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Knopp votes with Democrats against Talerico as Speaker

Suzanne Downing
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Knopp votes with Democrats against Talerico as Speaker

(1-minute read) KENAI REPUBLICAN GOES AGAINST A REPUBLICAN-LED MAJORITY

Rep. Gary Knopp, who represents one of the most conservative areas of Alaska, voted with the Democrats and the two Musk Ox Republicans — Reps. Louise Stutes and Gabrielle LeDoux — against Rep. Dave Talerico for Speaker of the House and against a Republican-led majority.

The House gaveled in this morning, but the vote for the Healy Republican as Speaker went 20-20, thereby failing.

Rep. Chris Tuck, an Anchorage Democrat, then withdrew the nomination of Rep. Bryce Edgmon, possibly understanding that his nomination, too, would fail.

Knopp earlier had been part of the Republican caucus but then removed himself and joined with the two Republicans who do not caucus with other Republicans. He said he wanted a bipartisan caucus.

His move means that the House is still not organized, a term that means no specific group is in charge and no one is the Speaker. In the interim, Rep. Neal Foster is Speaker Pro Tem.

In his campaign, Knopp may have indicated where he stood. He wrote on his campaign website: “Our State Legislature has spent their time bickering and finger-pointing and the time for a thoughtful fiscal solution is long overdue. We need new blood in the State House.”

“We need a representative who will remember the commitment he made to the citizens of the Kenai Peninsula House District 30 to get things done and find real, practical answers to our budget issues,” Knopp wrote during the campaign season.

Knopp’s district has 5,239 registered Republicans and 1,161 Democrats. Because of the deeply conservative nature of the district, he ran unopposed in both the Primary and the General Election in 2018.

Good sport award goes to…

Suzanne Downing
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8
Good sport award goes to…

Gov. Bill Walker is the sporting subject of a comedy night to raise funds for the United Way of Tanana Valley in Fairbanks. A panel of local celebrities will be in attendance to roast the former governor on behalf of a good cause on Feb. 1 at the Westmark Hotel.

Alyeska Pipeline Service Company is the title sponsor, but organizations as big as Alaska Airlines and as small as the Fairbanks Funny Festival are also sponsoring.

“We’re ready for some side-splitting laughter!” the announcement reads at the organization’s website.

There’s plenty of material to work with. Things like, “If you like your full dividend, you can keep your full dividend.” We’re thinking out loud here.

But seriously, kudos to Gov. Walker for being such a good sport for a worthy cause.

Leave it alone

Suzanne Downing
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0
Leave it alone

THE ANCHORAGE DAILY PLANET

Mayor Ethan Berkowitz wants code enforcement officers, rather than police, to be responsible for ticketing and towing junked or abandoned vehicles and plans to ask voters to change the city charter so that can happen.

The argument for the change is that police have better things to do, and code enforcement officers easily could do the job.

It is a passable argument, but a very bad idea.

Lest we forget, police are responsible now for those tasks only because of egregious city conduct years ago that caused voters furious about the then-Anchorage Parking Authority’s overly aggressive parking enforcement to rise up in 1997 and institute the very language in the charter that Berkowitz now would change.

It what became known as the Parking Wars, two Anchorage sisters fired up a heated campaign against the aggressive enforcement by dressing up as “parking fairies” and, to the amusement of the public and the consternation of public officials, began feeding coins into expired meters.

The charter language approved by voters in 1997 is clear: “No enforcement of any vehicle violation, whether the vehicle is parked or in motion may be performed by the Municipality of Anchorage by any persons other than a regularly sworn police officer….”

http://www.anchoragedailyplanet.com/145487/leave-it-alone/

 

The last colony: Outside fishing interests

Suzanne Downing
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0
The last colony: Outside fishing interests

BY CRAIG MEDRED
CRAIGMEDRED.NEWS

News Analysis

The United Fishermen of Alaska has issued its annual report on who got the fish of the 49th state, and the winner is?

Outside fishing interests.

Of the 6.4 billion pounds of seafood harvested in Alaska in 2017, UFA’s 2018 Alaska Commercial Fishing and Seafood Processing report lists 4.6 billion pounds – almost two-thirds – harvested by permit holders from Washington, Oregon or California.

Alaska became a state in large part to break the chokehold Seattle-based interests held on state fisheries. The late George Rogers, a Juneau economist and consultant to the Alaska Constitutional Convention in a recorded history at 360North.org noted the resentment Alaskans of an earlier time held toward Outside fishing interests and the fish traps they operated.

