s education system, which currently ranks dead last among the 50 states in certain achievement categories.
Dr. Johnson was appointed commissioner by the Board of Education in June of 2016.
Before that, he served in the Copper River School District as superintendent, school principal, district curriculum and staff development director, elementary teacher, and special education program assistant.
While he was principal of Glennallen Elementary School, the school was named a Blue Ribbon School by the U.S. Department of Education. Johnson also is a recipient of the prestigious Milken Educator Award.
He holds a bachelor of arts degree and a master of arts in teaching degree in elementary education from Columbia International University, and a doctorate of philosophy in education and intercultural studies from the University of Alaska Fairbanks.
With Democrats taking control of the U.S. House of Representatives, players will emerge in roles that may impact Alaska’s oil patch, the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge in particular.
California Democrat Rep. Nancy Pelosi is likely to return as House Speaker in the new year. She’s a foe of oil drilling in Alaska, and her California constituents see eye-to-eye with her on that.
The House Natural Resources Committee gavel will also change from Rep. Rob Bishop, a Utah Republican, in favor of the ranking minority member on that committee.
That person is Rep. Raúl Grijalvaof the Arizona area bordering Mexico, who is an opponent of oil drilling in ANWR, who will probably now chair the committee.
Raul Grijalva
Grijalva has introduced legislation time and again and signed letters to lock up the ANWR Coastal Plain. Grijalva’s aides are among the extreme environmentalist cause agents of liberal East Coast Democrats.
Congressman Don Young is the chair emeritus of Resources, but under the new regime, he’ll be in the minority.
Because of his seniority, he’ll retain a seat on the committee, but Republicans are likely to lose about six seats. Democrats will gain those seats and fill one additional vacant seat they now have on the committee.
Democrats like Grijalva could try to foil last year’s ANWR legislation, signed by President Trump on Dec. 20, 2017. They may attend to defund the related programs at the Department of Interior, or offer a “limitation amendment,” that says no funds may be used for lease sales in the ANWR 1002 area.
Over in the Senate, still under Republican control, such bills are not likely to pass, and the president wouldn’t sign the bill anyway — President Trump is very bullish on ANWR and considers last year’s legislation a signature accomplishment.
But Alaskans can expect national Democrats to use various nuisance tactics to shut down Alaska’s efforts to drill in a limited area of ANWR. They’ll try to make ANWR a toxic investment for companies through the public shaming process now honed to a science by the far Left.
In addition to a changing of the guard in the House Resources Committee, there are freshmen Democrats who helped flip the House who have, during their campaigns, signed a pledge to sponsor legislation to shut ANWR down.
From California to Florida, these eight members are on record: Gil Cisneros, Harley Rouda, and Mark Levin of California, Ann Kirkpatrick of Arizona, Jason Crow of Colorado, Debbie Mucarsel-Powell of Florida, Dean Phillips of Minnesota, and Kim Schrier of Washington.
WHAT ABOUT DON YOUNG?
Congressman Young currently serves as the most senior member of the House Natural Resources Committee and House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee.
As Alaska voters returned Congressman Young to the nation’s Capitol for his 24th term, Young used his legislative prowess as Dean of the House to offer a unique amendment just before Thanksgiving.
The amendment took place during an organizational meeting. It said that if there is a Republican Dean of the House, that member is automatically put on the House Steering Committee, which is the committee on committees.
It was ingenious. He is the Dean of the House. He is a Republican.
The amendment was read aloud. And although it was blatantly self-serving for Alaska, it passed. It was reported that one senior Republican advised freshmen: “Don’t go against Don Young. It’s just not worth it.”
Now, Young is going to be one of key members of Congress who is helping a pick the ranking member on the Appropriations Committee. He’s become among the chosen few who will pick all the leadership for the Republican Conference.
The move will matter on Thursday, when the House Republican Steering Committee decides who the next Republican leader is for the powerful House Appropriations Committee.
Four candidates are being discussed: Reps. Robert Aderholt (R-Ala.), Kay Granger (R-Texas), Tom Cole (R-Okla.) and Tom Graves(R-Ga.).
The process could take hours and will involve multiple balloting.
Young, through his clever amendment, made sure he’d be part of the key panel making that decision.
