Now Walker running mate Lt. Gov. Byron Mallott, the Democrat candidate for governor four years ago who abandoned his party to join Walker on an independent ticket in order to oust incumbent Republican governor Sean Parnell, has resigned his office and severed his relationship with the incumbent governor.
Why?
Walker isn’t saying much. Mallott has left the stage.
The incident appears to center on inappropriate sexual overtures and inappropriate sexual comments, but no one in the governor’s office has explicitly said this. The entire incident has transpired behind something of a veil.
Mallott’s letter of resignation didn’t even say if there was a woman involved. Instead it referred to a placing “a person whom I respect and revere in a position of vulnerability.”
The vulnerability phrase would appear to indicate Mallot suggested that if the “person” didn’t cooperate, there would be consequences. There is no hint of what those might be, although Walker administration officials have said no state employees were involved so apparently the loss of a job or the loss of an opportunity for a job can be scratched from the list.
The mainstream media has reported little more on this story than the official statements coming out of Walker’s office, but there is plenty of talk in political circles and among old Mallott friends about what happened. The name of a Fairbanks woman involved in law enforcement has come up repeatedly.
For two days now, craigmedred.news has tried to reach her. She has been repeatedly queried about any possible involvement. She has not responded.
SHAPE-SHIFTING GOVERNOR WALKER BENDS ONE LAST TIME — INTO A DEMOCRAT
Last week was the strangest week in Alaska politics since the Department of Justice helped Mark Begich defeat U.S. Sen. Ted Stevens in 2008.
Last week was even weirder than early July, 2009, when Gov. Sarah Palin resigned.
Even the trick-or-treat ticket of Gov. Bill Walker and Byron Mallott, created by unions and Democrats after voters had already chosen their nominees during the 2014 primary election, isn’t as weird as this year’s gubernatorial careening path, which Walker-Mallott went down.
IN THE WAY-BACK MACHINE
Walker’s Chief of Staff Scott Kendall asked the Republican Party late in 2017 and again early in 2018 if Walker would be allowed to run for re-election as a Republican.
The party said, “It’s a free country, but we wouldn’t think it would be successful.” In fact, party Chairman Tuckerman Babcock said that the Republicans “might be hot, but certainly wouldn’t be warm to the idea.”
By February Walker decided to remain a no-party guy. He’d be “independent.”
Walker went to Washington, D.C. in February to get the Unite America money behind his no-party run. He already had the endorsement of the Centrist Project, because he was a “role model for our movement.”
But then, Walker dumped on the Centrists. In May, he announced he’d jump onto the Democrats’ ballot. The Democrats had changed their rules to allow him to do so, even without changing his party registration.
The Democrats’ primary looked like the most likely way to ensure a two-way gubernatorial race, Walker’s campaign manager John-Henry Heckendorn said. They feared Mark Begich would get on that ticket.
But it turns out that Mark Begich was more clever than Heckendorn and Walker combined.
Byron Mallott shakes the hand of Bill Walker in this Sealaska Corp. photo. The two received the endorsement of Sealaska, and $100,000 into their super-PAC, Unite Alaska for Walker-Mallott in September of 2018.
By June 1, Begich was having none of it, and filed for governor on the last day possible. He wasn’t going to let the Democrats put a shape-shifter like Walker at the top of the Democrats’ ticket again.
And when that happened, Walker decided not to complete the paperwork to join the Democrats’ ballot, but to become a petition candidate, and go straight to the General Election.
On Primary Election night, Aug. 21, Walker and Mallott walked into the Dena’ina Center with their signs victorious, even though they had not chosen to participate in the primary.
“We’ll see you on the November ballot,” they proclaimed. It was theater. They delivered their petition signatures with just as much theater.
The ballots were printed, with three tickets: Mike Dunleavy-Kevin Meyer are the Republicans, Mark Begich-Debra Call are the Democrats, and Bill Walker-Byron Mallott are the unknowns who got to the General via signatures gathered.
Both Walker and Begich began pounding on Dunleavy, criticizing him for not showing up in every debate they scheduled. Dunleavy stayed above the fray, but took a beating from them, even while absent from their near-daily cage fights.
As voters start voting on Monday, the ballots still say Walker-Mallott is a choice, but Walker has a new lieutenant governor — Valerie Davidson. Mallott has cleaned out his desk, sent home in shame.
Yet, Davidson could not campaign because she is not a registered candidate with the Division of Elections and Alaska Public Offices Commission.
She cannot raise money.
She cannot receive money from the Walker campaign for campaigning because she is covered by the Executive Ethics Act, as a state official. She can’t take gifts.
The situation was untenable for Walker. He was still running, after all, with Mallott.