“The fish trap…is looked upon by most Alaskans as the dipper with which the large absentee owner appeared to skim with relative ease the cream of one of the regions most valuable natural resources and then carried away to the outside the fullest part of the wealth so guarded,” he said. “That’s pretty poetic.”

The poetry killed the trap, though Rogers noted traps were the ideal way to harvest salmon.

“…It was the only way that salmon should have been harvested because the fish worked out to the runs,” he said. “You could manage. You knew what was coming and going. You could control the escapement of the fish. You could then control the harvest. You didn’t have to chase mobile gear all over the place. And it was just perfect, but the trouble with the fish trap was that it was owned by the processors, the canners, and they were all Outside interests.”

With Statehood, the traps disappeared, but somehow the Outside interests hung onto the fisheries.

Statehood failure

Oil made Alaska after Statehood, and Alaskans were lucky for it because the idea they were going to take back the fisheries clearly failed as the situation circa 2018 underlines:

Read more at CraigMedred.News

How the mainstream media sandbagged March for Life

Suzanne Downing
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8
How the mainstream media sandbagged March for Life

(2-minute read) WOMEN’S MARCH RECEIVED FAWNING COVERAGE

The 2019 Women’s March on Saturday received roughly 15 times more television news coverage than Friday’s March for Life, according to the Media Research Center.

The Women’s March’s took place on Saturday despite widespread concerns about anti-Semitism at the organization’s leadership level.

One day before that march, now in its third year, the pro-life March for Life occurred.

NewsBusters managing editor Curtis Houck examined the coverage each event received on the ABC, CBS, and NBC morning and evening newscasts:

Between Wednesday morning and Saturday evening, the Women’s March had 14 minutes and 26 seconds of coverage, and the March for Life received just 58 seconds.

“For the March for Life, ABC and CBS were especially pitiful,” he wrote.

The full story is here.

What coverage there was of the March for Life centered on a now-discredited fictitious account of a young Catholic youth who the media alleged was disrespectful of a Native American man who was drumming and chanting. The media was basing its story largely on Twitter and on the one-sided account of the Native American.

The story went viral and every major mainstream media outlet picked it up. Even conservative commentators like S.E. Cupp bit hard on the hook and ran out the line.

It turned out to be false, but not before some children from Covington Catholic High School were bullied and defamed. There were death threats. Even a boy who wasn’t the one accused of the rude behavior was bullied, in a case of mistaken identity. The reputation damage is incalculable for the institution and the student.

https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2019/01/julie-irwin-zimmerman-i-failed-covington-catholic-test/580897/

The mainstream media still doesn’t get it. But the incident is a caution to good-hearted people everywhere to be extra cautious about what is zipping around the internet. A story like that usually gets halfway around the world before the truth even knows where it set down its shoes. It was shameful.

And it will likely be repeated again and again, with the mainstream media like The Atlantic Monthly, CNN, ABC, NBC, New. York Times, Washington Post and the Los Angeles Times getting a pass, while other not-always-credible news purveyors, such as Alex Jones’ InfoWars, were banned by social media site Facebook and Twitter for stories with far less negative impact.

House members to begin informal hearings

Suzanne Downing
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House members to begin informal hearings

(2-minute read) COMMITTEE-FREE EDUCATIONAL MEETINGS TO PROCEED

With no majority caucus in place, some Alaska House of Representatives members are getting antsy. There may be no organization for days to come and they’re hearing from the folks back home that the situation is unacceptable.

But a group of Republican legislators has the answer: They plan to start informal informational meetings, open to all legislators, that allow the members to learn about some of the key elements of the budget and other critical concerns.

They won’t be the formal hearings that take place in committees once the House is organized and the committee memberships are determined. But they’re a start.

In a press conference today, Reps. Dave Talerico, Chuck Kopp, and Tammy Wilson announced the first of the upcoming meetings:

Rep. Wilson (R-North Pole) will hold a meeting on the State’s Revenue Forecast on Thursday, Jan. 24 at 1 pm in the House Finance Room with Department of Revenue Commissioner Bruce Tangeman.

