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Alaska Democratic Party money-laundering lawsuit is up next

Suzanne Downing
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Alaska Democratic Party money-laundering lawsuit is up next

WILL FEC INVESTIGATE? WILL LAWSUIT PROCEED?

The clock is ticking on the Alaska Democratic Party regarding a national lawsuit that sweeps the ADP into a scandal with 39 other state Democratic parties, Hillary Clinton’s campaign for president, and the Democratic National Committee.

A lawsuit by the Committee to Defend the President says that the Hillary Victory Fund used 40 state Democratic parties as money laundromats to secretly move $84 million as a way of dodging campaign finance laws. And it was all in support of Hillary Clinton. Alaska’s share of the money-laundering operation was nearly $1.17 million.

The lawsuit claims the Federal Election Commission chose to ignore complaints about the practice, in what could be the largest campaign finance scandal in U.S. history, although it has received scant coverage from mainstream media outlets.

The Committee to Defend the President found several questionable transactions:

  • Hillary Victory Fund said it transferred $1,169,100 to the Alaska Democratic Party.
  • Alaska Democratic Party said it only received $1,148,100 from the Hillary Victory Fund.
  • Alaska Democratic Party said it transferred $1,169,100 to the DNC.
  • DNC reported receiving $1,169,100 from the Alaska Democratic Party.

The oddities that stuck out in the transfers include:

  • Alaska Democratic Party did not report receiving $21,000 from the Hillary Victory Fund on or about Nov. 7, 2016, but reported transferring $21,000 to the DNC on Nov. 7, 2016.
  • The DNC reported receiving $43,500 on Nov. 1, 2015, which was the day before any funds were reported to have been transferred from the Alaska Democratic Party to the DNC.
  • Of the 12 transactions reported, 10 transactions showed the same amount of funds being transferred from the Hillary Victory Fund and passing through the state party to the DNC on the same date – the exception being the date/amount errors mentioned above.

The Alaska Democratic Party transactions that are part of the lawsuit are shown here:

 

The lawsuit, stemming from a complaint filed in December, alleges money came from the Hillary Victory Fund through state parties and back to the Democratic National Committee, basically simultaneously. Most of the money that arrived at the DNC was cycled right back to the Hillary Victory Fund.

“This Complaint alleges an unprecedented, massive, nationwide multi-million dollar conspiracy among the Democratic National Committee (“DNC”); Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Rodham Clinton’s joint fundraising committee (“JFC”), Hillary Victory Fund (“HVF”); Clinton’s presidential candidate committee, Hillary for America (“HFA”), 40 Democratic state parties, and an undetermined number of individual “super donors” to circumvent federal contribution limits and earmarking restrictions by effectively laundering nearly all contributions received by HVF through the state parties to the DNC, which contributed much of those funds to HFA, made coordinated expenditures with HFA, and otherwise granted control of those funds to HFA resulting in a de facto unlawful contribution. … this scheme allowed the DNC to receive tens of millions of dollars in contributions far exceeding federal limits,” the lawsuit alleges.

State parties like the Alaska Democratic Party never had control of the money, and will have a tough time explaining the transfers. Kay Brown was the executive director of the Alaska Democratic Party at the time; she left that job shortly thereafter and Jay Parmley was hired as her replacement. The party’s chairman Casey Steinau was likely a check signer in most transactions, but these transactions were done electronically.

After the Committee to Defend the President brought the matter to the FEC’s attention, wanting to know if phony bank accounts were set up to ease the transactions. The agency said it would investigate, but by December, 2017 had not made any detectable effort to do so.

Now, a lawsuit is on the clock.

The Committee to Defend the President is forcing a ruling out of the FEC. In April it filed a lawsuit in the U.S. District Court, District of Columbia, saying that by failing to investigate the complaint, the agency had shown its actions to be “arbitrary, capricious, contrary to law, and an abuse of discretion.”

On June 22, the FEC must file an answer — either to admit or deny. It might file a motion to dismiss. If so, the Committee to Defend the President will likely file for a summary judgment, and litigation could continue well into the future.