The man whom Walker had identified as his best friend — 75-year-old Mallott — had been improper with a 16-year-old girl. There was no recovering from that. Walker was going to slip from second place to third place and likely the worst showing of a sitting governor in the history of the state.
So he did something he called “putting Alaskans first.” He characterized it as an act of courage: He quit the race.
In his swan song, Walker chose the most sympathetic audience of all — Alaska Federation of Natives annual convention. It was a convention for the ages, with a political spectacle never before seen by the attendees.
On Thursday, Walker made a sweeping official apology to all Alaska Natives for historical wrongs committed against them. The convention goers were happy with that. Very happy. Things were going well for them.
But that evening, few AFN conventioneers attended Walker’s informational reception at the Anchorage Hotel downtown, even though he had just made the biggest overture for Alaska Natives of his career — a full-throated “We’re sorry” on behalf of the State of Alaska. Those who did attend seemed to sense uncertainty in the air.
On Friday, Walker made a surprise appearance — his final announcement. He was suspending his campaign because there was no way to recover after his disastrous week. The three-way race was mathematically bad for him and getting worse.
In doing so, he went from being a lifelong Republican in 2014 to endorsing Democrat Mark Begich in 2018.
Begich, the most reviled Democrat out there for any red-blooded Republican, had just pulled off a coup. Walker, in an act of final defiance, was going to stick it to Republicans one more time.
All the endorsements Walker had were not enough to save him: AFL-CIO, National Education Association of Alaska, Alaska State Employees Association, Sealaska Corporation, Alaska State Firefighters Association, Alaska District Council of Laborers, Painters and Allied Trades International, and Calista Corporation.
All the personal endorsements Walker had were not enough: Aaron Plikat, Anchorage • Adam Wool, Fairbanks • AJ Sutton, Fairbanks • Albert Kookesh, Juneau • Amanda Mallott, Juneau • Andy Holleman, Anchorage • Andy Mack, Anchorage • Andy Mezirow, Homer • Anthony Mallott, Juneau • April Ferguson, Anchorage • Arlene Simpler, Kodiak • Barbara Blake, Juneau • Barbara Donatelli, Anchorage • Bill Tatsuda, Ketchikan • Bob Hubbard, Fairbanks • Brenda L. Tolman, Whittier • Bruce Botelho, Juneau • Buck Laukitis, Homer • Carl Marrs, Old Harbor • Carpenters Local 1234, Fairbanks • Chris Dimond, Juneau • Cindy Roberts, Anchorage • Claudia Anderson, Kodiak • Cordelia Kellie, Palmer • David Guttenberg, Fairbanks • David McCabe, Anchorage • Don Gray, Fairbanks • Donny Olson, Golovin • Dorli McWayne, Fairbanks • Earl Krygier, Anchorage • Emily Edenshaw, Juneau • Eric Jordan, Sitka • Gail Schubert, Bering Straits • Geron Bruce, Juneau • Gordon Glaser, Anchorage • Greg Razo, Anchorage • Greg Wakefield, Anchorage • Heather Flynn, Anchorage • Heidi Drygas, Juneau/Fairbanks • Ian Fisk, Juneau • Ira Perman, Anchorage • Jack Hebert, Fairbanks • Jaeleen Kookesh, Juneau • Jamie Kenworthy, Anchorage • Jan Carolyn Hardy, Anchorage • Janet McCabe, Anchorage • Jason Grenn, Anchorage • Jeanette Wakefield, Anchorage • Jodie Gatti, Ketchikan • Joe Nelson, Yakutat • Karl Kassel, Fairbanks • Kate Wool, Fairbanks • Kathryn Scribner, Juneau • Kati Ward, Anchorage • Kes Woodward, Fairbanks • Linda Behnken, Sitka • Lindy Jones, Juneau • Liz Medicine Crow, Anchorage • Malcolm Roberts, Anchorage • Marc Wheeler, Juneau • Margy K. Johnson, Anchorage • Mark Schneiter, Anchorage • Marlene Johnson, Hoonah • Marna Sanford, Fairbanks • Mary Hakala, Juneau • Mary Hilcoske, Anchorage • Mary Jo Robinson, Anchorage • Mary Schulz, Ketchikan • Matt Hunter, Sitka • Meera Kohler, Anchorage • Melissa Borton, Kodiak • Mike Gallagher, Anchorage • Mike Kenny, Anchorage • Mike Navarre, Kenai • Mim McConnell, Sitka • Minoo Minaei, Homer • Miriam Aarons, Anchorage • Myra Munson, Juneau • Nancy Barnes, Anchorage • Pat Branson, Kodiak • Paula DeLaiarro, Anchorage • Plumbers & Pipefitters Local 375, Fairbanks • Raina Thiele, Anchorage • Reid Magdanz, Kotzebue • Richard Peterson, Juneau • Robert Gottstein, Anchorage • Sarah McCabe, Anchorage • Scott Eickholt, Fairbanks • Sheri Buretta, Anchorage • Steve Hovenden, Fairbanks • Stosh Anderson, Kodiak • Tim Sharp, Fairbanks • Tom Panamaroff, Kodiak • Tom Schulz, Ketchikan • Tom Simpler, Kodiak • Tom Wescott, Eagle River • Vicki Otte, Anchorage • Willie Hensley, Anchorage • Debra Syvertson, Wasilla • Samuel Dunham, Anchorage • Craig Kasemodel, Anchorage
