Rep. Gabby LeDoux wasn’t the only Republican who ran on the Republican ticket, but switched immediately to caucus with Democrats after the 2016 election.
The Anchorage representative traded in her party for a chairmanship of the House Rules committee of the Democrat-led House caucus.
Joining her in defecting from the Republican caucus were Reps. Louise Stutes of Kodiak, and Paul Seaton of Homer, the remaining members of what is known as the Musk Ox Coalition. One of their members was removed in the 2016 primary when George Rauscher took on former Rep. Jim Colver to represent District 9.
On Saturday, the Republican Party of Alaska said “enough is enough” for the three Musk Oxens who remain. The State Central Committee, meeting in Anchorage, approved a rule change that can prevent perceived traitors from being on the Republican primary ballot.
The vote went overwhelmingly in favor of the rule change, which was made possible by a recent court ruling that allows Democrats to permit nonpartisans to run on the Democrats’ primary ballot.
The State Central Committee then took a vote on each of the Musk Ox members and unimously threw them off the primary ballot. They will not be allowed to run in any Republican primary. The group voted unanimously to allow Party Chairman Tuckerman Babcock the authority to enforce the rule.
The ruling by Judge Philip Pallenberg regarding the Democrats is under challenge to the Alaska Supreme Court.
The logic is that if a judge allows Democrats to decide who can run on their ballot, then it applies to Republicans as well.
As a member of the Democrat caucus, LeDoux has pushed for an income tax. In April, she grabbed the microphone from Rep. Neal Foster during a press conference and intoned, “If the Senate thinks we are going to get out of here with just the POMV (Permanent Fund restructuring) they have another think coming.” She did not get her income tax, and the Permanent Fund restructuring was not passed by the House, furthering the fiscal crisis that the Legislature faces this coming January, when it convenes.
A sign posted outside the Alaska Republican Party’s State Central Committee meeting is an indication of the party’s sentiment toward someone it considers a traitor.
DECISION TIME FOR LEDOUX, STUTES, SEATON
Now, LeDoux will have to make a choice. Republican Aaron Weaver has filed for District 15 to run against LeDoux in the August primary. LeDoux will have to run as an undeclared, which would mean gathering signatures, or run on another party’s primary ticket.
Presumably the same applies for Reps. Stutes and Seaton.
Chairman Tuckerman Babcock will inform the Division of Elections on Monday that the three — Stutes, LeDoux, and Seaton — are ineligible to run in the Republican primary, he said.
Babcock said all three were given the opportunity under previous rules to explain themselves. All three made their cases a year ago to the State Central Committee, which rejected their arguments, and passed a rule to prevent any Republican Party campaign funds being used to help them, and authorized recruitment of opponents.
Now, with the new rule, they have been ruled out of the primary altogether.
The chair of the Alaska Democratic Party sent a letter to fellow Democrats on Friday to articulate a standard for conduct for those working with the party: Training on sexual harassment awareness will now be mandatory.
The letter from Casey Steinau follows a complaint lodged by a former staff member of the Alaska Democratic Party, who says she was forced to work alongside a man who had sexually assaulted her. The woman, who was subsequently a legislative aide for Democrat Rep. Scott Kawasaki (but who has since left), had complained to party management, including former executive director Kay Brown, asking that the man be removed, but was brushed off. The accused man was working on the Adam Wool for House campaign and his name has not been made public.
Kay Brown, former executive director, Alaska Democratic Party
Steinau’s letter comes from a hastily called meeting of party leadership, and outlines the code of conduct, but neither acknowledges that misconduct has taken place, nor apologizes for the party’s handling of the matter that was made public during a “Truth and Reconciliation” meeting on Thursday night at the Anchorage IBEW hall. Steinau does not address the actions of the former executive director, who is the now chair of Alaska Ascends, a group that is offering campaign classes to Democrat-registered women who are interested in seeking higher office.
Casey Steinau
Steinau’s letter in full:
“I am writing today to share with you the Code of Conduct that was approved by our executive committee earlier this week. We’re pleased to put forth this document for our party and are committed to encouraging maximum participation while organizing in a safe, positive, and respectful manner.
