Alaskans for Dunleavy holds an open house at its Anchorage headquarters Saturday this afternoon, 1-3 pm at 400 Northern Lights Blvd. Candidate for governor Mike Dunleavy will attend and yard signs and bumper stickers are available.
The campaign headquarters is one block away from another Dunleavy group of enthusiasts, named Dunleavy for Alaska. That group is headed by Terre Gales and is separate from the campaign, although is running an independent and robust operation to increase the name-recognition of the former state senator who is now the leading candidate for governor, according to polls from all of the candidates.
That office will also be open today, and people can stop by for their own version of Dunleavy signs, bumper stickers and pins. The campaigns are not allowed to coordinate their efforts and the candidate will not be in attendance there.
PRIMARY VOTING HAS STARTED
The Alaska Primary Election season has started, with early voting now available during weekdays.
Due to the threat of cyber attacks, such as the attempt on Alaska’s voting system in 2016, you won’t be able to submit an electronic ballot, although you can receive one by email. You will need to fax or mail it in.
Other dates to know:
Aug. 18: Regional offices open 10 am-4 pm for early and absentee in-person and special needs voting.
Aug. 19: Regional offices open 12 pm -4 pm for early and absentee in-person and special needs voting.
Aug. 20, 5 pm: Deadline to receive electronic transmission absentee ballot. applications from voters requesting an electronic transmission ballot
Aug. 21: Election Day.
Aug. 21: Absentee electronic transmission ballots being returned by-fax must be received by 8 pm.
Aug. 21: Absentee ballots being returned by-mail must be postmarked on or before Election Day.
ALASKA VILLAGE MEN NOW BATTLE FIRES ACROSS THE GREAT NORTHWEST
Dozens of men from Fairbanks and Interior villages boarded planes this week for Spokane, Washington, where they were transported by bus to Idaho and elsewhere to fight wildfires.
Four Type 2 Emergency Firefighter crews said farewell to Alaska’s wet skies as the 49th State’s fire season winds down, with few incidences for the crews to work on in what was a quiet season.
Alaska Division of Forestry’s Fairbanks #2 Crew Boss Ken Richards said the crew is happy to be heading south to get to work.
“I’m excited,” Richards said. “Whatever we can do to help in the Lower 48 we’ll do. That’s what we’re here for.”
While the situation in the Lower 48 has resources stretched thin, Alaska has downgraded to a “preparedness level one,” the lowest. Firefighters demobilized from the three remaining staffed fires in Alaska on Tuesday. Meanwhile, the four emergency firefighter crews will bring fresh energy to the more than 28,000 firefighters already working on wildfires across the west. A second jet load with four more Type 2 EFF crews flew south on Friday.
The rural crews were flown in to BLM AFS facilities on Fort Wainwright Saturday and equipped with things like Nomex, fire shelters and packs for a 14-day assignment.
They are the Kobuk Valley #2 crew from Selawik, Ambler, Noorvik and Buckland; the K River Crew from Hughes and Allakaket; and the Yukon Koyukuk Crew with firefighters from Huslia, Nulato, Galena and Koyukuk. They’ll get their hand tools and chain saws once they get to Idaho. Then they’ll more than likely head out to a fire in the Northern Rockies Area which includes Montana, North Dakota, northern Idaho and a small portion of South Dakota.
Those who headed out Friday included men from the Division of Forestry Fairbanks #1 and Delta crews, BLM Alaska Fire Service’s Yukon Flats and Kusilvak Crew. The Yukon Flats Crew is made up of firefighters from Fort Yukon, Venetie and Arctic Village. The Kusilvak Crew, which is named after a mountain about 30 miles from Mountain Village, is made up of firefighters from Marshall, Mountain Village and Pilot Station.
If you’re not sure that the Division of Elections has you listed in your proper voting district, there’s one way to find out quickly.
Go to the State’s voter database and type in your name, and either the last four digits of your Social Security number or your date of birth, and you can find out where the Division of Elections thinks you live.
What the State has on file may not be where you actually live.
After the State of Alaska enacted a voter initiative to automatically register to vote all applicants for an Alaska Permanent Fund dividend, the State proceeded to import the information from the Permanent Fund database into the Division of Elections database and unintentionally moved many Alaskans out of their districts.