20171220_Hillary_Victory_FEC_Complaint_FULL

Must Read Alaska wrote about the Alaska Democratic Party’s money-laundering scheme with the Democratic National Committee back in 2016 in a report that also detailed some of the Wikileak documents showing how the state party colluded with the Hillary Clinton campaign and then-Chairwoman Debbie Wasserman-Schultz to swing the results of the Democrats’ National Convention process, toward Hillary Clinton and against Bernie Sanders.

The move angered many Alaska Democrats, who gave Sanders his largest win outside of Vermont, his home state. Sanders won 80 percent of the Alaska Democratic vote, a trend that was evident in every borough across the state.

[Read: Democrats in shambles going into convention]

Nevertheless, there were major supporters for Hillary Clinton in Alaska in 2016, as evidenced by this fundraising brochure, which features many state Democrat heavy hitters, including cohost Mark Begich:

Something fishy? Another fish advisory group established

Suzanne Downing
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Something fishy? Another fish advisory group established

NEW FISH TASK FORCES WILL REPORT TO THE GOVERNOR DIRECTLY

Gov. Bill Walker has pulled his secret Cook Inlet fish task force meetings out into the sunshine.

On Monday, he signed an administrative order establishing something called the Governor’s Fisheries Advisory Task Force. Or more correctly – task forces.

The purpose? To be determined.

Although there is no “problem statement” in Administrative Order 295, there also aren’t specific deliverables outlined by the governor.

But there is an overarching purpose: The new task forces may not undermine the role or authority of the Board of Fisheries, which is a constitutionally established governing body, albeit one that is highly controversial because it divvies up a limited and highly coveted resource.

[Read: The exact wording of Administrative Order 295]

Other than that, it’s a rangy order with plenty of leeway.

The task forces are a derivative of the Cook Inlet-oriented meetings the governor has convened with a paid facilitator over the last few weeks. That group has been meeting in Anchorage, without any official status or public notice. It’s an invitation-only arrangement. The group meets again this Thursday in a to-be-determined location. Invited stakeholders are showing up at these meetings at great expense because the fishing season has begun around Cook Inlet, and they can’t be with the fish and be in Anchorage to defend their interests at the same time.

Gov. Bill Walker, during his 40-minute State of the State address in January, did not mention fisheries but in passing.

These task forces will be made up of “varied interests, working in innovative and cooperative ways over a finite period of time, will provide observations and recommendations to the Governor on specific assigned fishery issues, which can also serve to assist the Board of Fisheries in the execution of their responsibilities.”

The task forces, according to the order, will get administrative support from the Department of Fish and Game and will work on tasks given by the governor himself.

And the task forces may offer him advice. Walker’s administrative order says there may be any number of these task forces active at a time, whenever and wherever the governor decides one is needed.

“Task forces will be activated via letter or memorandum from the Governor to the Director of Boards and Commissions and the Commissioner of the Department of Fish and Game, which will include the following:

    1. statement of objective(s);
    2. the composition and size of the task force;
    3. the time period to accomplish objective(s); and
    4. specific deliverables (as required).

Task force seats will not be specifically assigned but will represent commercial, sport, personal use, subsistence, enforcement, science, and conservation interests. There is no seat designated for fishing guides, outfitters, or fishing businesses that rely on tourism.

Nongovernmental members will be paid per diem and travel expenses for meetings, but the governor directed that meetings should be held telephonically or by video conference to the extent practical.

Alaska already has 84 local advisory committees that inform the board of fisheries process. Advisory committees, according to the State Department of Fish and Game, are intended to provide a local forum on fish and wildlife issues, and “are critical policy bodies to the boards.”

More than 700 Alaskans already serve on these boards, which also provide ground-truth input to the Alaska Board of Game.

The governor has not focused on fisheries during his three-and-a-half year tenure, and in his 6,200-word, 22-page State of the State address in January only mentioned it once, saying “We have world-class fisheries and are promoting new opportunities such as kelp and shellfish production. We will continue to prioritize healthy salmon habitats that benefit all users.”