All the community leaders’ endorsements were not enough: Nels Anderson (Soldotna) • Richard Benneville (Nome) • Bruce Botelho (Juneau) • Pat Branson (Kodiak) • Harry Brower (Utqiaġvik) • Clint Cook (Craig) • Tony Christianson (Hydaburg) • Bert Cottle (Wasilla) • Vern Halter (Mat-Su) • Luke Hopkins (Fairbanks) • Matt Hunter (Sitka) • Mark Jensen (Petersburg) • Reggie Joule (Northwest Arctic) • Karl Kassel (Fairbanks) • Ruth Knight (Valdez) • Clay Koplin (Cordova) • David Landis (Ketchikan) • Georgianna Lincoln (Rampart) • Henry Mack (King Cove) • Will Mayo (Tanana) • Mike Navarre (Kenai) • Richard Peterson (Prince of Wales) • Pat Pletnikoff (Saint George) • Ralph Wolfe (Yakutat) • Bryan Zak (Homer) • Freddie Olin, Anchorage.
And all the money he raised was not enough: Walker raised nearly $580,000 in his campaign account, and Unite Alaska for Walker-Mallott, the super PAC, had raised over $1 million in early October, mostly from unions, but also from hundreds of Alaskans, mostly Democrats. In all, there was $1.6 million in the Walker-Mallott side of the battle, while Mark Begich barely broke $200,000.
At AFN on Friday, it was a self-pitying speech, and it was the most partisan speech possible. AFN leaders didn’t have time to reflect and make a sound decision about how much endorsement time they should give this sitting governor, but this was clearly history. He had just apologized and he was basking in the glow. They were caught flat-footed, and he took the liberty of giving full-throated praise to Mark Begich, and a stinging rebuke of his main opponent and the leading candidate, Mike Dunleavy.
This, even though it was Begich who muscled him out of the race, while Dunleavy was merely the teacher from rural Alaska with a conservative platform.
Gov. Walker and Lt. Gov. Valerie Davidson at AFN on Friday, while Walker announces he is suspending his campaign and throwing his endorsement to Mark Begich.
Walker choked his way through the written statement he had prepared Friday; the audience was clearly moved, emotionally in his corner. They sang for him, prayed for him (led by First Lady Donna Walker) and gave him gifts.
THE CAMPAIGNS SHIFT
Now, the battle is joined between Democrat Mark Begich and Republican Mike Dunleavy. There is no “Unity Ticket,” that the Democrats lauded in 2014. Unity tickets only happen once. There is only Republican and Democrat now.
Begich had the advantage because he knew what was coming. He had been negotiating with Walker for weeks. His machine is in place — half of his old senatorial staff is embedded in the Walker Administration. He knows what money is coming his way to fight for his message.
And what is the Begich message?
When he entered the race, he tacked far to the left. The unions lined up for Walker, so Begich had to go for the LGBTQ endorsement, which he did; and he had to endorse the Stand for Salmon ballot measure to get the environmentalists, which he did.
He came out strongly for Ballot Measure 1 only because Walker had stood against it. Now, he is changing his message: He meant that people should be allowed to vote. He will become the shape-shifter, now that Walker is gone.
Begich is the man who brought Sen. Maria Cantell to the state for fundraisers for her campaign. Cantwell has been one of the biggest opponents of opening up ANWR’s coastal plain for oil exploration, and who represents the interests of out-of-state commercial fishing entities.
Begich is the man who used the dirtiest campaign commercial in Alaska history to try to preserve his Senate seat after Dan Sullivan challenged him on the Republican side. Begich’s “Jerry Active” commercial went down as the worst campaign hit job of the 2014 races nationally, and he had to pull the ad because of the blow back.
Begich is the man who, it can be argued, was the deciding vote on Obamacare, and who still proudly claims that distinction.
A Begich governorship would mean many things for Alaska. He would be the first full-on Democrat since Tony Knowles, and he’d be far to the left of Knowles.
In a three-way campaign, Dunleavy was favored to win by what would be a landslide. But a two-way race has to be taken more seriously, when Begich is the opposition.