Beyond differing styles of the candidates, gubernatorial hopefuls Mike Dunleavy and Mead Treadwell agreed on much during their latest debate on Thursday evening in Anchorage.
They both agreed that SB 91 needs to be repealed and that crime is one of their top priorities. They somewhat agreed on how the Permanent Fund dividend should be calculated (Dunleavy favors original formula, Treadwell goes with POMV, Dunleavy favors putting it in the Alaska Constitution, Treadwell does not).
They agreed on the “3 percent for Native Corporations out of the oil that will come from the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge,” honoring the agreements made with Alaska Natives during ANILCA, which Treadwell explained in solid detail, showcasing his deep knowledge of the subject.
However, they did not agree with Treadwell’s statements that Dunleavy wasn’t the best candidate for the job.
The two took a couple of indirect shots at each other during the Anchorage Republican Women’s Club’s “Visions for Victory” debate in the conference room of Davis Constructors.
How each responded under pressure revealed how prepared they were for the criticism that will come after the Aug. 21 Primary Election: Treadwell gesticulated and was frustrated by the time limits set by the moderator; Dunleavy was composed, nonchalant, and left no opening for future attacks from Treadwell, who has attacked him in campaign materials and radio spots.
But Treadwell also said he had supported Dunleavy for Senate, and was proud of doing so.
Treadwell, when it was time to ask his own pointed questions of his opponent, asked Dunleavy to explain a complicated high-stakes financial deal that Dunleavy’s Texas brother had been a part of, which Treadwell said raised electrical rates in California, and the other parts of the question were to ask Dunleavy if he agreed with his brother, and what Dunleavy do would do to lower electrical rates in Alaska. Dunleavy had 60 seconds to answer that.
Dunleavy lobbed back a rhetorical missile, saying this was the Treadwell voters had come to expect, and he (Dunleavy) would not go after Treadwell’s family in this debate.
Later, when it was his turn to ask a question, he asked Treadwell to repeat Reagan’s 11th Commandment, which Treadwell did, paraphrasing it satisfactorily. It is this: “Thou shalt not speak ill of any fellow Republican.”
Dunleavy was driving home the point about negative campaigning. He asked him to repeat it again.
Dunleavy asked Treadwell to explain why, when he was lieutenant governor, he allowed the hybrid ticket of Bill Walker and Byron Mallott to go forward to the general election, even though the Democrat voters had duly elected Mallott as their nominee. Treadwell would have 60 seconds to answer that.
Treadwell answered that he felt Walker and Mallott deserved due process and that he was leaning on three other instances in Alaska history when making his decision. He said he consulted with the attorney general for three hours, and he expected some external entity representing Republicans to sue over it, but a lawsuit never materialized.
The crowd of about 70 seemed to enjoy the exchange, which drew camera crews from the Anchorage Daily News, KTVA and KTUU, although most media left before the gubernatorial segment began.
Moderated by Bernadette Wilson, the evening also included major candidates for lieutenant governor, who agreed on nearly everything (“save the PFD” and “repeal SB 91”).
During the lieutenant governor segment, the four candidates avoided attacking each other and at times it was somewhat of a love-fest, with each simply touting his or her own experience, not criticizing the others.
Sen. Kevin Meyer spoke directly to the multiple problems identified in the Division of Elections, including the issuing of double ballots to Democrats in Shungnak (allowing them to vote one Republican ballot and one Democrat ballot during the primary), lost ballots, and now, the overwriting of addresses in the Election Division’s database with addresses provided by the Permanent Fund Division, which has moved many Alaskans into the wrong voting districts.
Sharon Jackson rebutted a question posed about whether the state should try to get a higher voter turnout, at the expense of getting an informed turnout. Jackson wanted to make it clear that she feels it’s not up to the state to determine who is intelligent.
Retired Col. Edie Grunwald pointed to her experience in the Alaska National Guard, and former Rep. Lynn Gattis drew upon her lifelong experience in rural Alaska, and her time in the Legislature, and how that gives her a perspective none of the others has.
The candidate-to-candidate questions between the lieutenant governor hopefuls were purely softball, reflecting the camaraderie that has developed between them on the campaign trail.