But with an election on the horizon and several fisheries in crisis in Alaska, task forces may be seen as an election strategy that costs little, but repairs some of the damage that has occurred since Walker’s first fateful fisheries move: Appointing Roland Maw to replace Karl Johnstone, a respected retired judge, on the Board of Fisheries.

[Read: Fisheries board nominee indicted for the third time]

Maw is still in court defending his right to take years and years of Permanent Fund dividends in the largest Permanent Fund dividend fraud case in Alaska history.

District 8 Democrats’ Craigslist plea: Please run

Suzanne Downing
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District 8 Democrats’ Craigslist plea: Please run

Alaska’s House District 8 is so conservative.

How conservative? The Democrats’ district chair had to advertise on Craigslist to find a candidate to run for House.

The ad wasn’t enough to entice someone into running against Republicans in this deeply red part of Alaska.

As for truth in advertising, as usual there’s more to it. Legislative service not so much a job, but rather a form of public service for which you get scant praise and only modest compensation, considering the hours. And that per diem? You’re going to need it for maintaining two residences — one in Juneau and one in Big Lake. Then there’s family, schools for your children, and getting that security system in place for your Mat-Su Valley home. No wonder the party turned to Craigslist.

So in the end, who filed for the seat as a Democrat?

Jim Chesbro, the man who placed the ad. Pat Chesbro has been a two-time candidate for the Legislature, and apparently wasn’t ready for round three.

The last Democrat who ran for District 8 was Greg Jones, the devout Muslim who became the subject of various speculation about his ties to radical Islam groups. Jones won 18 percent of the vote in 2016, a remarkable result, considering his qualifications. He went on to challenge Don Young for Congress this year, but has since dropped his candidacy.

In District 8, it’s an uphill battle for Democrats, in the same way it is for Republicans in District 33 (downtown Juneau) or 20 (downtown Anchorage).

Whacked in Wasilla: Three catch-release crooks nabbed in action

Suzanne Downing
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Whacked in Wasilla: Three catch-release crooks nabbed in action

Troopers were called to a residence on Schrock Road in Wasilla on Saturday at about 12:18 pm, where a man had observed a burglary in progress at a friend’s house. The man tried to detain three suspects by holding them at gun point until officers were on scene, but they ran into the woods.

When Troopers arrived, they discovered two vehicles loaded with thousands of dollars worth of items. Troopers used a canine officer team to search the area. The suspects were located and positively identified by the good Samaritan.

Arrested were three who had been previously released by the courts through the court’s pretrial enforcement risk assessment tool, which gave all three of them a get-out-of-jail-free card while they awaited their next court dates on unrelated charges:

Felisha Thomas, 31, Wasilla, who has a long history of drug abuse and related issues, with multiple arrests, including four from this year that were not yet closed cases. In October, she was arrested at Walmart in Wasilla for shoplifting, and had at least two prior theft convictions in the five years prior.

Ethan Kerr, 26, Wasilla, who had been arrested last year for possession of a scheduled drug (opioid), has had other brushes with the law. In November, he was arrested by Troopers on the Parks Highway on outstanding warrants. In 2012, he pled guilty to assault after seriously injuring a former roommate in the village of Lower Kalskag. At the time, he was on probation and was prohibited from contacting that roommate.

Joshua Johnston, 28, Wasilla, who had been released on May 5 to await trial on a Class C felony theft charge. He has been arrested for serious crimes before, including a 2013 charge of burglary in Homer, where a warrant was issued for his arrest after he was said to have taken a safe from the Salvation Army, which contained $1,900. Homer Police found the safe at Johnston’s home in Anchor Point home, but the money was gone.

Johnston was on an ankle monitor when Troopers apprehended him on Sunday.

All were arraigned at the Palmer Courthouse and sent to the Mat-Su Pretrial facility on no bail.

