Page 1632 – Must Read Alaska

Services set for April Hackney

Anchorage Daily Planet

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March 20, 2018

A celebration of life for April Hackney will take place Saturday, March 24, from 4-6 pm at the home of Gov. Bill Sheffield, 3125 Susitna View Ct, Anchorage, Alaska.

April was born April Lynn Newlun in Sitka, on Feb. 23, 1964, to Bruce and Lydia Newlun (Panamarkoff). She was of Tlingit, Russian, and Anglo heritage.

The well-known political consultant was half of the Hackney & Hackney agency. She died unexpectedly (and uncharacteristically) quietly on March 14, 2018. Her husband Art held her hand at Providence Hospital as she passed from this world.

April graduated from Sitka High School in 1982, and worked for the Forest Service before driving to Anchorage in 1985 in her Mustang, with only $100 in her pocket. She landed work with the Holden Hackney & Holmstrom advertising agency, where she rose from receptionist to administrative assistant to production manager to wife and business partner of company President Arthur Hackney. They married and formed the partnership Hackney & Hackney.

April was a shining light who had a powerful impact on every person she met – and she met people all over this planet. Whether it was a president, a senator or a person cleaning the streets in New Orleans, April wanted to know what made them tick. April had a way of coaxing stories from people that even their family members had never heard. April and Art remained business partners and best friends from the time they met until her death.

Her memory lives on in the countless community projects she supported, including Anchorage Town Square, Three Virtuoso’s concerts, Cyrano’s Eccentric Theatre, the Alaska Basketball Development Program and the Mayor’s Charity Ball. She served on George W. Bush’s National Finance Committee and was selected as a Whip for the 2000 Republican National Convention in Philadelphia, Pa. As a major donor to the George W. Bush Presidential Center, April’s name is on a plaque in the Center’s courtyard in Dallas, Texas, at Southern Methodist University.

Her clients included Senators Ted Stevens and Frank Murkowski, Congressman Don Young, Mayor George Wuerch, many State Representatives and Senators and Assembly members, as well as some of Alaska’s largest businesses.

She dearly loved Art’s daughters Heather and Alexis.

April traveled widely. She petted a rhinoceros, helped remove a spear from the side of an elephant on the Laikipia Plateau of Kenya, swam with sharks and dolphins, rode camels, fished, zip-lined, hang-glided, kayaked, snorkeled, climbed tall trees and enjoyed life – a life that ended far too soon.

[Read: April Hackney, creative political force, has passed]

Chapter 7: Rogoff now says Dispatch owes her up to $23 million

Suzanne Downing

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March 20, 2018

0

Chapter 7: Rogoff now says Dispatch owes her up to $23 million

The owner of the Alaska Dispatch News — now defunct — has filed yet another bankruptcy claim against the entity of which she was the sole owner, and which she ran into the ground in three short years.

Alice Rogoff’s latest claim is for $7 million, and it adds to her first claim of $16 million that she says the dead newspaper owes her personally.

Rogoff wants to be paid before any of the other 28 creditors are made whole, but in reality there are no assets left to pay any of them, and the wealthy heiress has done something uncharacteristic of the other creditors: Rogoff and her lawyers have fought from having her personally responsible for paying the debt to her numerous creditors, of which she is the largest by far.

A reader could be forgiven for not understanding the difference between her and her failed entity. She mixed her personal finances and business dealings so much that it may leave her personally liable to pay the business’ debts. But that’s another story. Creditors had until midnight on Monday to file their claims against the Alaska Dispatch News in Alaska Bankruptcy Court.

Must Read Alaska looked into the list of creditor claims in the Chapter 7 liquidation proceedings filed since September and through the March 19 midnight deadline.

Many of the creditors in the Chapter 11 proceedings did not proceed with claims once the case was converted to Chapter 7, which is when the entity is seen as a total loss:

Municipality of Anchorage, Department of Law: $28,258.14

Air Land Transport Inc, Anchorage: $12,788.41, for transportation services

Opti Staffing Group, Anchorage: $4,541.00, for services

United States Trustee, Seattle: $6,500.00, proof of claim

Monster Worldwide Inc., Wisc: $13,280.45, for services

Thomson Reuters (Markets) LLC: $8,725.40, for services

Alice Rogoff: $16,619,095.90, for money she loaned to the newspaper that she owned.