AFTER TRAGEDY STRUCK, HE WAS THE RIGHT PERSON AT THE RIGHT TIME
By WIN GRUENING SENIOR CONTRIBUTOR
For most of us who have never held an elected position, it’s difficult to appreciate the extraordinary demands made on public servants and their families. Amazingly, such people are willing to sacrifice their family life – even their careers – usually with relatively little financial compensation.
Luckily for Juneau, Ken Koelsch was willing to do just that when he announced for mayor in January 2016. It was no ordinary election – in fact, an off-cycle special election, because of the untimely death of the recently elected mayor after only two months in office.
As it turns out, he was the right person, at the right time. Some might say, the perfect person.
After a career in education and law enforcement and having been previously elected twice to the Assembly (and serving as deputy mayor), Ken Koelsch was well-qualified to step up to the job.
WIN GRUENING
His message of stronger public safety, fiscal prudence, responsible economic development, and “uniting generations to move Juneau forward” were the hallmarks of his campaign.
His election results speak for themselves. With one of the highest local election turnouts in recent history, Koelsch swept 9 of 13 Juneau precincts and garnered almost 60 percent of the votes.
He immediately began working with the Assembly and the community.
As a highly visible and effective advocate for Juneau, Koelsch regularly walked the halls of the Capitol speaking with legislators and staff members about how Juneau could better serve them as Alaska’s capital city.
He kept regular office hours, making himself accessible to the general public. Along with his wife, Marian, he attended countless community events. The mayor welcomed scores of dignitaries and visitors to Juneau and, with his engaging and comfortable personal style, always found a way to make them feel special.
Koelsch hasn’t been afraid of controversy and believes that tough decisions are part of being a leader. He has been especially forceful in his advocacy for making our streets safer, growing the economy, and exercising fiscal restraint.
Soon after taking office, to address concerns of local downtown property owners, he led the Assembly to pass an “anti-trespassing” ordinance – making the downtown area safer and cleaner for shop owners, locals and visitors.
At the same time, he supported the construction of a Housing First facility that provided permanent housing for the chronically homeless. He supported additional camping areas and a warming shelter as well.
The mayor continued to champion the Lynn Canal Highway project believing it is critical to the survival of the ferry system. It would also spur economic development, lower transportation costs, and demonstrate to the rest of the state Juneau desired improved access to the capital city.
Recognizing the contribution the mining industry makes to Juneau’s economy, Koelsch supported changes to the borough mining ordinance to help attract additional mining projects to Juneau.
With the realization that Juneau’s population and employment were shrinking and would not see appreciable positive change until new economic development became a reality, he advocated caution when considering large scale, expensive public projects.
Hence, his skepticism of the $32 million New JACC arts and cultural center. Koelsch favored discussion of a more affordable, modest facility – one that would provide a larger venue for events but not saddle the city with additional subsidies or raise property taxes – further negatively impacting Juneau’s already high housing costs. Likewise, he objected to spending up to $2.8 million per year on a new community pre-K program when a smaller investment to help expand daycare facilities made more sense.
The choice Mayor Koelsch made not to run for re-election wasn’t easy. Yet, his promise to “unite generations” echoed loud and clear in his announcement when he said, “My commitment to this community will never cease — and yet it’s time to turn the reins of leadership over to the next generation.”
Juneau will have a difficult choice to make in selecting a new mayor. Two of the three announced candidates are from the next generation. But all three candidates have different ideas on how to lead our community and the direction it should take.
As a former teacher, Mayor Koelsch understood the value of a lesson plan and creating a path for others to follow.
Win Gruening retired as the senior vice president in charge of business banking for Key Bank in 2012. He was born and raised in Juneau and graduated from the U.S. Air Force Academy in 1970. He is active in community affairs as a 30-plus year member of Juneau Downtown Rotary Club and has been involved in various local and statewide organizations.
STATE FLUBS PERMANENT FUND AUTOMATIC VOTER REGISTRATION
When the Permanent Fund Dividend automatic voter registration went into effect this year, it came with unintended consequences: Several hundred, and probably thousands, of Alaska voters were reregistered to new voting districts by mistake.
The reason is, for some at least, is because they used a different address for their Permanent Fund application, the deadline of which was March 30.