Alaska’s congressman served his first 22 years in the minority, from 1973-1995, and he has a knack of getting things done as a member of the minority. He can navigate the halls, and knows the procedures on the floor and off, as evidenced by his move to get on the committee on committees as soon as he saw he’d be in the minority again.
This insight and quick reaction time is important to Alaska, particularly when the two chambers are negotiating.
It’s hard to imagine how his opponent Alyse Galvin would have fared in this environment — or how Alaska would fare with Galvin, the woman who ran under the Democrats’ banner in the primary, but was actually registered without any party in the General Election, in Congress.
Galvin would have entered Congress with distinct disadvantages as a so-called independent.
Young, with his senior status and legislative prowess, does a good job fending off attacks on Alaska.
“Part of his effectiveness is that his colleagues don’t want to challenge him because they know he will fight tooth and nail for Alaska,” said one DC observer.
Although Alaska policy experts will want to keep an eye out for rogue attacks on the state’s resource-based economy, if Galvin had won, and if Mark Begich was being sworn in as governor, Alaskans would have a lot more to worry about concerning the reversal of the historic opening of ANWR.
After all, after 40 years of effort by the Alaska delegation, the House of Representatives voted 224-201 for that legislation in 2017, and it was largely along party lines.
With Democrats now in charge in the House, Young — Alaska’s only congressional representative — will have his work cut out for him as Alaska’s watchdog.
A “concerned State employee” gave me a copy of the guidance memo on hiring that the Walker Administration put out from the Department of Administration, Division of Personnel and Labor Relations on Dec. 17, 2014, a few days after Gov. Bill Walker took office.
Interestingly, it isn’t in the form of standard State of Alaska memos and doesn’t say who the author or recipients are.
It is simply captioned with the DOA logo and “Director’s Office” and titled “Guidance.”
It’s the sort of memo that would take some time to write, only a few people in or out of government could write it, and such a memo would, or certainly should, be vetted at a very high level of political management.
Such memos are legally public record once published, but they usually go to a very limited audience of the State’s Human Resources people and Administrative Services Directors.
As a general rule these people will leak anything they don’t agree with to the media if it comes from a Republican Administration and if somebody in a Democrat Administration wrote a memo confessing to killing Kennedy it would never see the light of day.
It’s not that they’re all Democrats, though most of them are, though they register nonpartisan usually, but those that have dared to have Republican thoughts know that if they were to leak something, the Democrats would hunt them down like a rabid dog and they’d likely never work in State government again — unless they have or make some really good Republican connections.
Don’t ask me how I know.
What is noteworthy about the memo is its emphasis on “exempt” appointments.
Most State employees are in the classified service and subject to the constitutionally required merit system articulated by the State Personnel Act. Some State employees are in the partially exempt service and while they theoretically have to meet minimum qualifications and have a job description the reality is that they are true political appointees and the only real qualification is “knows the Governor” or “knows the commissioner.”
They’re as close to at will or serve at the pleasure as the courts will allow the State to have.
And then there are exempt employees who are not covered by any aspect of the State Personnel Act or its appurtenances like the State Pay Plan.
There is a list of job titles and organizations/functions at AS 39.25.110 that lays out what employees can legally be exempt from merit system rules, and it’s a fairly small list.
Historically, it was never very controversial before the Knowles Administration. Everybody knew that if you were a teacher, a vessel employee, worked in the Office of the Governor or in the quasi-governmentals, you were exempt or if you were in one of the specific job titles you were exempt.
But it wasn’t uncommon for unions to challenge the designation of a job as exempt by claiming that the duties didn’t match the job title and the job should be classified and in one of the bargaining units.
Then somebody discovered AS 39.25.110(9) and the so-called “temporary exempt.” This was an obscure designation that had been used for special projects by the Governor’s Office and for the once-popular “Blue Ribbon Commissions” and the like. Because it was temporary, it got none of the State benefits, such as leave, health insurance, or retirement contributions/credit. But the State could pay them whatever it took to get them.
Then Knowles’ first director of personnel miraculously discovered that some temporary exempts weren’t really temporary and were thus entitled to the same benefits as permanent State employees, and the floodgates opened; everybody with a friend in high places was trying to become a temporary exempt so they could escape the surly bonds of the State Pay Plan and union contract wages.
It quickly became the “$100,000 Club.” The right check or the right bed got you a $100,000 job for which nobody could tell whether you did it anything.