[Read: Alaska State Troopers original report]

Lt. Gov. Mallott presses ahead on climate change policy

Suzanne Downing
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Lt. Gov. Mallott presses ahead on climate change policy

Four of the policy working groups of the Climate Action Leadership Team (corresponding to policy statements in the governor’s draft climate policy) will meet via teleconference Monday, June 4, through Thursday, June 7, 2018. Anyone can listen in to the proceedings. The schedule of meetings:

Monday, June 4, 2-4 pm – Policy Statement #3, “Maximize carbon neutral growth in Alaska through a rapid transition to clean energy, electrification and energy efficiency”

Wednesday, June 6, 2-3 pm – Policy Statement #1, “Coordinate governance, data, and response and adaptation measures to support community risk and resilience planning.”

Wednesday, June 6, 3-4 pm– Policy Statement #2, “Invest in and encourage private sector growth of Alaska’s clean energy and green economy.”

Thursday, June 7, 2-3 pm  – Policy Statement #4, “Implement climate mitigation and adaptation actions using the best available science, economic and risk considerations, and Indigenous Knowledge.”

The teleconference number for every meeting is 1-800-315-6338; the access code is 29660.

Gov. Bill Walker established the Climate Change Working Group last year and hired an out-of-state climate change warrior to provide support to it. She earns $145,000 a year and last year commuted by jet from Seattle to Juneau and Anchorage, Alaska, at State expense, after signing on with the administration. She racked up over 11,000 airline miles in her commute during a three-month period.

The Governor’s Office has been paying for the airline tickets, cab rides, hotels, and other travel-related expenses for Cayenne “Nikoosh” Carlo, according to travel documents obtained through a public records request.

[Read more: Governor’s climate change adviser commuting from Seattle]

That time when Alice Rogoff threatened personal bankruptcy

Suzanne Downing
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0
That time when Alice Rogoff threatened personal bankruptcy

 

PUBLISHER GAVE CREDITORS ULTIMATUM; THEN FLEW OFF TO ICELAND

The lawyers for Alice Rogoff really wanted to settle with creditors last fall, and on her behalf they were seeking deep discounts in the amounts Rogoff and/or the Alaska Dispatch News owed to unsecured creditors. Court filings show her lawyers leaning heavily on small businesses to cut a deal, or be prepared to get nothing from Rogoff.

The former owner of the Dispatch (since sold and renamed Anchorage Daily News) owed as much as $33.5 million to both secured and unsecured creditors, and declared herself to be among the first in line to be paid — saying the bankrupt businesses she owned owed her $23.6 million.

Arctic Partners, from whom she had leased a building, wanted $3.4 million. GCI wanted $2.5 million. And M&M Wiring wanted $668,000.

According to documents filed with the court, the law firm of Birch Horton Bittner & Cherot reached out to the lawyers representing both Arctic Partners and M&M Wiring, looking for deals.

To M&M Wiring’s attorney Wayne Dawson in October, Birch Horton law partner Adam Cook wrote “As I am sure you are aware, Ms. Rogoff’s financial situation is precarious. She has at least three lawsuits pending against her personally, including one by GCI seeking approximately $2.5 million. In the past, Ms. Rogoff was a resistant to filing for personal bankruptcy because of her concern for her public image.”

It sounds like a reasonable overture: Everyone is concerned about his/her image, no one wants to file personal bankruptcy, and Alice had a lot going on in her life — three personal lawsuits, to begin with.

The public image she was likely most worried about in October, 2017 included her reputation on the international stage, and the future of a small publishing business she had kept going after selling the Dispatch.

Rogoff in October was speaking at the Arctic Circle Assembly in Reykjavik, Iceland, where she would no longer appear as the publisher of the Dispatch, but as the owner of “Arctic Today,” the online publication she was able to take with her during bankruptcy proceedings of the previous weeks. It’s a product the Dispatch had launched many months earlier as “Arctic Now,” and by now she had renamed and relaunched it as a Delaware Corporation.

Rogoff was advisory board chair for the Arctic Circle Assembly, where she would introduce Sen. Lisa Murkowski and hobnob with Arctic knowledge experts and leaders. Personal bankruptcy would have tarnished that carefully cultivated brand of polar expert, intellectual, art patron, and adventuress.

Her public image also mattered in October because, while going through a multi-business bankruptcy and relaunching Arctic Now, she was in the middle of a divorce from her now-ex husband, David Rubenstein.