Rep. Colleen Sullivan-Leonard (R-Wasilla) will host a jobs forecast meeting with Labor Commissioner Tamika Ledbetter on Wednesday, Jan. 23 at 3 pm in Capitol Room 106, as well as an economic outlook presentation with Dr. Mouhcine Guettabi from UAA’s Institute for Social and Economic Research at 3 pm on Friday, Jan  25, also in Capitol Room 106.

“We open our work this week focusing on Alaska’s 2019 Alaska economic forecast: jobs, industry, healthcare and regional economic outlook,” said Rep. Sullivan-Leonard. “Special emphasis will be given to an assessment of Alaska’s economy and statewide recession forecast and how our caucus can help in moving this agenda forward in the best interest of Alaskans and Alaska’s sustainability.”

Having these different meetings before legislators get the Dunleavy budget on Feb. 13 will allow the newer members of the Legislature to get up to speed on the matters that they’ll be deliberating as they think about the smaller budget they anticipate receiving from the governor.

The House is comprised this year of 25 percent freshman class, many of whom are eager to get to work, but have a steep learning curve on complicated issues. Another concern is that House members expect that the budget presented to them by the Dunleavy Administration will be structured differently than in years past.

Wilson called it a unique opportunity for the entire House to hear presentations that would normally be given in committees that meet at the same time other committees are meeting. Those scheduling conflicts usually prevent legislators from being able to absorb important information from other committees.

The meetings will be open to all, Wilson said, and that means Democrats and Republicans will be working together. An invitation to attend was sent to all members of the House and their respective staffs.

“We’re going to need to immediately pivot to some pretty important things,” Talerico said following the conference. “These informational meetings are being held to make sure we don’t get stuck behind the curve when there’s so much to get done on the budget, economy, public safety improvements, and resource development.”

More member-initiated informational meetings will be announced at a press conference on Wednesday morning, the group said.

STATE OF THE STATE

Rep. Talerico said that the Republicans and Democrats are still in discussion about how to handle the State of the State. It is currently scheduled for 7 pm on Tuesday, as scheduled by the Senate, but it’s unclear if the House will be able to host the event, since there is no permanent Speaker.

Rep. Neal Foster of Nome is Speaker Pro Tem. The House has cancelled its floor session that was scheduled for 11 am Monday.

Voter rolls show Rs are growing, Ds are shrinking

Suzanne Downing
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1
Voter rolls show Rs are growing, Ds are shrinking

ALASKA REPUBLICANS MAINTAIN 2-1 DOMINANCE IN VOTER STRENGTH

In the latest release of data from the Division of Elections, Republican registrations grew, while Alaska Democrat registrations shrank, year over year.

The Division of Elections this month published its latest data on registered voters. Here’s what it shows:

Republicans: 143,726 are registered in January, 2019, up from 141,636 one year ago, a gain of 2,090 voters

Democrats: 75,817 are registered in January, 2019, down from 76,362 one year ago, a loss of 585 voters.

Overall voter registrations: 575,449 total registrations in January, 2019, up from 531,749 in January, 2018, due to automatic registrations, which dumps unregistered people into the undeclared category. A gain of 43,700 voters overall.

Bottom line: Republicans outnumber Democrats in Alaska, 2 to 1. But nonaligned voters exceed both parties combined.

BUCKING A TREND

The Rasmussen Report reports that there are 31 states (plus the District of Columbia) with party registration; in the others, such as Virginia, voters register without reference to party.

In 19 states and the District of Columbia, there are more registered Democrats than Republicans.

In just 12 states, there are more registered Republicans than Democrats.

In aggregate, 40 percent of all voters in party registration states are Democrats, 29 percent are Republicans, and 28 percent are independents, according to Rasmussen Report. The Democrats advantage in the party registration states is about 12 million.

Filing period begins for Anchorage Assembly

Suzanne Downing
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3

(3-minute read) WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW NOW

The filing period for the April 2, 2019 Municipal election began Friday and ends Feb. 1, 2019 at 5 pm.

This will be the first full mail-in-only election that Anchorage will have held since it began using the method in 2017.

In 2017, the election was for Mayor, School Board seats and a hotly contested ballot initiative. In August, 2018, there was a minor mail-in-only election for Assembly Seat D, which was vacated by Tim Steele and was limited to West Anchorage.

This time, however, half of the Assembly is up for election, as well as a third of the School Board.

Although the Municipal Clerk’s Office is closed on Martin Luther King Jr. Day, Jan. 21, candidates may send in their declaration of candidacy.