I don’t know how many there are now, and the State has not been scrupulous about designating who is really a 110(9) exempt, but there are lots of them; you have to know how to decode State job titles to spot them if you get a list such as that published by the Alaska Policy Forum recently.
Project managers or project coordinators in the exempt service are almost certainly 110(9)s as are most any off-the-wall titles that aren’t in the normal class title scheme for the State.
So, to bring this back to the memo of Dec. 17, 2014:
The first item of discussion is how to appoint to the exempt service. While the memo gives the obligatory admonition that it must be statutorily authorized, it spends several hundred words instructing how to describe and title a job so it can be placed in the exempt service and avoid all the inconvenient stuff like competitive recruitment and selection and having a real job description and being paid in accordance with the State’s classification and pay schemes.
Now, this gives us a good “to do” for the new commissioner of Administration; find them all and root them out — root and branch.
If they have a real job, transition them to the classified service and see if they can pass their probationary period.
If they’re just somebody’s pet, fire them; put a bounty on them, you’re saving $120,000 or more for every pet you get rid of.
Then rescind Bev Reume’s email conferring benefits on them; I challenge anyone to find a copy of it today, and make temporary exempts truly temporary.
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.
ONE OF THE FIVE SONGS SHOWCASES INTERGENERATIONAL TRAUMA
When the Walker Administration decided to change the music that callers hear when they’re put on phone hold, the State of Alaska waded into artistic territory that was bound to generate debate. The repetitive elevator music is going to be deep-sixed; instead, Alaska musicians are going to be featured.
The Grammy-award winning band Portugal. The Man. was the top-of-mind choice for the project, as Alaska’s most famous artistic export since Jewel Kilcher. The band willingly donated “Feel It Still,” one of its hit songs, and that made the news last week.
Four other songs are in the rotation for callers who dial a state phone number and are put on hold.
The Tlingit-based jazz number “Shaax Sáani” by the Native Jazz Quartet is not catchy, but also isn’t going to stick in your head all day.
“Flicker of Light” by Whiskey Class “captures the death and rebirth of the salmon life cycle, and its deep connection to southeast Alaska,” but it’s drunken wandering sound may encourage callers to simply hang up. It doesn’t have wide appeal.
Then we come to “Mother Carries” by Harm, a band out of Fairbanks. The band describes itself as “an Alaskan ensemble that defies the bounds of typical genre standards. Blending psych-folk and beatbox with classical themes the experimental chamber group defies your notions of musical normativity.”
“Mother Carries” and its discordant, trauma-driven message might just drive a distressed caller over the edge. Here are the complete lyrics to the song:
I will read a book I will drink my coffee I will take a walk I will force a meal down into my empty gut I will learn to sew a patch over the holes of my skin I will listen to my silence
I will drink more water I will learn to bake bread I will brush my teeth so that I can taste clean I will only speak with intention I will sleep for only a dream I will try to love a stranger I will save a dog from its dying howl
I will lock the hurt into itself
I will listen to my silence
I will only speak with intention
I will box a trauma as a joke and wrap it like a gift I will give to my mother’s mother’s father and I won’t forget the ribbon. Or the bow. Oh. Oh. Oh. Oh. Oh.
Among the “tags” the band has listed with the song is “witch hop”, which is a combination of a genre called witch house music, hiphop and rap. Witch house music, according to some music industry definitions, is an occult-themed dark electronic music microgenre. Other tags identifying the music are “experimental, hip hop, experimental, folk indie, psych folk, Fairbanks.”
Perhaps the Department of Administration didn’t consider what impact the song may have on a traumatized Alaskan calling the State in distress, perhaps trying to track down a birth certificate or a death certificate, or perhaps frustrated by the Office of Children’s Services or a probation officer.
For that matter, what will serious business callers from Outside think of Alaska if they are considering opening an enterprise here? Is this a state that is open for business or is it an unhealthy place to call home?
The initiative was led by Rep. Jonathan Kreiss-Tomkins of Sitka, the Alaska State Council on the Arts, the Juneau Arts and Humanities Council, and the Department of Administration. KTOO provided technical work.
WHAT NOW?
Changing out the hold music might be low on Mike Dunleavy’s priority list. There are no doubt bigger challenges facing the incoming governor.