There is no more vicious knife than Mark Begich during a campaign knife fight.
With just 16 days until Nov. 6, this will be a battle royale between a non-establishment Republican who spent 19 years in the Arctic, rural Alaska, and a very-establishment Democrat from the suburbs of Anchorage, who has spent a lifetime in politics.
Who will be the next governor: A red-blooded Alaskan or a blue-blooded legacy Democrat?
Alaskans are in for a wild and wooly election on Nov. 6.
Even after years in this business, we are stunned to read that Gov. Bill Walker’s office actually is asking the news media to back off covering Lt. Gov. Byron Mallott’s rushed, secret resignation and the incident – whatever it was – that forced it.
In most parts of the nation, with real news media, that would be like waving a red flag in a bull’s face.
In a long Facebook post, reported by Must Read Alaska, Deputy Chief of Staff Grace Jang leaped to support Mallott. Jang was a broadcast journalist who covered Walker’s campaign and ended up his communication director.
Her inartful Facebook piece was designed to appear as a defense of Mallott’s victim(s), but was nothing more than a way to get the press to give Walker’s torpedoed re-election campaign a break.
“It’s been a tough week for my boss and our whole team,” Jang wrote. “We love, cherish and respect Byron. He made us laugh. He provided perspective. He advocated for voices not at the table. I miss seeing him in the office, hearing his stories and joking with him.”
I ran for re-election because I still believe that, more than anything else, Alaska deserves integrity, honesty, and courage.
Alaska First is, and cannot only be, a campaign slogan. When I said I ran for governor to do the job, not make the decisions to keep the job, I meant exactly what I said. Every decision I have made as your governor, I have made on the basis of what I believe is best for Alaska.
With that said, effective today, I am suspending my campaign for re-election as Governor. With more time, I am confident that Val and I could deliver a message and a campaign that could earn a victory in this election.
But there are only 18 days remaining before election day. Absentee ballots have already been mailed, and Alaskans are already voting. In the time remaining, I believe we cannot win a three-way race.
This week I have talked to many Alaskans to determine whether I or Mark Begich had a better chance of running a competitive race against Mike Dunleavy. The determination was made that, at this point, Begich has the better odds.
Alaskans deserve a competitive race. Alaskans deserve a choice other than Mike Dunleavy, whose record and campaign rhetoric indicate he will:
eliminate Medicaid Expansion that has provided healthcare access to 44,000 Alaskans, created jobs and brought $1 billion federal dollars into the Alaskan economy while decreasing State healthcare expenditures by $16 million, kept hospitals from closing, and saved lives;
defund the Alaska LNG Gasline project that has made historic progress, will create 12,000 high paying construction jobs, 88,000 direct and indirect jobs and deliver low cost energy to our homes and businesses;
undo the bipartisan approved sustainable fiscal plan that has resulted in fiscal stability, significantly reduced the deficit, improved our credit rating and preserved the PFD program into perpetuity;
cause our most vulnerable to suffer the brunt of the additional $1 billion in budget cuts he vows to make to education, rural Alaska and those receiving healthcare.
Moreover, my administration has worked tirelessly to improve the relationship between Tribes and State and restore respect for Alaska’s First Peoples in state government. Yesterday, I apologized on behalf of the State of Alaska for the wrongs committed against the Alaska Native people throughout our history, because I believed that was best for Alaska. My expectation is that this work critical to the healing of historical trauma and unifying all Alaskans will be undone in a Dunleavy administration.
On balance, it is my belief that despite my many differences with Mark Begich, his stance on the important issues I have listed above more closely align with my priorities for Alaska.
This is not the first difficult decision I have made this week, but it is one I know I must make. There simply are no words to express my deepest gratitude to the incomparable, dedicated team of outstanding Alaskans who have served in my administration and to the thousands of supporters, donors, volunteers and campaign staff who have been passionately committed to my re-election. And above all, I want to say thank you to my family and to Donna, my first lady for life.
As I said earlier this week, ultimately, it’s not how long my team and I serve, it’s how well we served the people and the state we love while the opportunity was ours. We have served with integrity, courage, devotion, and compassion, never asking ourselves whether a decision is politically correct but always asking if it is right for Alaska. I am proud of the work we have done in the most challenging fiscal crisis in state history and it is the honor of my life to have served as the governor of this great state.
Thank you, God bless you all, and may God continue to bless Alaska.
Alyse Galvin stalked off the stage after scolding Don Young for shaking her hand “too hard” subsequent to their debate at Alaska Federation of Natives.
“You hurt me! You hurt me!” she barked at him, well within range of the microphone, and then she hastily exited the stage without thanking the moderators.