“Community members, volunteers and professionals from all over Alaska fulfill many roles within our communities. In order to promote a truly representative Democratic Party open to all who support our principles, we wanted to put forth some guidelines that may be used in any physical or virtual location for members when gathering or conducting Party business. Responsibility falls on each of us to advocate for a safe, positive, and productive experience when participating in the democratic process and elsewhere.
“Our Code of Conduct focuses on three responsibility areas, including: Responsibility for Open Communication and Positive Collaboration, Responsibility for Creating a Culture of Respect, Inclusion, and Equity, and Responsibility to Ensure One’s Own Safety and Create a Safe Environment for Others. You can find the documenton our website as well as other helpful information about your party.
“Furthermore, all candidates participating in the 2018 coordinated campaign will be required to complete an online sexual harassment awareness course. We look forward to supporting progressive candidates that are committed to upholding our zero tolerance policy for sexual harassment. We believe this is an important step in setting clear expectations. Our party will continue to examine and revise all policies to ensure our staff, volunteers, candidates, and activists are treated with mutual respect.
We look forward to being in touch soon. As always, thank you for your support.
(Signed Casey Steinau)
COORDINATED CAMPAIGNS
Alaska Democratic Party runs a coordinated campaign office that offers campaign services to Democrats at a reasonable fee. During an election cycle, candidates can rent space, get help with walking lists, design, mailing and support services, which allows candidates to utilize scarce campaign resources more effectively. This also brings together different volunteers and campaign workers who may have to work in close quarters.
The party currently has a staff of eight, according to its website. The Alaska Republican Party has no staff.
It was well into Saturday morning in Washington, D.C. when the Senate passed an historic tax cut for most individuals and American businesses. The bill contained a provision shepherded through by Alaska Sen. Lisa Murkowski and her Energy and Natural Resources Committee to open the 1002 area of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to energy exploration, with Sen. Dan Sullivan running interference down the field.
Opening ANWR has been sought after by Alaska for two generations, but has been blocked by the increasingly powerful environmental lobby.
The bill now will go to the conference committee with the House, and word is Rep. Don Young may be on the conference committee, where he will be in a position to protect the ANWR provision.
The bill passed 51-49, with Sen. Bob Corker bailing out of supporting it at the last minute. Earlier in the day, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell had counted on 52 votes.
The Senate floor erupted into applause as soon as the voting was complete and the tally announced.
Of course, the Senate passed ANWR legislation in 2005, but it was killed by moderate Republicans when it went to conference committee. But this is a different House than in 2005.
“Republicans are beginning to get their mojo again,” said one source in the Senate. “The attempt to repeal Obamacare took a lot out of us, but with this bill and the repeal of the individual mandate … next will come stabilizing the [health care insurance] market, and addressing infrastructure and a rational solution to DACA [immigration].
Both Sens. Murkowski and Dan Sullivan were relentless in winning support for the ANWR provision, each working the relationships they have in the Senate.
During a press conference immediately after the vote, Sen. Murkowski said, “We have been trying to open the 1002 area for responsible oil and gas production for close to 40 years now. And we have come to a, a good place tonight. we recognize that we have a little bit of process yet to go to get it over the finish line. But this is good for alaska, and more importantly it is good for the country, and combined with what we have done in the tax reform, there is truly a win for America.
Covering the political scene from the halls of the Capitol, reporter Austin Baird knows where all the bodies are buried.
Now, he’s the newest press secretary for Gov. Bill Walker, as the governor heads into his busiest year yet, with a campaign for political survival and a gasline project with some very specific drop-dead dates.
Since 2012, Baird has been KTUU’s political reporter, doing multiple live interviews from the Capitol each day during session.
Baird worked on the state government desk for the Charlotte Observer and Raleigh News & Observer; and wrote the political blog, Under the Dome. He also worked for the Associated Press.
Walker’s former press secretary Katie Marquette left to become communication director for the Department of Health and Social Services. Amanda Moser, a recent hire in the Governor’s Office, has been filling in.
One of his most challenging jobs will be to explain to Alaskans why the governor needs an income tax during a time when he is adding to the executive branch. Baird will make $110,000 a year, likely twice what he made as a reporter.