Aaron Weaver, a candidate for House District 15, pictured above, found out in time — perhaps.
Weaver, who is running against Rep. Gabrielle LeDoux in the Republican primary, discovered that the Division of Elections had assigned him to District 20. He only found out when he received a card from the Division of Elections, but he didn’t get the card within the 30-day period required to change his address back to his home address in East Anchorage.
Weaver, who is a photographer and videographer, uses his downtown business address for most business transactions and had used it for his Permanent Fund Dividend application.
At first, Weaver thought it was perhaps a nefarious action on the part of the opposition to disqualify him from being a candidate. But then he talked to the people at the Division of Elections, and he reported to Must Read Alaska that they told him it’s a mess — it’s happening to possibly thousands of people who have either been registered into the wrong district or have been wrongly registered to vote.
For instance, felons who have not had their voting rights restored, but who applied for a PFD, have been registered to vote by the Division of Elections, against the conditions of their release. This could get them in big trouble, according to a source inside the Division of Elections who needs to remain anonymous.
But for a candidate to be removed from his own district? That was shocking to Weaver.
“I was definitely not the first voter affected by this mixup,” Weaver said. “But apparently I’m the first candidate affected.”
Weaver said he was told to go online and re-register and then vote in his district, but he’s not convinced the problem is solved in his case or in the cases of an unknown number of voters.
The situation developed because the Permanent Fund application information is overwriting that on file with the Division of Elections, according to sources in Division of Elections.
Voters might see a card from the Elections Division, and it may have the wrong information on it, but they might not have looked at the card, and now it’s too late to correct it in time for the primary election.
That’s not all. There’s still Election Day, Aug. 21.
Voters who now are early voting at, for example, the Gambell Street office, are able to deal with Elections officials who have access to the information from all 40 districts.
But voters who cast ballots on Election Day might find they walk into polling places, where temporary employees only have access to limited voter files in that district. They’ll be voting a questioned ballot, and they’ll have to contact the Division of Elections to correct the information on file.
No one at this point knows how many voters are affected by the unfortunate overwrite of information. But according to Weaver, the Division of Elections employees he talked to said it is a widespread problem.
“As a candidate, I was really sick to my stomach about this, thinking I’d have to either withdraw from the race or figure out how to get them to fix it,” he said. “And I’m worried about it happening to my fellow Alaskans.”
CAMPAIGNS WILL BE AFFECTED
Not only are voters impacted by the overwrite of the information, campaigns that depend on correct voter addresses from the Division of Elections could be sending mail to the wrong voters.
At this point, candidates who use databases that are synchronized with information from the Division of Elections, will want to pull back and review their work. In a primary race where 200 votes make a difference, having the wrong addresses may change outcomes for get-out-the-vote efforts.
Campaigns will also not know which of the Division of Election updates have correct information, but should figure that anything after the Permanent Fund dividend filing date of March 30 is going to be riddled with errors.
The Alaska Supreme Court today allowed most of the Stand for Salmon ballot initiative go to forward. It severed some of its language on constitutional grounds, but left in place a pending danger for all developers in the state.
The decision was not unexpected but oil, mining, forestry, and construction companies are analyzing it now, as the outcome of the November election will have an impact on the economy in Alaska.
The initiative puts stricter controls on all development in Alaska if it is anywhere in a watershed or drainage of anadromous fish like salmon or rainbow trout. That is most everywhere that is unfrozen.
It creates a condition that will allow lengthy litigation to rule the process in everything from building a dock, a home, or a business.
Lt. Gov. Byron Mallott decided that the ballot initiative proposed by Stand for Salmon would violate Article XI Section 7 of the Alaska constitution because it removed the State’s constitutional right to allocate resources.
The initiative sponsors challenged that decision and the Alaska Superior Court approved the initiative.
The Walker Administration’s lawyers in the Department of Law actually assisted Stand for Salmon in writing ballot language that would pass muster. But later, the Governor’s Office appealed the Superior Court decision, and this morning the Supreme Court said that portions of the initiative in fact do encroach on the discretion over resources — discretion which is given to the Alaska Department of Fish and Game by the Legislature, ” that the initiative as written therefore effects an unconstitutional appropriation,” the Supreme Court decision states.