AdPerfect Dynamic Advertising Solutions Ltd, BC, Canada: $16,051.00, for services

Reed Brennan Media Associates, Inc, N.C.: $6,460.86, for goods and services

Catalyst Paper (USA) Inc., Irvine, Ca: $51,307.56, for goods sold

Arctic Office Machines, Arctic Office Products, Anchorage: $1,658.68, for goods sold

Frontline Construction LLC, Anchorage: $109,354.98, for construction services

Boot Country, Anchorage: $118.96, for worker boots

3150 C, LLC, c/o Robert Hume, Landye Bennett Blumstein: $715,490.63, for breach of lease

Legacy.com: $907.48 for services relating to obituary service subscription

Internal Revenue Service, Centralized Insolvency Operations: $24,461.94

TSI North America LLC, Bellevue, Wa: $12,500.00, for services

Arctic Partners, LLC, Tacoma, Wa: $2,446,425.82, for back rent

J. Birkett, Inc, Lebanon, Tenn: $265,376.00 for contract services

M&M Wiring Service Inc, Anchorage: $1,529,808.19, for improvements to the Arctic Partners building

Alice Rogoff, Anchorage: $7,000,000.00. This one is complicated. It’s a claim that is contingent and it’s in addition to a prior claim she has made for money she loaned to the dead newspaper.

This claim was filed by Birch Horton Bittner & Cherot c/o James Lister, Esq. Rogoff estimates the final range is between $900,000 and $7,000,000. The claim is brought in the event that Rogoff’s various shell entities lose in the lawsuit filed by her former business partner Tony Hopfinger, as well as other lawsuits and legal actions pending.

If she loses, she’ll be suing her dead newspaper for the amount owed. “The dollar amount of Rogoff’s claims for contribution and indemnification is not yet known because it depends on resolution of claims against Rogoff giving rise to contribution and indemnification claims on her part.”

“Mr. Hopfinger filed suit against ADP for the payment of severance, and has likewise sought to pierce the corporate veil of ADP in an effort to hold Ms. Rogoff personally liable. Case No. 3AN-16-07173 CI, Superior Court for the State of Alaska, 3rd Judicial District at Anchorage. Because the Employment Contract specifically states that if Mr. Hopfinger is terminated without cause he is entitled to six months of his “regular compensation,” which would have been his “regular salary” paid by Debtor Alaska Dispatch News, LLC, the Debtor would be the responsible party and obligor. A further factor is that ADP was at one point slated to become the direct owner of the Debtor, but then assigned the stock purchase agreement to AK Publishing, LLC, which became the direct owner. A copy of the Employment Agreement is attached as Schedule 4.

“Alleged contract between Tony Hopfinger and Ms. Rogoff, entered into in April 2014, whereby Ms. Rogoff agreed to pay Mr. Hopfinger $100,000 a year, over and above the salary paid by Debtor Alaska Dispatch News, LLC (ADN), with the understanding that Mr. Hopfinger would continue his employment with ADN and dedicate all of his time and resourced into making ADN a success. Mr. Hopfinger has filed suit against Ms. Rogoff for all payments allegedly due. Case No. 3AN-16-07173 CI, Superior Court for the State of Alaska, 3rd Judicial District at Anchorage. Because the contact was designed to benefit ADN, Ms. Rogoff has an equitable indemnity claim against ADN for any amounts that she is required to pay.

“Other contracts, leases, corporate documents, and instruments relevant to such other claims as may be asserted against Ms. Rogoff.

“If the contribution and indemnification rights discussed above are properly asserted by Ms. Rogoff’s entities Moon and the Stars, LLC or AK Publishing, LLC, rather than Ms. Rogoff, this claim is filed on behalf of those entities. Rogoff owns Moon and the Stars, which in turn owns AK Publishing, which in turn owns the Debtor Alaska Dispatch News, LLC.”

GCI Communication Corp: $174,768.37

GCI NADC LLC: $3,399,415.03

Northrim Bank: $731,100.00, for loans

John McKay: $81,501.65, for legal services

Law Offices of Cabot Christianson, P.C: $83,385.31, for legal services unpaid

Law Offices of Birch Horton Bittner & Cherot: $54,718.80, for legal services unpaid. Note that BHBC also is filing a claim on behalf of Rogoff for up to $7 million she is owed if she loses various lawsuits.

Law Offices of Michael R. Mills, Dorsey & Whitney LLP: $13,634.50, for legal services unpaid.

Tony Hopfinger, former business partner of Alaska Dispatch News: $950,000. This claim results from a personal guarantee that Alice Rogoff wrote on a bar napkin to Hopfinger as the two were getting a business divorce. The napkin is Exhibit A in his lawsuit against her, which has been delayed until November:

A contract on a bar napkin, signed by Alice Rogoff.