Those seeking information about how to file may have to search long and hard on the municipality’s web site, as the Election Division and Clerk’s Office pages are now difficult to find, after a recent web site remodel. We’ve posted relevant links below:

For Assembly, the seats up for election are:

  • District 2- Seat A – Eagle River/Chugiak. This seat is now held by Gretchen Wehmoff, who was appointed by the Assembly to fill out the term of Amy Demboski, when Demboski joined the Dunleavy Administration.
  • District 3- Seat D – West Anchorage, an area represented by Eric Croft and Austin Quinn-Davidson. Although he filed, Croft is bowing out because he has moved to another district. It’s his seat that is up for election. He is pushing the candidacy of like-minded Kameron Perez-Verdia.
  • District 4- Seat F – Midtown Anchorage, an area represented by Dick Traini and Felix Rivera. Traini is term-limited and cannot run again, for the second time in his career, and it’s his seat that is up for election.
  • District 5-Seat H – East Anchorage, an area represented by Forrest Dunbar and Pete Petersen. It’s Dunbar’s seat that is up for election. He is the chair of the Assembly.
  • District 6- Seat J – South Anchorage, an area represented by John Weddleton and Suzanne LaFrance. It’s Weddleton’s seat that is up for election.
  • The assembly candidate packet is here.

Eight candidates have already filed for Assembly:

District 2- Seat A: (This article has been corrected. No one has filed for this seat at of Jan. 23)

District 3- Seat D: Kameron Perez-Verdia, a Democrat.

District 4- Seat F: Christine Hill, a Republican, with Al Fogle as campaign chair and Julie Tisdale as treasurer. Megan Allison-Zalatel, a no-party candidate, has also filed.

District 5- Seat H: Forrest Dunbar, a Democrat.

Seat J: John Weddleton, no-party candidate.

For School Board, the seats up for election are:

Three candidates have filed so far:

Seat A: Margo Bellamy, a no-party candidate and Warren James Smallwood, a no-party candidate.

Seat B: Starr Marsett, a Democrat.

Board of Supervisors, including Road Service Areas packet can be found at this link:

Boards of Supervisors, including LRSA

Candidates for Municipal office must reside in the municipality of Anchorage, be a qualified voter, and meet other criteria. As for ballot initiatives, the deadline for submitting petition signatures is Jan. 28.

The complete election calendar with deadlines is linked here.

Click here for the Municipal Clerk’s Office, which has more information.

Diversity by the numbers

Suzanne Downing
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3
Diversity by the numbers

LEGISLATURE GETTING MORE VARIED, BUT POWER SHIFTS TO VALLEY

Although Must Read Alaska doesn’t subscribe to Identity Politics Monthly, we love demographics.

It’s worth noting on the eve of Martin Luther King Day that the Alaska Legislature is more diverse than at any point in its history.

By the numbers, (keeping in mind that MRAK didn’t do a DNA test on any of them):

  • African-Americans: 2-Senate (10 percent), 1-House (2.5 percent)
  • Native Alaskans: 2-Senate (10 percent), 4-House (10 percent)
  • Japanese-Americans: 1 Senate (5 percent)
  • Women: 6-Senate (30 percent), 17-House (42.5 percent)
  • Jewish: 1-Senate, 2-House

The first Senate in Alaska in January of 1959, consisted of 19 men and one woman, Irene Ryan. In the House, three women served in that session.

By the 10th Alaska Legislature, in 1977-79, one woman served in the Senate and three served in the House.

Back then, there were only two House members from Eagle River and one from Palmer. Today, two House members serve Eagle River — Reps. Sharon Jackson and Kelly Merrick. Meanwhile, the Mat-Su Valley has grown by leaps and bounds and instead of one representative, there are six — Reps. Mark Neuman, Cathy Tilton, DeLena Johnson, George Rauscher, Colleen Sullivan-Leonard, and David Eastman. Ketchikan has lost representation; it has just one representative, down from the two it had in 1979.

Most of the racial diversity is in the Democrats’ caucus. Although Republicans offered a diverse slate in 2018, in districts that were heavily Democrat, the candidates didn’t do as well with liberal voters.

But the Dunleavy Administration has picked up both Ceezar Martinson and Stanley Wright, Republican African-Americans who ran in Democrat-leaning districts in Anchorage and lost to Caucasian candidates.

Republican voters typically reject identity politics, preferring merit and experience.

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