The project, set to roll out in the next few weeks, will be in the wheelhouse of incoming Department of Administration Commissioner John Quick to ponder — whether music about abuse by one’s family members is what Alaska wants the world to hear when it calls in for, say, a ferry reservation or a question on a permit.
Anchorage Assembly member Amy Demboski, who represents 40,000 Alaskans from the Eagle River district, is not running for re-election this spring and, in fact, will also end her radio talk show after today.
She’s taking a post in the new Dunleavy Administration as deputy chief of staff, focusing on budgets, operations, and contracts.
When her last Assembly meeting will be is something she hasn’t decided yet, but she will step down from the elected position and the seat will need to be filled on an interim basis, she said.
Demboski is nearing the end of her second term on the Assembly and is the the most conservative member on a local governing body that has taken a decided turn to the left.
A graduate of Chugiak High School in 1994, she went on to earn bachelor’s degrees in criminal justice and history from University of Alaska Anchorage, and a master’s degree in finance from Columbia Southern University.
She worked for many years in the health care industry with a focus on business development and management. She is also the former president of the Chugiak Community Council, the chair of the Municipal Budget Advisory Commission, and was the Mayor’s appointment to the Chugiak-Eagle River Parks & Recreation Board of Supervisors. She ran for mayor in 2015, losing to Ethan Berkowitz.
In recent years Demboski has been a vocal advocate for repealing Senate Bill 91, the controversial criminal justice reform bill, and she has advocated for a full funding of the Alaska Permanent Fund dividend.
Over the past several weeks, she’s volunteered on the Dunleavy transition team as a policy leader.
Last week, Must Read Alaska reported that Jeremy Price was named deputy chief of staff as well.
Demboski started her career in radio on KVNT, a talk show in the Mat-Su Valley. No replacement has been named for her show, which airs from 4-6 pm Monday through Friday.
She announced her decision today on Facebook and on her radio show.
“Serving as your Assembly member representing Chugiak, Eagle River, and JBER has truly been the honor of a lifetime. I fought tirelessly to protect your wallet, your property rights, and ensure critical services, such as public safety, were the top priorities. As I near the end of my 2nd term as your Assembly member, an opportunity has materialized to serve all Alaskans and our next Governor as he works to make our residents safer, bring jobs and economic prosperity back to Alaska, and protect Alaskans’ full PFD,” she wrote.
“I believe in Governor-Elect Dunleavy’s vision for Alaska, his unwavering fight to restore law & order, and his mission to protect your PFD. Not only do I believe in his policies, I truly believe he will do what he promised, and I will do everything in my power to help him achieve those objectives. That is why, I will not be running for a third term to the Anchorage Assembly; instead, I have accepted a position with Governor Dunleavy’s administration.
“I am humbled and honored to have represented you for the past 5 1/2 years. Thank you all for your love, support, and prayers. I will never be able to adequately express what you all mean to me and how grateful I am for the privilege to serve you on the Assembly.
“This is not goodbye, it’s just time to roll up my sleeves, get to work in a new capacity, and help make Alaska great again!”
GOLD STAR THEME IN EAST WING HONORS FAMILIES OF TROOPS
The First Family is celebrating their second Christmas in the White House and this year’s decorations were unveiled to the public today. The theme chosen and designed by First Lady Melanie Trump for this year is “American Treasures,” and it is patriotic to the core. The White House wrote:
“This home, held in trust for all Americans, displays the many splendors found across our great Nation.
In the East Wing, the Gold Star Family tree returns. Decorated by Gold Star families, this tree honors all our troops and families who have sacrificed greatly to protect our freedoms. Gold stars and patriotic ribbon decorate the tree and visitors are encouraged to write messages to their loved ones who are on duty or abroad on the digital tablets provided.
More than 40 topiary trees line the East colonnade as guests make their way toward the East Garden Room, where the First Family Christmas card and ornament are on display. The Library remembers some of America’s most cherished authors, housing over 2,700 American classics. Four trees have been tucked away in each corner of the Library displaying the White House Historical Association’s 2018 ornament honoring President Harry S. Truman.
The Vermeil room displays two trees that sparkle in hues of blues and golds amongst the vermeil on display for all to see. Inside the China Room are three tables, all replicas from previous state dinners using pieces from the White House permanent collection. They highlight different eras of state dinners. The Theodore Roosevelt Administration, John F. Kennedy Administration, and Donald J. Trump Administration are all represented.