THE GRAND TOTALS

The claims total over $34.3 million, and of that, $23 million is what Alice Rogoff claims is owed to her by her bankrupted newspaper operation.

[Read:Alice Rogoff: Fraud, deception, reckless disregard]

[Read: The summer of Alice Rogoff’s discontent]

Groups band together to oppose Board of Fisheries nominee

Politics

Suzanne Downing

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March 20, 2018

3

Groups band together to oppose Board of Fisheries nominee

Gov. Bill Walker’s nomination of a Kodiak resident to the Board of Fisheries has hit a strong tide of opposition.

A letter to Alaska legislators opposing Duncan Fields was signed by 16 sports and outdoor groups this week. They object because Fields, a Kodiak commercial fisherman, would replace an Anchorage sports fisher on the board that they want to be balanced between competing uses for a treasured resource.

The groups said the seven-member board should balance not only regional representation but also have three members who have interests in commercial fishing, with three who have interest in sport and personal use fishing. One board member should represent the interests of subsistence users.

*Duncan Fields, nominee to the Alaska Board of Fisheries*

“This balanced approach has worked well for Alaska,” the groups wrote. “The appointment of Mr. Fields alters that balance and threatens a return to earlier times when commercial fishing interests dominated the Board with little regard for sport, personal use subsistence fishers.”

“With respect to Alaska Board of Fisheries appointments, it matters where people are from and where their experience lies. We urge you to keep the Board fair, equitable and balanced by Voting No on the confirmation of Mr. Fields to the Alaska Board of Fisheries.”

Those signing the letter of opposition included a wide swath of Alaskans that the governor and the Legislature will heed at their own political peril. They are the heads of the Alaska chapter of Safari Club International, the Alaska Outdoor Council, Alaska Wildlife Conservation Association, Fairbanks Fish and Game Advisory Council, Kenai River Professional Guide Association, Matanuska Valley Sportsmen, Southeast Alaska Guides Organization, Tanana Valley Sportsmen, Alaska Charter Association, Alaska Sportfishing Association, Chitina Dipnetters Association, Kenai River Sportfishing Association, Mat-Su Fish and Wildlife Commission, Southcentral Alaska Dipnetters Association, Territorial Sportsmen, and Tsiu River Coalition.

The Kenai River Sportfishing Association posted a link and sample letter that Alaskans can send to legislators directly from the organization’s web site.

The House Special Committee on Fisheries, chaired by Kodiak Rep. Louise Stutes, last night postponed a hearing on the nominee that was scheduled for today. Fields will likely get a friendly pass from Stutes because if confirmed, he won’t be able to run against her for the House seat she occupies. Fields has let it be known he intends to file for that seat and challenge her in the Republican primary.

Gov. Walker has had a tough time with his nominees to the Board of Fisheries since Board President Karl Johnstone resigned from the board after learning he would not be reappointed. His first failed appointee, Roland Maw, has been caught up in legal troubles after being accused of not actually being an Alaska resident and for taking Permanent Fund dividends wrongfully.

[Read: Board of Fisheries appointment cuts out Anchorage anglers, dipnetters]

[Recommended reading: Salmon struggle]

Trigger happy

The Social

Suzanne Downing

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March 20, 2018

3

WHAT’S WRONG WITH THIS PICTURE?

The annual legislative shoot took place in Juneau on Saturday. The winning team was, once again, led by Sen. Peter Micciche, with marksmen Matt Gruening and Jerry Burnett on his team.

It was the 21st annual legislative shoot, sponsored by a loose knit group of sporting organizations and the Alaska Correctional Officers Association. The gathering takes place at the Juneau Gun Club and ADF&G Hunter Education Complex on Montana Creek Road, rain, snow or shine. This year’s shoot landed on a “Chamber of Commerce” day for shooting, with just a light overcast providing a glare-free range. Some 37 teams and 111 shooters participated, mostly legislators and aides.

Several readers forwarded the Juneau Empire (James Brooks) photo above to Must Read Alaska, with comments that Sen. Bill Wielechowski shoots in the same manner he legislates — looking backward, shooting forward, and finger curled on the trigger. Poor form.