“Ow,” she said, as she left the stage. Young had apologized, but she did not accept it. This was not one of her better performances.
To the viewer, the hand shake appeared to be normal, and Young is, after all, a strong 85 years old. Young appeared surprised at her dramatic exit, but he then got up from his chair and thanked the moderators before exiting the stage himself.
Galvin started out her debate performance by channeling her inner Sen. Elizabeth Warren: She adopted an accent reminiscent of Native Alaskans. Ethan Berkowitz also did this oddity of speech in 2010, and his strange new accent was remarked upon at the time as he ran for governor.
Galvin culturally appropriated the speaking pattern, slowly forming her words in a noticeable fashion, one that was not her usual style of speech.
“First. I. Would. Like. To. Acknowledge. That. We. Are. On. Dena’ina. Land. Today. And. Every. Day,” she started.
It was her best Native accent.
At times, she appeared on the verge of tears, with deeply flushed cheeks and quavering voice, while at other times, she forgot to speak in her idea of a Native accent, and lapsed into her normal Midwestern intonation.
Don Young was Don Young: Plain spoken, always making the case for why he is still the best congressman for Alaska.
Galvin suffered from some of the questions because she clearly was unaware that Rep. Young had sponsored a lot of the legislation that she says she supports — Indian Child Welfare Act, and the 8A program, which she was unable to articulate to the audience.
In fact, as Young pointed out, about 60 percent of the bills he works on are for Alaska Native interests. “Because I listen, because I work, and because I’m dedicated,” he said.
Alyse Galvin yells at Congressman Don Young after he attempted to shake her hand after the debate at Alaska Federation of Native.
But in spite of the emotional perfomance and the bizarre ending, she received a lot of applause from the same group that clapped hard later for Mark Begich, in his debate with Mike Dunleavy. It appeared to be an organized effort.
Gov. Bill Walker announced at AFN this afternoon that he is suspending his campaign for re-election. He has thrown his support to Mark Begich for governor and gave a stinging rebuke to candidate Mike Dunleavy, the Republican who is the leading candidate for governor. Begich is a Democrat.
Walker made courtesy phone calls to those closest to him to share the news in advance of the debate today, where he was scheduled to spar with Begich and Dunleavy.
Instead, he was giving the stage at about 2:40 pm and made a stunning announcement that he will not run for re-election due to not enough time left between the devastating events of the week and the end of the election cycle on Nov. 6.
Speaking of Dunleavy, he said that the former rural schoolteacher-turned-senator would cut Medicaid expansion, reduce school funding, and take away funding for the Alaska LNG project.
His statement indicates he has made a deal with Begich to preserve those priorities, especially the gasline project that is dear to him.
His voice cracking and his face distorted, Walker struggled through his remarks. His announcement brought a huge gasp from the audience, and a standing ovation when he left the stage with his wife Donna Walker, his daughters, and two grandchildren, along with Lt. Gov. Valerie Davidson.
After his announcement, a song was sung by delegates, and then several delegates spoke words of thanks to the governor for having issued an apology to the Native people of Alaska for the historic wrongs, and other emotional speeches about Walker’s good deeds as governor.
The agenda of AFN was suspended while speech after speech was made, along with a prayer by First Lady Donna Walker, and other formalities that included the gifting of presents and singing of songs. The event was very emotional for the entire body in attendants. Several members of the governor’s team were present and some were seen leaving quickly in tears.
Earlier in the week, Walker received the news that his former lieutenant governor had had an inappropriate exchange with a young woman, and Lt. Gov. Byron Mallott was forced to resign over it. The news set the Walker-Mallott campaign back, and even with the swearing in of Davidson, there was not enough time to get back on track, Walker acknowledged today.
As soon as you are elected, actually preferably before, put together a work group tasked with reorganizing State government so that a Republican governor can actually run the government.
The State’s organizational structure dates back to the Territory and the days of firstclass mail, carbon manifold copies, and dial telephones where there was any telephone service at all.
A Republican governor could not staff all the politically appointed positions in State government with loyal, competent Republicans if his/her life depended on it, and a Republican governor cannot govern with Democrat holdovers who will leak, thwart, and sabotage his/her every act.
The thrust of any reorganization should be to reduce the layers of the organization and the number of appointees that run that organization.
Art Chance
Look at the things we thought about in the Murkowski Administration:
The “Eight Stars Program” white paper we produced early in the Murkowski Administration is dated but still relevant. We could only do some of them before we succumbed to the pushback from the congenital bureaucrats, then two Republican governors just let the bureaucrats lead them down the primrose path to defeat.
Fire them all.
Fire every political appointee you have a clear legal right to fire other than the assistant attorneys general.