Basically, the judges say that the language that ties the hands of the commissioner of Fish and Game, forcing him or her to deny a permit under certain conditions, is an inappropriate incursion into the Legislature’s authority.
“But we conclude that the problematic sections may be severed from the remainder of the initiative. Accordingly, we reverse the judgment of the superior court and remand for the superior court to direct the Lieutenant Governor to sever the offending provisions but place the remainder of the initiative on the ballot,” the ruling says.
The initiative will, it appears, move ahead to the November ballot, and the battle will continue between those who wish to have a diverse economy and those who wish to stall resource development in Alaska.
Must Read Alaska’s Suzanne Downing is still reading the decision, which was released at 11:30 am. Expected are statements from the Governor’s Office, and the Stand for Alaska group, both which oppose the Stand for Salmon initiative.
The Anchorage seat vacated by progressive Tim Steele has been won by hard-left Austin Quinn-Davidson, who kept a commanding lead during the first ballots counted on Tuesday night.
Steele resigned in June to focus on his health. Several filed for his seat but the two who were on the conservative side of the balance sheet were Nikki Rose and Sam Moore.
Quinn-Davidson enjoyed insurmountable financial backing from environmental groups and unions, and was able to run a robust campaign with the help of donors like Mayor Ethan Berkowitz and dozens of union and environmental group contributions.
The other two main candidates had a fraction of the financial capacity to get their messages out.
Quinn-Davidson had nearly 50 percent of the vote late last night, with Nikki rose at 31 percent and Moore at less than 10 percent. Minor candidates filled out the rest.
Most of the 7,145 votes that were cast were counted, a 20 percent turnout in the city’s second mail-in-only election. Another 850 ballots will be counted on Wednesday and the rest will dribble in from the U.S. Mail in coming days.
Quinn-Davidson is an environmental lawyer with Great Land Trust, and her wife is one of the cofounders of Stand for Salmon, the ballot initiative that will be decided in November.
Her victory is a big win for the liberal-leaning assembly and mayor in Alaska’s biggest city.
The seat held by Steele, and soon by Quinn-Davidson, will be up for election again in 2020.
RACES HAVE EAGLE RIVER ASKING: WHY ARE UNIONS TARGETING OUR DISTRICT?
Powerful unions in Alaska typically back registered Democrats, and have mainly stayed out of Republican primaries.
Not anymore. Alaska unions, which represent 18 percent of the Alaska workforce but have an outsized influence in politics, have gotten friendly with petition candidates who say they are “independents” but who invariably organize with Democrats once they get to Juneau.
Vince Beltrami, head of the AFL-CIO, tried to be one of those petition candidates, but ultimately lost to incumbent Sen. Cathy Giessel for Senate Seat N in 2016.
Jason Grenn and Dan Ortiz are two “independents” who succeeded in the House, where Beltrami failed in the Senate.
FIRST THE ‘MUSK OX’ DISTRICTS, BUT NOW EAGLE RIVER?
This primary season, unions are playing harder than ever in Republican races.
That’s where the action is, and they intend to put the Democrats solidly in charge again in the Governor’s Office and the House, with the help of a few key Republicans.
Union-back Republicans LeDoux, Stutes, and Paul Seaton (now a Democrat primary candidate in Homer), were richly rewarded with key seats: LeDoux was chair of Rules, Stutes was House Whip, and Seaton ran the powerful Finance Committee.
Big Labor is hoping to keep these Musk Ox Republicans — the self-described group of Republicans who flipped the House blue by joining the Democrats — in office while making even more inroads into Republican ranks in two key Eagle River seats.
Joey Merrick
These efforts are headed by Joey Merrick, (head of Laborers’ Local 341 and whose wife Kelly Merrick happens to be running as a Republican in Eagle River District 14,) who has created an independent expenditure group named Working Families for Alaska.
Kelly Merrick
Merrick’s group has already spent close to $70,000 of union dues to send messages to voters and produce radio ads in support of Musk Ox candidates and others:
Rep. Gabrielle LeDoux, Republican from Anchorage District 15, member of the Musk Ox Coalition. Merrick put $3,000 toward LeDoux’s re-election; Local 367 PAC put $1,000 into her campaign.