Walker also hired a new “director of public engagement.” David Lienemann, Joe Biden’s former official photographer. He is married to the aide to Sen. Tom Begich.
Linemann’s web site says he spent eight years documenting Biden’s visits to 47 states and 64 countries, including seven trips to Iraq and Afghanistan.
One of David Linemann’s photos from his professional web site.
“In addition to regularly interfacing with Cabinet officials, Members of Congress, and foreign dignitaries, I was privy to tense budget negotiations, the 2012 presidential campaign and more. However the most meaningful moments by far were the private ones; the Vice President and Dr. Biden visiting with families of the victims on the first anniversary of the Boston Marathon bombing, traveling with Dr. Biden to the Dadaab refugee camp on the Somali border, and visits to Walter Reed to visit wounded warriors and their families on Christmas Day,” he writes.
David Linemann
“Before coming to the White House I covered the 2008 presidential campaign for clients including the New York Times, Chicago Tribune, Associated Press, and Getty Images among others. Prior to the campaign, I interned at newspapers in New Mexico, Iowa, and Pennsylvania. I graduated from Cornell College with a BA in Economics and Business in 2005.”
Walker has made multiple hires this past year, including bringing on John-Henry Heckendorn to essentially manage his re-election campaign at the State’s expense. Heckendorn managed the campaign of Rep. Dean Westlake, now accused of harassment of women in the Capitol.
Olivia Garrett, a now-former Democrat legislative staffer for Rep. Scott Kawasaki who told an audience of Alaska Democratic Party activists about a sexual assault that took place, added more detail about that assault today to clarify that the attack didn’t take place at Democratic Party headquarters:
She said the assault took place prior to her job with the Alaska Democratic Party.
Rep. Adam Wool hired the accused man as his campaign manager and Garrett and the man had to share an office in the party’s coordinated campaign offices of the Alaska Democratic Party.
Kay Brown
The executive director of the party at the time was Kay Brown, and Garrett says Brown refused to make any changes or remove the man from the office.
“She should be bearing the brunt of the blame here,” Garrett said in an email. “I hope this issue keeps being discussed and hopefully addressed soon,” she added.
During her remarks at the meeting on Thursday, Garrett also said that Rep. Dean Westlake was a known harasser of women, that she and seven other women had suffered harassment from him, and she believes there are others who have as well.
This story will be updated. The original story, linked below, has been updated to clarify her allegations.
A Washington, D.C., attorney hired by Alice Rogoff in her Alaska Dispatch News bankruptcy case is arguing against subjecting Rogoff’s finances to deeper scrutiny until more specifics are spelled out.
Attorney James Lister of Birch Horton Bittner & Cherot’s Washington D.C. office argues in a Nov. 28 filing that Rogoff, the former owner of the ADN, wasn’t given ample time to produce financial documents, as requested, by Dec. 6. He also argues that bankruptcy laws allow his client to be told which people are to be witnesses. And, in a third point of the motion, seeks for Rogoff to be “more properly noticed including stating the due date for any objections.”
Nacole Jipping, the public trustee in the liquidation portion of the bankruptcy, has asked the court to allow her attorney William Artus to hire additional counsel from a specialty firm, Bush Kornfeld LLP in Seattle. A flurry of back-and-forth filings in November by Rogoff’s bankruptcy attorney Cabot Christianson argued against hiring the firm. The Bush Korfeld law firm could eat up proceeds that should go to the biggest creditor: Rogoff herself, he argued.
A hearing was to be held on Nov. 27 for the judge to rule on those arguments. But that hearing was postponed to Dec. 15. Bush Kornfeld LLC was to be hired on a contingency fee.
At the heart of the new arguments is the question of whose financial documents are being examined in what’s known as a 2004 examination: Rogoff as an individual or the “debtor,” the separate entity Alaska Dispatch LLC.
A 2004 examination provides a broader, more formal process to look in detail at debts accrued leading up to the bankruptcy. Creditors can use the exam to find property that wasn’t listed as part of the bankruptcy estate. It could look at bills racked up just prior to filing bankruptcy, according federal bankruptcy rules.