There is somebody a step behind almost every appointee who really does the appointee’s job and the only distinction the appointees have is the ability to charmingly lie to the Legislature.
There may be some political appointees who have offered you support; remember they were cheating on the guy who signed their paycheck when they helped you. What makes you think you can trust them?
There are some appointees who are relatively apolitical subject matter experts, fire them anyway, let them miss a paycheck or two and re-apply; it will encourage the others.
The only reason I reserve judgment about the assistant attorneys general is the fact that while they’re all partially exempt and thus nominally “serve at the pleasure” employees, lots of them are just technocrats, researchers, and brief writers, so they don’t have any real policy responsibility. They really aren’t “at will” policy making employees. A new Republican governor doesn’t need headlines about a court saying that he wrongfully discharged these “selfless public servants,” even if some of them are nothing more than political hacks. These have to be dealt with on a case by case basis.
Immediately upon election, demand that the Director of Personnel give an accounting of all exempt appointments in the Executive Branch and the legal basis for the position being in the exempt service.
Specifically have the director account for all appointments authorized under AS 39.25.110(9), the so-called temporary exempts. These appointments are simply a scam; if you have a friend in high places, you can get a $100K/yr. plus job that is nothing more than a sinecure.
Immediately upon taking office, issue an administrative order rescinding former director of personnel Bev Reaume’s authorization to grant leave, retirement credit, health benefits and all other indicia of permanent status to temporary exempt employees; it is patently illegal.
If the temporary exempt has a real job, have the director of personnel move it to the classified service; there is provision in the Personnel Rules for that transition; some will survive, likely most won’t, and it will be no great loss.
Direct the director of personnel and labor relations to provide an accounting of all reclassification actions and range changes during the Walker Administration whether by the director’s ministerial authority or by agreement with a union. Also direct the director to account for all classification studies in the Walker Administration.
Direct the director of personnel and labor relations to provide copies of a labor agreements and contract modifications, however styled, that modified the wages, hours, or terms and conditions of an employee or group of employees or which constitute a monetary term within the meaning of AS 23.40.250(4). Any requiring a report of monetary terms should be rescinded pending their being reported and approved by the Legislature.
Task OMB, the Commissioner of Revenue, and the Commissioner of Administration to make an accounting of all “sub-funds of the General Fund” and the amount and status of all appropriated but unexpended Operating and Capital funds. I suspect you’ll find that the Executive Branch has been keeping money in mattresses and coffee cans and not telling the Legislature.
A Republican Administration will cause the unions not under contract or with looming expirations to scramble to get an agreement with the Walker Administration. If the unions/Democrats can elect coalition majorities in both bodies, the State is going to be stuck with those agreements.
Since the Legislature will in all likelihood not be in session between the election and the beginning of the next regular session of the Legislature, your Administration will be required to submit the monetary terms negotiated by the Walker Administration to the new Legislature within ten days of the Legislature convening. This is an explicit statutory duty of the Commissioner of Administration and cannot be avoided no matter how much the agreements might stink.
Republican Legislatures in the past have rejected the monetary terms of negotiated agreements and the rejection has withstood judicial scrutiny.
Rejections by just one body have resulted in agreements having to be renegotiated, but the legal status of a rejection by one body has never been litigated.
The real issue if Republicans retain control of one body or secure control of both, previous litigation of the issue is not a reliable guide. During the last years of the Knowles Administration the Administration generously “worked with” the Legislature to amend Section 215 of the Public Employment Relations Act to make it incomprehensible.
A Legislative disapproval by one or both bodies will result in an appeal to the Supreme Court and there is no reliable way to predict how they might rule except if the challenge is based on sub-section (a) of Section 215.
If an administration asks for funding to satisfy the terms of a negotiated agreement and the Legislature refuses to make the appropriation, the contract is not valid and enforceable, at least as to its monetary terms.
In short, if the unions grab agreements from the outgoing Walker Administration and one or both bodies of the Legislature reject the agreement(s) the first three years of your term are going to involve pursuing the dispute to the Supreme Court with an uncertain outcome unless the only question is funding.
The only reliable tool for a new Republican administration if the unions/Democrats control the Legislature is the fact that the new administration is under no obligation to ask for an increment to pay for the agreements and if the Legislature appropriates an increment to pay for them; the governor can veto the increment.
They’ll file an unfair labor practice complaint and you might lose before the labor board or in the Superior Court, but you’ll prevail at the AKSC because they’ve already decided this issue.
You will have to observe the terms of the new agreement, but you don’t have to let them have any more money. So, if the unions want pay raises or other cost items, they get paid for with layoffs.
We are destined to live in interesting times.
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. He only writes for Must Read Alaska when he’s banned from posting on Facebook.