For lessons, Wielechowski might want to pair up with one of the Legislature’s most capable shooters, Rep. Cathy Tilton, who did not participate Saturday due to a splitting headache. Here she is at target practice:

While most marksmen can only shoot accurately with one hand, the raven-haired lawmaker representing Chugiak-to-Wasilla’s District 12, is an ambidextrous shooter who would drop an assailant in a heartbeat — and keep her French manicure chip-free. (She’s also known as a straight shooter in the Legislature.)

Some of Tilton’s recent targets, first with left hand, then with right. Impressive.

And finally, the photo of Sen. Peter Micciche on Saturday, showing how it’s done:

Should a murderer go free? Help the parole board decide

Anchorage Daily Planet

Suzanne Downing

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March 20, 2018

53

Should a murderer go free? Help the parole board decide

(Editor’s Note: This is a guest column penned by the granddaughter and great niece of three murder victims in one of Anchorage’s most notorious violent crimes, which occurred in 1985. At the end, the author has a call to action for readers to send letters to the Alaska Parole Board asking that they keep the killer locked up.)

BY TAMERA LIENHART
GUEST WRITER

It was a lifetime ago, when a vicious crime happened that changed my life forever. In 1985, my grandparents, Ann and Tom Faccio, age 70 and 69, and my great aunt, Emilia Elliott, age 76, had their lives cut short, executed by Cordell Boyd and an underage accomplice, Winona Fletcher.

In April, the Alaska Parole Board will decide whether Boyd, who has served just one-third of his sentence, will be freed. Discretionary parole, it’s called.

The two murderers had long criminal histories in Anchorage; and had no association with my family, until they terrorized and shot three members of my family while attempting to rob them.

My grandparents and great aunt were like many of us in Anchorage: They were responsible citizens, small business owners, parents, grandparents, making ends meet, and paying taxes.

This fateful day started out like so many others. Tom and Ann Faccio and Emilia Elliot were at their home in east Anchorage, enjoying dinner and watching the news, when they answered the doorbell.

Someone was having car trouble and needed to borrow their phone. Who wouldn’t help someone in need? Life for all of us was forever changed because my beloved family opened that door and offered to help.

FROM THE LEGAL FILES

Below are the facts of the case as outlined in one of the many legal briefs written after the murders:

On April 22, 1985, W.M.F., age fourteen, and Cordell Boyd, age nineteen, forced their way at gunpoint into the house of Tom and Ann Faccio and Emilia Elliott. W.M.F. initially struggled with Mr. Faccio, age sixty-nine, during which her .22 caliber handgun discharged. Ms. Faccio, age seventy, entered the kitchen, where the disturbance was taking place. Boyd demanded money from Mr. Faccio and was given approximately $300 at that time. Boyd directed W.M.F. to find Ms. Elliott, age seventy-five, who was found in the garden and brought back into the house. Boyd and W.M.F. ordered the three victims to sit down on the living room couches. While there, Ms. Elliott pointed out to W.M.F. that she did not have a mask on, and W.M.F. became concerned that she could be identified. Boyd checked the living room for valuables and then went upstairs to obtain neckties from an upstairs bedroom in order to tie up the victims.

Boyd returned downstairs and directed W.M.F. to take Ms. Faccio upstairs because she appeared to be having a heart attack. While W.M.F. took Ms. Faccio upstairs, Boyd began tying up Ms. Elliott and Mr. Faccio. W.M.F. returned downstairs to retrieve her gun and then went back upstairs. While Boyd was tying up Mr. Faccio, a shot was heard from upstairs. Boyd ran upstairs to find Ms. Faccio kneeling at the foot of the bed praying. W.M.F. was laughing. W.M.F. had attempted to shoot Ms. Faccio in the head, but Ms. Faccio had ducked and the bullet had missed her. At that moment, Boyd looked downstairs and noticed that Mr. Faccio was getting loose from his bindings, so he immediately ran downstairs to finish tying up Mr. Faccio. While tying up Mr. Faccio, Boyd heard a second shot from upstairs. Boyd went back upstairs and found W.M.F. holding the gun over the body of Ms. Faccio, who had been shot in the head at a distance of three inches. W.M.F. later indicated that Ms. Faccio had been pleading for her life and W.M.F. had become angry and said, “Shut up, bitch” as she pulled the trigger. When asked why she had shot Ms. Faccio, W.M.F. indicated that it was because Ms. Faccio could identify her.