At a meeting dubbed “Truth and Reconciliation,” Alaska Democratic Party officials met with local activists to hear their grievances on Thursday night.
And they got an earful.
Angry Bernie Sanders supporters made allegations about corruption, sexual misconduct and abuse, and overt racism in the party. They are also still steaming mad about changes to the party platform, and about how party leaders rigged the 2016 vote for Hillary Clinton.
The meeting at the IBEW Hall in Anchorage went on for hours and was livestreamed on Facebook by Jill Yordy, a Bernie Sanders State Director, and delegate to the national convention. She is legislative aide to Rep. Zach Fansler, but was not there filming in her official capacity.
Dozens of people on Facebook watched the video as a woman who identified herself as Olivia from Fairbanks told a crowd of 30 or more that she was sexually assaulted beore she began working as a staff member for the Alaska Democratic Party. Updated: The man she said assaulted her was hired by the campaign of Rep. Adam Wool, and she was forced to share an office with him. When she complained, she said officials refused to remove the offender and forced her to keep working with him.
“Abuse is not just quietly tolerated in this party, but is actively encouraged,” she said. “I went to Philadelphia last summer. I was at the party’s state convention. I organized with the Interior … I saw some really horrifying things.”
“And it’s not just newcomers, it’s not Bernie people. This has been an issue amongst you guys for years and years and it just didn’t come to light until we had this giant influx of new people,” she said.
“When I was party staff, they forced me to work with someone who sexually assaulted me and wouldn’t do anything about it. I kept saying, hey can we get this person removed from the office? Can we figure something out? And nothing was done. And like Democrats always do, I got lip service for months, it’s been a year and a half and nothing was done,” despite her repeated efforts to get the party’s executive director, Kay Brown, to take action.
Jay Parmley
The party’s current Executive Director Jay Parmley came to the party after several allegations of sexual misconduct were made against him in his former roles in state Democratic party organizations.
Olivia also accused the party of not listening to locals in rural Alaska, and she said that when told that Dean Westlake had a history of harassment, the party backed him anyway in his bid for office for District 40 against incumbent Democrat Ben Nageak. She said that Westlake, now a legislator, has harassed others.
“Last year, Anchorage-based people started campaigning for a guy in a rural house district. And they were told by people who grew up in this district that the guy is bad news, you can’t campaign for him. And now Dean Westlake is in public office. And he has harassed maybe eight people, and there are probably more. I’m one of them. Despite knowing about this, you campaigned for him anyway. You have to listen to people.”
Rep. Dean Westlake
The Westlake campaign was run by John-Henry Heckendorn of the Ship Creek Group on behalf of the Democratic Party. Westlake won after election officials in Shungnak and elsewhere allowed voters to cast two ballots. Heckendorn, who was an expert witness for the Democrats during the ensuing lawsuit brought by the Alaska Republican Party, is now the campaign manager for Gov. Bill Walker, and is on the governor’s official staff in Juneau.
Walker also backed Westlake in his primary bid to upset Nageak, who was an ally of the Republican majority in the House. Tonight, questions about how widespread the knowledge was about Westlake’s behavior were answered when Olivia said that everyone knew, but backed him anyway.
Others during the “Truth and Reconciliation” meeting accused party officials of corruption. Ray Metcalfe said the party laundered $50,000 to the Hillary Clinton campaign and that while he brought it to the executive committee, nothing was done. He said the revelations by Donna Brazile now back up his allegations of corruption.
Another participant said he’d rather not vote for a “lesser of two evils” and instead he’d prefer to let the “Republicans burn the country to the ground.” Several participants said they had already left the Democratic Party and Native participants accused the party of being racist.
Eventually, time ran out and the meeting was called to an end, even though participants were clearly not done airing their complaints. By the endof the meeting, the walls were covered with notes about what had been said by the 15 or so people who took the microphone at some point.
The video was removed from Facebook not long after the event concluded.
LEGISLATORS TO LOOK AT HARASSMENT POLICIES
Meanwhile, six legislators will review the harassment policies in the Alaska Legislature and will make recommendations to the Legislative Council before Jan. 16, the first day of regular session.