While Mike Dunleavy for Governor’s campaign booth was busy on Thursday, Gov. Bill Walker cancelled his campaign booth at AFN, but his manager John-Henry Heckendorn had already booked the bar a the Anchorage Hotel for a fundraiser, and that was harder to simply cancel. The event had some 50 sponsors on the flyer when it was publicized last week, and this was a Native-focused fundraiser.
By the time Thursday rolled around, it was no longer a fundraiser, but an informational reception from 5-7 pm.
About 15 people were still in the bar at 6:30 pm, among them the governor, his campaign manager John-Henry Heckendorn, his official press secretary Austin Baird, and the governor’s Climate Change Adviser Cayenne Nikoosh Carlo, who had flown in from her home in Seattle for the convention. First Lady Donna Walker was headed out the door, looking exhausted, while her husband stayed behind, sitting with a couple of men on bar stools.
AFN Co-Chair Ana Hoffman attended briefly, but left by 6:30 pm as well. People had come through to pay their respects and conversations were in hushed tones.
Heckendorn said that things were wrapping up. Yes, this writer, observed, they certainly appeared to be.
Only hours earlier, Walker had given a speech to the crowd at AFN, in which he acknowledged it might be his last appearance before them as governor. His speech was halting and somewhat broken, but he was warmly received, especially after giving a heartfelt apology to all Alaska indigenous people for the harm caused to them by the State of Alaska.
“I conclude today with this message, as the 11th governor of the State of Alaska, I apologize to you, Alaska’s first people, for the wrongs that you have endured for generations,” Walker said.
“For being forced into boarding schools, I apologize.”
“For (being) forced to abandon your Native language and adopt a foreign one, I apologize.”
“For erasing your history, I apologize.”
“For the generational and historic trauma you have suffered, I apologize.”
“This apology is long overdue. It is but one step of hundreds more to go on this journey toward truth, reconciliation and healing.”
They gave him a standing ovation as he left the stage.
Later on Thursday, the governor’s deputy chief of staff took to Facebook to ask journalists to back off of the news story that concerns the behavior of former Lt. Gov. Byron Mallott, who was forced to resign on Tuesday.
The “truth and reconciliation” would only extend to historic trauma, and not to current abusive behavior of a man who could have become governor, if Walker had been unable to serve.
ENDORSEMENT TAKEN OFF THE TABLE
Earlier in the week, AFN leaders took off the agenda the resolution to endorse for governor, although it may be brought up again before the weeklong proceedings end on Saturday.
Noticeably missing throughout the convention have been campaign buttons — no one is wearing one for Walker-Mallott, Begich-Call, or Dunleavy-Meyer.
The Dunleavy for Governor booth was very popular, however, bustling with activity. “I Like Mike” Stickers were the hot item and the booth volunteers had to call for more from the campaign.
Today on the schedule is a candidate forum beginning at 2:20 pm, to be moderated by Ana Hoffman. The candidate panels will feature U.S. Congressman Don Young and his Democrat challenger Alyse Galvin; and gubernatorial candidates Mike Dunleavy, Mark Begich, and Bill Walker.
GRACE JANG TO REPORTERS: NOTHING TO SEE HERE, MOVE ALONG
The deputy chief of staff for Alaska’s governor is asking her former colleagues in the media to back off.
Back off of the story about Lt. Gov. Byron Mallott and his unwelcome “overtures” toward a young lady at the Alaska Federation of Natives Elders and Youth Conference.
Back off for the protection of the victim(s).
Back off for the sake of Mallott’s family.
Some things are better left unsaid.
Lt. Gov. Mallott was sent home from AFN on Tuesday and was forced to resign from elected office after a situation became known to the governor on Monday. AFN is the major Native organization that Mallott helped establish AFN in the mid-60s.
In a long and carefully crafted post on Facebook on Thursday evening, two days after the revelations about Mallott came to light, Deputy Chief of Staff Grace Jang said it had been a hard week for the governor, for her, and for the whole staff of the Governor’s Office.
Do us a favor, she said, in essence, in the press conference on Tuesday. Just go away. You owe us this one because we’ve been totally transparent for four years. Just give us this one. Please.
Jang, who was a broadcast journalist who covered Gov. Walker’s campaign and then became his communication director, defended the privacy of the lieutenant governor and his victim.
He has suffered enough, she implied. He’s a friend of so many and has such a great history, she said. He just fell down.
She did not acknowledge that the second-most powerful man in office in Alaska owes an explanation to the public about what happened, and if he doesn’t explain it, the governor should, at least through his surrogates.
The public has a right to know if something criminal happened, and without a full explanation, Alaskans will always wonder why such a man as Mallott just disappeared from public life in an instant.
But that’s not what Jang wants.