Mr. Faccio called out from downstairs, asking what was wrong. Boyd told him that his wife had just been shot, and Mr. Faccio started crying. Subsequently, both Boyd and W.M.F. went downstairs. W.M.F. walked directly to Ms. Elliott and shot her in the head, killing her. Boyd then obtained more money from Mr. Faccio, (approximately $400) and, according to W.M.F., Boyd proceeded to shoot Mr. Faccio twice, first in the chest, and a second time in the head to end Mr. Faccio’s misery. Boyd asserts that W.M.F. shot Mr. Faccio in the chest, and Boyd subsequently shot Mr. Faccio in the head to end his misery.

After the murders, Boyd and W.M.F. immediately left the house without taking any other property. They went to the nearby home of Boyd’s sister, dropping the murder weapon in the woods along the way.

MY GRANDPARENTS, TAKEN FROM ME

My grandparents were responsible people. They went to church and donated to charities. They did a good job raising their children, and an even better job spoiling their grandchildren.

They were very involved in our lives, coming to our events, we had family dinners together and I thought every grandpa smelled like garlic as it was in everything he cooked. Even in our family with five children we all had special times with grandma and grandpa.

In the period of time since the murders, well-intentioned people have told me “Don’t worry, you will get over it in time.”

This is not reality. While we have learned to live with what happened, we do not ever “get over it.”

While other residents of Anchorage were understandably horrified that a crime like this could happen in our city, we alone were left cleaning up a house filled with bloodstains, bullet holes. We were left giving statements to police officers, and watching our backs, since no one knew who could possibly have done something so horrible.

A reward was offered to catch the murderers, and Winona Fletcher and Cordell Boyd were brought in after another criminal decided the reward worth it.

With no remorse, the two bragged to many about what they had done. We were thankful they were taken off the streets and convicted of murder. Originally, Fletcher was sentenced to 297 years in prison, but the courts later reduced it to 135 years. Cordell Boyd was sentenced to 99 years.

CORDELL BOYD COMES UP FOR PAROLE

On Feb. 22, I received a call from the prison saying Cordell Boyd will be up for a parole hearing on April 2, and I was asked if I wanted to be involved.

His sentence is now my family’s sentence.

The very fact that this hearing is happening takes me back to that awful day in 1985, as if it were yesterday and I was attending East High in German class, when my brother walked in with sunglasses on saying, “Come, you need to go with me. Something bad has happened.”

We raced across town as he struggled to find the words or the place to tell me about the horrific news that no one should ever have to tell another person.

Yes, it has been a long time, and the anger has subsided, but no one gets over something like this, and every time it comes up again, we have to relearn how to live with it all over again.

Random violence can impact anyone; rich, poor, educated or not. What does a sentence actually mean if convicted murderers only have to serve a one-third of their sentences?

Our community has a growing list of random, unassociated heinous murders in our recent memory — Robert Hansen, Israel Keyes, and Jerry Active, to name a few. Cordell Boyd is one of those killers.

OUR CALL TO ACTION

My late mother, Janice Lienhart, pioneered the victim’s rights movement in Alaska after my grandparents and great aunt were executed in cold blood.

She and my aunt, Sharon Nahorney, discovered the harsh reality that victims had no standing in the criminal justice process. They championed the creation of Victims for Justice, an organization that focuses on helping the victims negotiate the very confusing criminal justice system.

Because of their efforts, victims rights are now enshrined in the Alaska Constitution.

Today, I’m asking the community to step forward and, for the sake of all victims, speak out against the early release of a killer.

The Parole Board takes comments from the public. If you agree with me that Mr. Boyd should remain in prison for executing my grandparents and my great aunt, please write to the Parole Board.

The email address is [email protected] , and — importantly — make sure to copy your letter to the Office of Victim’s Rights at [email protected]

Sample wording for your letter to the Parole Board:

RE: Faccio Murders

Dear Alaska Parole Board;

I urge you to not release a murderer coming up for parole who has only served a small portion of his sentence. Please do not release Cordell Boyd.

It only takes a minute, but your voice matters to the safety of our entire community.

Thank you.

[Read the gruesome details of this crime at Justia.com]

At the mercy of bureaucrats

Columns

Suzanne Downing

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March 19, 2018

0

By ART CHANCE
SENIOR CONTRIBUTOR

I rarely write about anything but State matters, but I was a federal employee for awhile, and I know my way around the US government a bit.

In my time — almost 40 years ago — the federal government was very structured and rule driven. You started a memo with “Pursuant to the authority of nn CFR nnn, I have determined …”

Since the Clinton-Gore “streamlining,” the US has become much more of a cult of personality, and basically if the boss wants it, the boss gets it.