The East Room highlights the diversity and ingenuity of American architecture and design with four custom mantelpieces showcasing the skylines of New York City, St. Louis, Chicago, and San Francisco. 72 handmade paper ornaments representing six regions across America hang from four 14-foot Noble fir trees. For the 51st year, the White House Crèche will also be on display.
As one makes their way through the Green Room, Americans are reminded of the country’s bounty and harvest. A variety of fruits, vegetables, and grains adorn the tree centered in the room, as well as the garland on the mantel. In the Blue Room, the official White House Christmas tree measures a soaring 18 feet tall and is dressed in over 500 feet of blue velvet ribbon embroidered in gold with each State and territory. Moving into the Red Room, guests will be able to celebrate children through the décor, which displays ways in which children can excel in their own path.
The State Dining Room is a celebration of our country’s national symbols, including the bald eagle, the rose, and the oak tree. The space is also host to this year’s gingerbread house, showcasing the full expanse of the National Mall: the Capitol, the Lincoln Memorial, the Jefferson Memorial, the Washington Monument, and, of course, the White House.
Crossing in to the Grand Foyer and Cross Hall, patriotism, the heart of America, takes center stage with more than 14,000 red ornaments hanging from 29 trees. The choice of red is an extension of the pales, or stripes, found in the presidential seal designed by our Founding Fathers. It’s a symbol of valor and bravery.
“This is a joyous time of year when we decorate the White House for the Christmas Season,” said First Lady Melania Trump. “Our theme honors the heart and spirit of the American people. Thank you to the many volunteers and staff who worked hard to decorate the halls of the People’s House in Christmas cheer. On behalf of my family, we wish everyone a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.”
Throughout the month of December, the White House will host more than 100 open houses and many receptions. More than 30,000 visitors will walk the halls taking part in public tours.”
The 2018 General Election has been certified, and the District 1 House seat is officially a tie at 2,661 each for Bart LeBon and Kathryn Dodge.
Earlier, the Division of Elections had indicated it was going to accept a stray ballot that showed up over the weekend, without proper documentation. That would have given the race to Kathryn Dodge by one vote.
Either way, the race is going to be recounted on Friday, which will be done by machine in Juneau.
The recount could change the results again and both the Alaska Democratic Party and the Alaska Republican Party are gearing up for legal action.
It appears likely that one side or the other will file a challenge to the results, which will delay the organization of the House of Representatives. Republicans had a slight margin when LeBon was in the lead last week, but that lead evaporated when seven more votes were added to the total — six for Dodge, and one for LeBon.
The recount will be done at state expense. If it’s still a tie, the race can be decided by a coin toss or other “by lot” means.
The Division of Elections released this statement today:
The bi-partisan State Review Board and State of Alaska Division of Elections have certified the 2018 General Election. This includes certification of the House District 1 race as a tie between candidates Kathryn Dodge and Barton LeBon, following a thorough review.
The State Review Board has inspected and hand counted every ballot from the district, with the exception of one ballot which is currently being investigated further to determine whether or not it will be counted. The ballot was included with questioned ballot materials, but there was no questioned ballot envelope to account for the ballot. The State Review Board members tasked with reviewing the ballots from House District 1 found that the ballot appears to be a marked ballot for candidate Dodge, but no determination will be made until the division has all of the necessary information about the ballot’s origin.
“As election officials, it is our job to ensure that we have all of the facts before moving forward with a conclusion and that every vote is counted accurately,” said State Elections Director Josie Bahnke. “In certifying House District 1 as a tie, an automatic recount will be conducted on Friday morning. This allows the division more time to investigate the ballot in question before making a determination on whether or not it should count.”
The ballot has not been included in Monday’s results, but could still be counted during the recount depending on investigation findings. Election officials met with the candidates and all members of the State Review Board Monday morning to discuss certification and the next steps moving forward.
If the results of the recount re-confirm the tie, the prevailing candidate will be determined by lot under AS15.15.460 and AS 15.20.530.
The recount for House District 1 will take place in the director’s office in Juneau on Friday, November 30 at 10 a.m. Any additional absentee ballots received between now and completion of the recount will be counted as required by state law AS 15.20.480.
Official results are now available on the Division of Elections website.