She needed money from Rubenstein. It would have been far more comfortable for her had she been able to zero out some of her biggest troubled debts and move on.

During the private divorce negotiations, Rubenstein’s attorneys likely had some sideboards on his financial arrangements. Rubenstein wanted the details of the divorce settlement to be kept private, for one. But were payments made before the divorce? As the fabulously wealthy cofounder of the Carlyle Group of private equity investors, her husband would be the ultimate deep pocket.

Rogoff knew that at some point in the very near future, her divorce would splash across the pages of the Washington Post. Again, personal bankruptcy would be a difficult narrative to explain to the Washington Post.

A THREAT OF PERSONAL BANKRUPTCY

But while that was going on in Maryland, Rogoff’s Anchorage attorney, Adam Cook, was telling creditors that she was likely to file for personal bankruptcy: “Now that her personal finances are public knowledge, the stigma is gone, and bankruptcy appears to be her best option,” he wrote in October.

Cook was telling her creditors that Rogoff could just throw in the towel, declare bankruptcy, and leave them with nothing. Better for them to settle for a fraction of what they were owed.

“Right now,” Cook wrote, “appeals are being made to third parties, seeking personal contributions that will allow Ms. Rogoff to settle with her creditors and move on rather than going into bankruptcy. It was on the basis of these third-party contributions that Ms. Rogoff was able to extend an offer to Arctic Partners a few weeks ago in the amount of $475,000. It is still possible that Ms. Rogoff and Arctic Partners will broker a settlement.”

What third parties gave Rogoff the money to settle with some creditors and not others? The key word here is “her creditors.” Creditors are trying to convince the court that she and her businesses were indistinguishable.

The letter does not say where she got the money from nor under what circumstances. Was she pressuring Rubenstein to bail her out, before she signed the divorce papers?

“Ms. Rogoff needs to know if it is possible to reach a number with M&M Wiring. If she can’t reach such an agreement, and she files a petition in bankruptcy, then the litigation will become about between M&M Wiring and Arctic Partners. Frankly, I expect that such litigation would be pretty ugly,” Cook continued. “An offer from Ms. Rogoff is probably the last time M&M Wiring can expect to see ‘cash on the table’ for quite a while.”

“I don’t like couching offers with the threat of debtor bankruptcy (let’s face it, debtors are often blowing smoke). But I wanted to give this thing one more shot. Let me know. Thanks.”

TIMING IS EVERYTHING

Cook’s letter to attorney Wayne Dawson was dated Oct. 12, 2017.

The next day, the Iceland Arctic conference would start. Rogoff would appear with the Russian ambassador for Arctic Affairs, and other circumpolar glitterati. The agenda of the conference can be found here.

Rogoff had already traveled to Russia in late March for a polar conference hosted by Vladimir Putin, and to Nantucket for a sailing regatta just days after declaring bankruptcy in August. She spent time in D.C., and kept traveling the globe.

WHAT ROGOFF TOLD THE PUBLIC WEEKS EARLIER

Rogoff had sold the newspaper to the Binkley Company weeks before. In her farewell column to readers, she wrote for publication on Sept. 12, 2017:

“We are fortunate that this legal (bankruptcy) process exists, giving a company like ours protection from creditors while reaching for a solution to the most urgent challenges. Of course, I am deeply sorry there are vendors whose bills will go unpaid. And I dread the prospect of layoffs at the paper that will be necessary for it to survive under its able new owners. These are the hard realities of business gone bad.”

COOK IN THE KITCHEN?

The distinction between Rogoff as an individual with debts and Rogoff as the owner of a corporation with debts is a tangle for the best bankruptcy minds. Her lawyers are trying their best to keep her personal finances safe from creditors.

Adam Cook, the author of the letter explaining her likelihood of personal bankruptcy, is a partner at the law firm that is defending her personally, as well as representing AK Publishing, Alaska Dispatch News, Moon and Stars LLC. The tangle of corporations owe a lot of money to a long list of creditors. Even the law firm itself is a creditor.