The State was already a cult of personality when I came to work there in 1987. It was the rarest State employee who had a clue why they did what they did or what legal authority they operated under; if the SOP or the boss said do it, they did it.

Back in the 1980s there was still some progeny of the old federal Territorial Service so in the ministerial positions there was at least the attempt to maintain some legal integrity. There were some finance, personnel, and procurement types who still had the skill and guts – and were close enough to retirement or didn’t know any better – to tell a director or commissioner s/he couldn’t legally do something.

By the 1990s those were all gone, though a few, veterans of the Department of Administration, remained dispersed around State government in places they could hide from the Knowles Administration’s “re-engineering” efforts.

We made some attempt to restore ministerial authority in the Murkowski Administration but the “get the boss what he wants” culture had become dominant. Any responsible Administrative Services director, finance officer, or procurement officer should have just flatly told Frank Murkowski he couldn’t buy that damned jet and if necessary told him that if it got mentioned again it would be on the front page of the Empire and the ADN. Instead, the people whose job it was to protect the governor from bad acts helped perpetrate the bad act. As far as I know, they’re all still working for the State and Frank Murkowski isn’t, in large measure because of that jet.

Which brings me to the current federal government.

Clinton-Gore purged everyone from the federal government who’d ever had a Republican thought and removed most ministerial processes in the name of streamlining. Streamlining is Democrat-speak for “we can do what we want.”

George W. Bush did the usual Republican thing of appliquéing a few buddies in the high-level positions and leaving the Democrats in charge of the rest of the government.

Obama purged everyone on whom any Republican thoughts might have rubbed off. So now we have 25 years of people who were hired or promoted under the Clinton-Gore “streamlined,” anything-goes system. These are the people who are supposed to make sure hires are legal, security clearances are appropriate, travel is in accordance with the rules, and purchases are legal.

The Democrats have prevented the Trump Administration from meaningfully installing a government below the Cabinet officers by slow-rolling every appointment. To make it worse, it is hard to find potential appointees who are willing to endure being mau-maued on national television, so the Democrats are able to essentially keep the Obama Administration in place below the cabinet officer level.

The grossly ineffective Jeff Sessions, a once-good man who spent too much time in the Senate, remains Attorney General because if he were removed, the Democrats would block confirmation of a successor and a demonstrably corrupt Obama holdover would be President Donald Trump’s attorney general.

There are people whose job it is to arrange the travel of cabinet officers and to make sure that travel is in accordance with the rules. High-level ‘crats, and especially cabinet officers, don’t make their own travel arrangements; they tell a staffer to arrange a trip to Podunk on Friday, the staffer calls the travel office, and the travel office makes the arrangements.

Even if you’re a cabinet officer you travel cheapest and closest to necessary time unless there is an explicit extenuating circumstance or no other way to travel. It is someone’s job to know that and even if the traveler wants something else, they can’t have it.

It was somebody’s job to refuse to book the charter flights that got the DHSS secretary fired. It was somebody’s job to refuse to make the travel arrangements that are hanging over Secretary Ryan Zinke’s head. It was somebody’s job to refuse to even consider buying a $50,000 dining table for Sec. Ben Carson’s dining room, and that somebody who didn’t do their job was probably the one who leaked the contemplated purchase to the media.

Unless and until the Trump Administration gets some middle management hired/confirmed that actually knows how the government is supposed to work, they are going to be bedeviled by set-ups that are quickly leaked, and media demands for the heads of people who made the mistake of trusting the bureaucrats whose job it is to make sure that the rules are followed.

And it doesn’t just happen in DC; I’ve seen more than a few State of Alaska appointees set up and taken out by corrupt ‘crats in Juneau too.

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. Chance coined the phrase “hermaphrodite Administration” to describe a governor who is simultaneously a Republican and a Democrat. This was a grave insult to hermaphrodites, but he has not apologized.

Power play, Begich style

Politics

Suzanne Downing

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March 19, 2018

6

THE PRICE OF OWNERSHIP

The most powerful political figure in Alaska between now and June 1 is … Mark Begich.

That would make Gov. Bill Walker the most anxious political figure in Alaska, because of … Mark Begich.

Democrats are now worried about Walker’s reelection chances, with good reason. With his “unfavorables” extremely high and his favorables dropping, according to a recent Morning Consult poll, Walker is the least popular governor in the nation. He’s in a public opinion tailspin.