Jang wants it all swept under the rug by a willing press, to ensure that none of the details ever make it into the history books.
History will just show that Mallott simply quit and no one knew why, other than he said something “inappropriate.”
Jang just weeks ago helped craft a statement from the governor and Mallott that disparaged the reputation of Justice Brett Kavanaugh. Kavanaugh was accused of crimes such as attempted rape and arranging for gang rape, and his name and family’s name was dragged through the mud during his Supreme Court confirmation hearing.
But there was not a kind word from the Governor’s Office to defend the jurist.
This week she wrote that she misses joking with Lt. Gov. Byron Mallott. She misses the camaraderie of his presence.
“Sometimes leaders fall down,” she wrote. And because he resigned, he did the right thing. Therefore, he deserves privacy, she argued.
Here’s what Jang wrote in its entirety, as she admonished the press to step off:
“This has been a tough week.
“Tough for the woman whose unexpected conversation with an elected official led to a resignation. She worried she wouldn’t be believed; that her character and credibility would be undermined; that it would come down to her word against that of one of the most powerful men in the state.
“But she was spared all of that.
“Lieutenant Governor Byron Mallott owned up to it. He took responsibility for his actions. He stepped down. It’s been a tough week for Byron and his family, too. His wife, children and grandchildren are members of this community. They work with us, they go to school with us, they serve with us. One family member told me he has stayed off Facebook because of the hateful comments, the hurtful innuendos, the outright lies.
“It’s been a tough week for my boss and our whole team. We love, cherish and respect Byron. He made us laugh. He provided perspective. He advocated for voices not at the table. I miss seeing him in the office, hearing his stories and joking with him.
“Sometimes, leaders fall down. It’s what they do after the fall that defines who they are. Byron did the right thing; he did the honorable thing. Governor Walker stood by the man who has become his brother and his best friend, and he also stood by the woman and ensured her identity was protected.
“Yet, somehow, that’s not enough.
“Reporters want to know what was said to whom when and where. Giving those details jeopardizes the woman’s right to privacy. Each little piece of information lifts one more corner of the veil over her identity. As the victim of a traumatizing experience, she deserves to have her identity protected.
“Members of the media,
“During the past four years, I have defended your right to access to information and interviews. But I’m having a tough time with this one.
“As journalists, you have a choice.
“You can choose to elevate the discussion. “You can choose to not carry water for those with a reckless disregard for facts. “You can choose to add depth, provide context, and explain nuance. “You can choose to not compromise the privacy of a victim’s identity. “You can choose to not lend credence to fear- and hate-mongers. “You can choose to engage and enlighten readers, viewers and listeners in a way that appeals to our better selves.
“We live in a very small state, where gossip and misinformation can destroy lives. Words matter.”
‘DON’T REPORT THE TRUTH TODAY, BUT ON MONDAY, PLEASE REPORT ON A BIG LIE’
Grace Jang is pleading for her boss and for her own job in her “Words matter” essay. Anyone who sees the situation differently is a hate-monger, she tries to reason. Hate-mongers are those who disagree, of course.
However, in appealing to “our better selves,” what Jang is not telling the public is this:
She knows something you don’t know.
Jang and Press Secretary Austin Baird are fully aware of a brutal hit job that has been prepared for the governor’s top opponent, Mike Dunleavy.
They know the details, they know when the ads are going to hit, and they’ve known it for some time. They know what is coming is not true.
On Monday, when the $100,000 in television ads hit the airwaves, Jang will be nowhere to be found defending the truth. She won’t make the call this weekend to call off the dogs.
She will say, “That’s the campaign, not the official side,” and while Mike Dunleavy is subjected to a smear unlike any that has ever hit Alaska politics, she will remain serene.
Does Must Read Alaska know the details of the smear campaign? Yes. And it is going to hit a new low.
Yet, there’s still time for the perpetrators of the smear to pull it back.
Must Read Alaska will hope the better angels of their nature prevail, but if the governor and his surrogates persist, we’ll look to the media to ask Grace Jang if she will denounce the lies.
We already know her answer: It’s not her problem.
DONNA WALKER SAYS ‘HE PAID THE PRICE’
After the press converged on Gov. Bill Walker at the end of the Resource Development Council debate on Thursday afternoon, First Lady Donna Walker finally intervened to protect Gov. Walker. She told the media, referring to Mallott:
“He paid the price — you can’t really get much more of a price out of a situation like this, stepped down from the second-highest job in the state,” she said. “And he and his family are suffering. This is a man whose, you know, outstanding career, so many accomplishments. The family is in grief. And we’re in grief with them.”
Nevermind the victim.
They’re not trying to protect the victim. They are trying to protect Byron Mallott. They’re trying to salvage what they can from their campaign.