The six are Reps. Matt Claman, Charisse Millett, Louise Stutes, and Sens. Cathy Giessel, Anna MacKinnon, and Peter Micciche.
BERKOWITZ ADMINISTRATION TO SELL OVER $68 MILLION IN PENSION-RELATED DEBT
By PETER CALTAGIRONE COMMENTARY
This past October, the Anchorage Assembly voted in favor of Ordinance No. AO 2017-133, authorizing Mayor Berkowitz’s plan to incur $68 million in new debt, plus interest, leveraging municipal property in the process.
The relatively minor but glaringly myopic advantages of doing this are greatly outweighed by significant risk, new and unnecessary long-term debt, and liabilities. Taxpayers may be left cleaning up the mess in coming years.
Peter Caltagirone
Under Berkowitz’s plan, $68 million, collateralized by Municipal property, will be transferred, in lump sum, to the Police and Fire Retirement System.
Currently, the Municipality is required to make an annual $10.3 million payment to the PFRS for the next six years. These payments are required under a settlement agreement executed by the Municipality that resolved PFRS litigation during the 1990s. The payments were a known quantity, consistently budgeted for and terminated in six years.
Berkowitz’s plan involves “Certificates of Participation,” similar in concept to the $3.5 billion in pension obligation bonds that the Walker administration tried, and failed, to sell in 2016.
The Assembly Memorandum accompanying the Ordinance defines COPs as a secured interest in municipal property; the Municipality essentially repays its debt by making lease payments on its own property. Until then, the property is held by a trustee for the creditors.
The Assembly, despite approving this new debt, has not seen a list of the municipal properties Berkowitz intends to encumber. Those decisions are at the sole discretion of the Anchorage Chief Fiscal Officer.
Using numbers in the Summary of Economic Effects accompanying the Ordinance, the current $10.3 million annual obligation, which terminates in six years, vanishes from the Municipality’s budget.
But, before anyone gets too excited, the debt service of the new loan begins in FY2019 at an annual rate of $6.4 million and lasts until 2033. The net, short-term savings to the Municipality for the next six years is only $3.9 million, not $10.3 million.
Further, the lump-sum payment to the PFRS raises funding levels from 80% funded to approximately 88% funded (based on numbers from a recent PFRS newsletter; the Memorandum claims 90%). Berkowitz, according to the Memorandum, gambles that the remaining funding gap can be closed by the PFRS investing the lump-sum payment.
For this gamble to work, the current high-yield environment in equity markets would have to continue well into the future.
Berkowitz’s plan has major flaws that expose the Municipality and, in reality, taxpayers to significant risk and long-term liabilities.
First, the Municipality must pay back not only the $68 million principal but also interest. We are now saddled with a new, $6.4 million annual liability until at least 2033.
Second, transferring municipal property to a trustee sets up a perennial lost opportunity to appropriate potential lease revenues to the budget, eliminating a potential revenue stream that mitigates the tax burden on property owners. Instead, these funds go to our new creditors.
Third, if the Municipality defaults, our new creditors could foreclose on municipal property. These are our fire stations, police headquarters, snow plows, etc. At this point, one can only speculate what property is actually encumbered since those selections rest solely with the Chief Fiscal Officer.
Finally, and perhaps most frightening, much of the $68 million paid to the PFRS could vanish in an equity market correction or crash. According to the PFRS newsletter, since 2010 the pension fund has enjoyed positive, annual returns of 1% – 18%, with only one year in the negative (losses of only one-third of a point).
This is consistent with the nearly decade-long climb we have seen in equity markets, an arguably historic anomaly. Typically, an uninterrupted climb only lasts 3-4 years.
Nobody can predict when the next correction or crash in equity markets will occur. Similarly, nobody can reasonably rely on continued, record growth in equity markets that are, according to conventional wisdom and the lessons of history, long overdue for a correction.
Worse, if equity markets are at the edge of a “bubble” that bursts, a significant portion of this $68 million could quickly disintegrate.
By maintaining a consistent, annual payment from the Municipality into the PFRS, the Muni could hedge against that risk by allowing the PFRS to alter its investment strategy with each payment as market conditions change.