Appointed staff members in the Walker Administration are beginning to look for safe landing spots and have less than nine months to find one. The latest to hit the road is Craig Fleener, who was originally Walker’s running mate, but who was cast aside in 2014, and then given a cushy position that required no deliverables. Fleener is contacting influencers and reconnecting with the “other side.” Last week, the governor’s rural adviser Geoffrey Godfrey clocked out for the last time.

Begich and the Democrats will try to push Walker into their Democratic primary once a Supreme Court case is decided this month that determines whether unaffiliated candidates like Walker can run on the Democrats’ primary ballot.

[Read the appellate court decision here that is being challenged by the State]

Organized labor can also be expected to put tremendous pressure on Walker to enter the Democrats’ primary.

If Walker does decide to go that way, Begich could easily beat him in that primary and has until close of business on Friday, June 1 to file as a candidate.

Talk about a nail-biter for Walker.

WHAT DOES THIS ALL MEAN?

It means between now and June 1, Mark Begich owns the governor. He can extract anything from him that he wants because the vainglorious Bill Walker loves being governor and will want to hang on, at any price. It remains to be seen if what Begich really wants is the big white house on Calhoun Avenue.

BLOOD IN THE WATER

For his September campaign kickoff in Anchorage, Walker boasted dozens of co-hosts from across the state, and he has signed up dozens of deputy treasurers for his campaign as a show of force.

But for this Friday’s Walker-Mallott fundraiser in the populous Mat-Su Valley, the governor could muster only a few loyalists, and some are retreads from the inaugural fundraiser above. Notably missing is Democratic Party Chairwoman Casey Steinau, even though she lives in the Mat-Su. During Walker’s election in 2014, her party was the key to his success, but it appears that either Walker is creating distance between himself and the Democrats, or the Democrats are “keeping their powder dry,” as instructed to by Mark Begich in an August letter to supporters.

Meanwhile, Begich will not forget that in 2014, Walker refused to endorse Begich’s re-election for U.S. Senate. Begich, who had won the seat from Sen. Ted Stevens six years earlier, lost to Dan Sullivan and is now looking for just the right comeback.

Mayor Berkowitz caught pushing sanctuary city tactics

Suzanne Downing

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March 17, 2018

39

Mayor Berkowitz caught pushing sanctuary city tactics

WATCH THE VIDEO AND DECIDE FOR YOURSELF

Mayor Ethan Berkowitz was videotaped at the U.S. Conference of Mayors recently asking questions of immigration experts about how Anchorage could be more proactive in protecting illegal immigrants from federal immigration authorities.

He asks the experts, “In terms of DACA, in terms of Dreamers, in terms of making sure that we are providing every possible legal protection to people who might otherwise be subject to federal immigration authority.”

The experts explain that Berkowitz, a committed Democrat, can always sign on as an amicus (friend of the court) on existing lawsuits, but that’s not satisfying to him. Berkowitz explains he wants to take a more proactive approach in protecting illegal immigrants from the law.

“But I mean those are done in a defensive posture where you are relying on existing constitutional law,” Berkowitz argues. “Is there something proactive that we can…” his voice trails off as Avideh Moussavian, of the National Immigration Law Center, tells him how her group can help him develop model policies for Anchorage.

Here’s the explosive video of Anchorage’s mayor looking for ways to expand the definition of “welcoming city” during a time when crime is at historic highs, when unemployment is climbing, and when citizens are being asked to cough up more in the way of taxes to pay for declining services:

If only Mayor Berkowitz had this level of commitment to fighting crime in Anchorage.

Ballots everywhere — an opportunity for fraud

Politics

Suzanne Downing

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March 17, 2018

8

Ballots everywhere — an opportunity for fraud

PEOPLE IN ANCHORAGE WOULDN’T DO THAT, WOULD THEY?

Ballots were in the mail on Tuesday and by Wednesday some Anchorage residents were already receiving them — multiples of them. In one case, a man received two ballots to himself — one as Richard and the other as Rick. Residents in apartment buildings report receiving ballots for numerous previous residents.

This reporter was in possession of over a dozen ballots by Friday night — mostly belonging to neighbors who have since moved away — and was left wondering how many such stray ballots could be voted, signed, mailed and then slip by the human signature verifiers undetected? Thousands, we imagine. (Testing such a weakness in the system would be voter fraud, although Alaska law itself is weak in this area).

And then there’s the mail theft problem.