Rep. Louise Stutes, Republican from Kodiak, member of the Musk Ox Coalition. Merrick put $8,000 into her re-election.
Jim Colver, registered as a Republican and leader of the Musk Ox Coalition before voters booted him out of his District 9 seat in 2016. Merrick has spent $22,000 to get Colver back in office. Alaska Laborers Political Action Committee put $1,000 directly into his campaign.
A whopping ninety percent of Colver’s campaign is funded with union money.
“That’s hard to say you’re not a bought and paid for candidate,” said Tuckerman Babcock, chairman of the Alaska Republican Party.
Union funds are pouring into two other Republican primary candidates in two of the most conservative districts in the state: Nancy Dahlstrom and Merrick’s own wife Kelly Merrick. These are open seats whose incumbents, Dan Saddler and Lora Reinbold, are moving on.
Nancy Dahlstrom, Republican and former legislator, is running for Rep. Dan Saddler’s Eagle River District 13 seat. Joey Merrick has spent $10,000 on her campaign. She was known as a reliable union backer the last time she served in the House and is seen as a potential Musk Ox coalition member.
Kelly Merrick: Merrick’s wife Kelly has not received a cent from her husband’s Working Families for Alaska group, but has received most of her funds from either union political funds or directly from the unions and its powerful members: $1,000-Laborers Local 341, $1,000-Public Employees Local 71, $1,000-International Assoc. of Firefighters, PAC Fund Local 1264, $1,000-Alaska Laborers Political Action Committee, $1,000-UA Local 375, $1,000-ALPEC Laborer’s Local 942, $1,000-United Association Local 367, $1,000-IBEW Local 1547 PAC.
These represent 21 percent of her campaign’s income, according to the 30-day reports the public has access to at APOC.
In the case of Kelly Merrick, she’s also donated to those considered out of step with Republican values, including Vince Beltrami, to whom she gave the maximum of $500 in 2016, and Gov. Bill Walker in 2010:
While Joey Merrick may not be funding Kelly Merrick’s campaign with Working Families for Alaska funds, surely he knows that his $22,000 support of Jim Colver is toxic to his wife’s aspirations and will raise questions about where her loyalties lie.
NO-SHOWS AT EAGLE RIVER FORUM
During the Eagle River Republican candidate forum on Monday night, neither Kelly Merrick nor Nancy Dahlstrom attended, but people in the room were chattering about the big union contributions playing in their district and what it could mean to see conservative Eagle River Districts 13-14 change hands.
Part of the audience at the Eagle River candidate forum on Monday night.
Dahlstrom’s opponents in District 13, Republicans Craig Christenson and Bill Cook, were in attendance at the forum, which was standing-room only at the Eagle River Ale House.
Merrick’s District 14 opponents, Republicans Jamie Allard and Eugene Harnett, attended as well and the audience of 70 were able to hear their answers on very specific questions. They were not able to confront their union-funded opponent on key questions that matter to District Republicans, nor bring out her past contributions to Democrats or faux-independents.
The people of Eagle River don’t know where Dahlstrom and Merrick stand on the very tough “yes” or “no” questions that all the other candidates had to answer at the forum, such as these, which were part of the “Paddle Round”
Do the natural resources of Alaska belong to the state government? Yes or No
Will you put forward legislation before the start of the next legislative session that would make clear that the State of Alaska is a right-to-work state? Yes or No
Will you put forward legislation before the start of the next legislative session that would make clear that the State of Alaska shall honor the right to privacy of those in the womb as guaranteed in the Constitution of the State of Alaska?Yes or No
Dahlstrom told the local group that was hosting the forum in advance that she had to be out of state due to a family medical situation.
The winner of the District 13 primary — Dahlstrom, Christenson, or Cook — will face Danvelle Kimp, a Democrat in November.
In District 14, either Merrick, Allard, or Harnett will face Democrat Joe Hackenmueller in the General Election.
LATEST CANDIDATE FINANCIAL REPORTS COMING ON SUNDAY
The latest candidate reports were filed on July 23, and on Aug. 12 candidates must start filling 24-hour reports. That’s when the public will have a clearer idea of how much more union money is being poured into these campaigns. Their 7-day reports are due on Tuesday, Aug. 14.