But Cook appeared to serve informally as something more than a lawyer. In early 2017, he acted more like a project manager for the renovation of the Arctic Partner building, where Rogoff was trying to move all of the Dispatch operations last year.

His involvement with possibly running an aspect of her business may be an important key in a segment of the bankruptcy proceedings. The court filings include a memo from Cook to M&M Wiring directing them to proceed on work and continue to submit invoices.

The court may wonder if Cook is acting as an attorney for Rogoff, but also has qualities of a witness who was an actor in the very issues that are now subject to the bankruptcy proceedings. Can he be both?

Monday is the next bankruptcy mediation date for Rogoff. The Chapter 7 trustee Christine Tobin-Presser will mediate between Rogoff and Northrim Bank, over a separate issue involving the personal loan she took out from Northrim to purchase the Anchorage Daily News back in 2014. It is possible both the interest and principal of the loan may have been paid by the corporation, not by her, a detail that will matter to the bankruptcy trustee. And it further entangles Rogoff as she tries to keep her personal finances separate in the bankruptcy proceedings.

Wednesday is Rogoff’s next date for a deposition with Arctic Partners and M&M Wiring, where they will be able to ask about her personal finances and her divorce settlement. Arctic Partners compelled her attendance for June 6. It’s always possible, however, that a settlement will be reached before her divorce settlement details are outlined to her creditors under oath.

WHAT ABOUT ARCTIC TODAY?

Rogoff now is the publisher of Arctic Today, with a polar focus. A year ago in June, Rogoff was talking about Dispatch’s exciting new product:

But by the fall of 2017, Rogoff told the court it was worth nothing and convinced the judge to let her keep it. The Binkley Company didn’t want it, and the court decided it wasn’t worth including as a business asset. It was a small victory in a series of traumatic failures, allowing her to retain the one asset that doesn’t need to make money, now that her divorce is final, but would burnish her brand on the global stage.

Now, she just has to wear down the creditors of her former business interests that are now in Chapter 7 bankruptcy.

Mead Treadwell jumps in for governor

Suzanne Downing
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Mead Treadwell jumps in for governor

Former Lt. Gov. Mead Treadwell filed for the office of governor on Friday. He’s joining a Republican primary ballot that already has Mike Dunleavy, Scott Hawkins, Michael Sheldon, Darin Colbry and Gordon Thomas.

Treadwell ran for U.S. Senate in 2014, rather than remain on the ticket with Gov. Sean Parnell for reelection. Both men lost — Treadwell in the Primary to Dan Sullivan and Joe Miller, while Parnell went on to the General Election, where he was overtaken by Undeclared Democrat Bill Walker.

Since then, Treadwell has worked as president for PT Capital, a firm launched by Hugh Short and Joe Sanberg, with Alice Rogoff, former publisher of the Alaska Dispatch News, as a senior adviser. He left that role on Friday.

He’s also stayed active on the speaking circuit and with circumpolar conferences and panels. He has long been in investing and business startup, and is speaking at the Wilson Center at Yale University on June 11 on the topic of space technology and the Arctic. Watch the panel, which includes Tina Pigeon of GCI, here.

Treadwell is Catholic and pro-life, and in other ways is viewed by many as a moderate Republican and Anchorage businessman. In a Republican primary, he occupies the same general profile as Scott Hawkins — a successful business entrepreneur — although Hawkins has not served in elected office and has operated a political action committee focused on pro-private-sector issues for several years. Both are well known in the business community, but Treadwell has name recognition beyond the Alaska business community due to his four years as lieutenant governor and run for Senate.

Born in New Haven, Conn., he attended both Yale (BA) and Harvard (MBA) universities. Treadwell moved to Alaska to take an internship with Walter Hickel’s campaign for governor. Hickel lost to Gov. Jay Hammond in the primary. Treadwell worked as a political reporter for the Anchorage Times, and later as Hickel’s  treasurer and vice president at the Yukon Pacific Corporation. Treadwell was also the Cordova’s director of spill response after the Exxon Valdez oil spill.

Hickel later won the governorship under the Alaska Independence Party banner, Treadwell became deputy commissioner of the Department of Environmental Conservation, from 1991-94.