BALLOTS IN THE WILD

On Friday, the education and outreach coordinator for the Anchorage Municipal Clerk sent out this notice:

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Earlier today, MOA Elections was contacted by voters who reported theft of Vote by Mail ballot packages in the Chugiak area. The location of the reported theft was in the vicinity of Whispering Birch Drive, Oberg Road and Deer Park Drive. Forty-six ballot packages were turned in to the Chugiak Post Office.

The Municipal Clerk’s Office filed theft reports with the United States Postal Service Inspector General and the Anchorage Police Department. The APD Case Number is 18-502374. If anyone witnessed this crime or if someone has evidence of the crime, they are urged to contact APD by calling Dispatch at 786-8900, referencing Case #18-502374. Citizens may also contact Crime Stoppers at 561-STOP(7867).

The ballot packages turned in to the Chugiak Post Office were damaged and wet. The stolen ballot packages will be voided and new ballot packages will be issued to the voters.

The Clerk’s Office thanks the alert community members who brought this to our attention, as their actions help us to ensure the integrity of the election. The Clerk’s Office considers reports of ballot tampering and theft of ballot packages as very serious and will follow up on those reports for referral to APD and the USPS Inspector General.

The Clerk’s notice identifies a problem that didn’t exist before — ballots are being found everywhere. But the Clerk doesn’t have a remedy other than to say that this is a problem that can be addressed only if the ballots are turned into the police, city or post office so they can “ensure” the integrity of the election.

A SYSTEM BUILT ON TRUST

How will Anchorage residents know that once they put their ballots in the mail or in a drop box that it will actually be counted?

Must Read Alaska called the Muni’s voting hotline (907-243-8683) and asked, “We used to be able to see our ballot go into a tabulation machine. We had certainty our ballot was counted and anonymous. Now, how can we be sure?”

The answer is less than satisfactory. It’s a system built on trust.

Ballots will feed into a scanner and two elections officials will check signatures against a database to verify identities.

Yes, the voting central offices are relatively secure and every corner is watched by a camera. But the only way to know if your ballot was actually received and counted is to call and give them your name and other identifiers. They will be able to look it up on a list. The information won’t be posted publicly but is public.

The number to call to verify that your vote was received is 907-243-8683 or e-mail the clerk’s office at [email protected].

The last day to vote is April 3. Mail your ballot, using a first-class stamp, or save on postage by bringing the ballot to a secure drop box in your area.

Must Read Alaska has concerns about the voting integrity and the ability of organized political groups to con ballots from trusting people and either mail them on their behalf — or not mail them.

In Palm Beach County, Florida last year, detectives found that extensive voter fraud had occurred when candidates and their surrogates cajoled voters into voting for them, helped them fill out their ballots, and on occasions actually filled the ballots out for them and signed them. No arrests were ever made.

[Read: Palm Beach Post report on voter fraud in 2017 mail-in voting]

IF YOU DON’T TRUST THE SYSTEM

If you have less than full confidence that the Anchorage vote by mail system is secure, you can use five accessible vote centers that will open March 26:

MOA Election Center

619 East Ship Creek Avenue, Suite 100 at Door D (on the east side of the building)
All Municipal ballots will be available at this location.
Open:
Monday, March 26, 2018 to Friday, March 30, 2018, from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
Monday, April 2, 2018, from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
Election Day, April 3, 2018, from 7:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m.

Anchorage City Hall

632 West 6th Avenue, Room #155
All Municipal ballots will be available at this location.
Open:
Monday, March 26, 2018 to Friday, March 30, 2018, from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
Monday, April 2, 2018, from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
Election Day, April 3, 2018, from 7:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m.

ZJ Loussac Library

3600 Denali Street, First Floor
All Municipal ballots will be available at this location.
Open:
Monday, March 26, 2018 to Saturday, March 31, 2018, from 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.
Sunday, April 1, 2018, from 12:00 noon to 5:00 p.m.
Monday, April 2, 2018, from 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.
Election Day, April 3, 2018, from 7:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m.

Eagle River Town Center (Same building as the Library)

12001 Business Boulevard, Eagle River
Community Room #170
Only Chugiak-Eagle River ballots will be available at this location.
Open:
Monday, March 26, 2018 to Friday, March 30, 2018, from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
Monday, April 2, 2018, from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
Election Day, April 3, 2018, from 7:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m.

O’Malley’s on the Green

3651 O’Malley Road
All Municipal ballots will be available at this location.
Open:
Monday, March 26, 2018 to Friday, March 30, 2018, from 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.
Monday, April 2, 2018, from 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.
Election Day, April 3, 2018, from 7:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m.

A map of Accessible Vote Center locations.

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