This is a lesson that has already been learned by the Municipality and throughout the Lower 48. Let’s not forget that equity markets lost approximately 50% of their value between 2000-2002 during the first “dot-com” bubble burst and then again in 2008 precipitating the “Great Recession.” The Memorandum admits that from 1997 to 2009, the PFRS went from being overfunded to 75% funded in part as a result of these crashes.
THE RISKS ARE GREAT
As reported by Pew Charitable Trust, other municipalities that took on pension-related debt preceding these market corrections have witnessed disastrous results.
For example, Stockton, California, similar in population numbers to Anchorage, declared bankruptcy in 2012 due to the sale of $125 million in pension obligation bonds in 2007. Equity markets crashed in 2008. As part of its bankruptcy exit plan, Stockton now has a 9% sales tax.
A similar lesson was learned by Detroit, a city with a 2.4% municipal income tax and 6% sales tax. Detroit filed for bankruptcy in 2013 for many of the same reasons.
On a larger scale, Illinois issued such bonds throughout the mid-2000s. After 2008, the state was unable to pay both its pension obligations and incurred debt. Their legislature then increased personal income taxes 67% in 2011 and another 32% in 2017, along with increases in corporate income taxes.
Anchorage is not Detroit, California, Illinois, or the myriad examples of cities and states that have tried iterations of what the Berkowitz administration intends.
Let’s put a stop to reckless borrowing and spending before we unnecessarily burden not only ourselves, but also the next generation of Anchorage residents with new liabilities and taxes.
Peter J. Caltagirone is an Anchorage resident, property owner and trial lawyer licensed in five states, specializing in Oil & Gas-related litigation. Before obtaining a Juris Doctor from Villanova University School of Law, Mr. Caltagirone earned a Bachelor of Arts Degree from Claremont McKenna College with a dual major in Economics and Government.
Kenneth J. Fisher, a Juneau engineer, begins work on Dec. 1 as the Alaska Department of Transportation’s chief engineer, according to a memo from Commissioner Marc Luiken. The top-level appointment was signed off on by Gov. Bill Walker or his designee, Chief of Staff Scott Kendall.
The well-known political activist, who was an avid Joe Miller for Senate supporter in 2010, was most recently the senior representative to the State of Alaska for the Environmental Protection Agency.
Alaskans may remember him as the EPA’s point person during the armed raid of mining operations in Chicken, Alaska, in August, 2013.
That’s when he found himself a the center of an imbroglio that ensued when the EPA’s overreach seemed to reach epic proportions in Alaska, and when he was in the uncomfortable position of defending the agency.
EPA’s Environmental Crimes Task Force descended on miners in Chicken, with their loaded weapons and bullet-proof clothing that summer.
The EPA said that the heavy hand was called for because Alaska State Troopers had warned them of drug trafficking and human trafficking in that part of the state. Troopers denied that.
During tense meetings that followed in Chicken, Fisher told the group that the EPA was advised of risks to its inspection team. But according to those at the meeting, he was never able to say who specifically had warned the federal agency of any threats. In fact, participants said he was unable to answer many of their questions at all, since he didn’t seem to have known about the raid.
Ken Fisher, P.E.
Fortunately, no one was injured in the incident, even though the federal agents stormed the mining claims raid-style, rather than as inspectors with clipboards and water sampling kits. And considering that miners are typically loaded for bear.
Many Alaskans were outraged by the raid, and then-Gov. Sean Parnell flew to Chicken to get information directly from locals who witnessed the incident.
At the time, Fisher was the Alaska Deputy Director for the EPA.
Fisher was also appointed to the University of Alaska Board of Regents by Gov. Sarah Palin in 2009. His official bio says he has 26 years of professional engineering, program management, and senior legislative experience with broad federal, state, tribal, and international background. He has worked within both the legislative and executive branches of government.
A graduate of Michigan Technological University with a Bachelor of Science in engineering, he also completed a legislative fellowship with the Brookings Institution in Washington D.C.
Carolyn Morehouse, P.E. has been acting chief engineer since summer. From May 2016 through August 2017, Lance Mearig, P.E. held the position, but moved into the role of the new Southcoast Region director.