Although it is late for Treadwell to jump in the race, his first task will be to see if there’s enough support for his candidacy, and the proof of that will be in fundraising and polling.

He has until July 2 to see if an independent political action committee will stand up support for him in a primary battle that is millions of dollars in the making. One of the problems for the short calendar he faces is that he has committed to speaking engagements on the East Coast for the next several days.

Spreadsheet mania: Candidates for Senate, House primary

Suzanne Downing
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Photo: The Division of Elections white board at the Gambell Street office on Friday, where all candidates who filed for office that day were listed for public consumption.

For the political junkies among us, we provide the ultimate high: A color-coded spreadsheet of the candidates, as we know them, for the Alaska Primary – legislative races.

Some listed here may not have completed all their paperwork with Alaska Public Offices Commission or the Division of Elections, and may be disqualified. Others may not appear here because they mailed in their information. You can bet some names are missing. We’ll update and reload as the fog clears.

Note: Red for Republican, blue for Democrat, and purple for other parties. Some candidates are listed as going to the General Election via petition.

Second spreadsheet upload, June 5, 2018 in Excel:

PRIMARY_CANDIDATES_06_04_2018

The deadline to file for the Aug. 21, Primary was 5 p.m. Friday, June 1.

Send suggestions and corrections to Suzanne @ mustreadalaska.com

(Thanks to RR, SS, TB, the other TB, and CH for help on Friday navigating the storm of filings.)

Begich to the rescue for the Democrats

Suzanne Downing
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Begich to the rescue for the Democrats

The Alaska Democratic Party is jettisoning Gov. Bill Walker to rally around Mark Begich as the true-blue Democrat who can help them rebuild their party.

Begich re-enters the arena today as a Democratic candidate for governor; Walker has indicated he will retreat from the Democrats’ primary and run as a petition candidate in November. He will return to gathering the signatures he needs.

Debra Call, a left-leaning member of Knik Village and Cook Inlet Tribal Councils, showed up at the Division of Elections today and began her paperwork for lieutenant governor, telling news reporters that Begich had called her at 9 pm Thursday and asked her to be his running mate.

In a three-way race, Begich has a tough time beating both Walker and the Republican nominee, so his goal will be to destroy Walker between now and Sept. 2. That’s the last day that Walker can withdraw from the November ballot. Voters can expect a bruising campaign from Begich, who will pound on Walker’s failings and publish damaging information about him.

Begich will then emerge as the head of the Alaska Democratic Party, and even if he comes in second will be ready for a run for Senate in 2020 against U.S. Sen. Dan Sullivan.

A former mayor of Anchorage, Begich defeated Sen. Ted Stevens in 2008, and served one term in the Senate before being defeated by Sen. Dan Sullivan.

DEBRA CALL TRUMPS BYRON MALLOTT BY AN X CHROMOSOME 

For a running mate, Begich has gone to a Native matriarch to match against Tlingit Byron Mallott, the current lieutenant governor. At 63, she is 12 years younger than Mallott.

Debra Call, from her Facebook page.

Mallott had run as the Democrats’ pick for governor in 2014, but after the primary, the Alaska Democratic Party’s state central committee kicked him to the second slot on the ballot and installed Walker, who was still a Republican at the time of the negotiations, at the top of the ticket. Walker then registered as an undeclared, and the two went on to victory, pulling from the left and the middle of the electorate.

Lt. Gov. Byron Mallott, screen grab from YouTube.

But Begich has drawn on the new technique of Democratic “intersectionality” in his pick of Call. He’ll have a Native running mate and a woman running mate all in one.

Plus, she doesn’t come from a Southeast tribe. And with Mallott’s famously fiery temper, Call has a lot to work with to oppose him.

Call is deeply immersed in grievance politics and appears anti-Second Amendment, if her Facebook feed is any indication.

Bloomberg’s profile of Call says: “Ms. Debra L. Call, also known as Deb, served as Corporate Director of Health Information at Centere Healthcare Corporation. Ms. Call served as Vice President of Operations of Alaska Native Heritage Center, Incorporated. Ms. Call served as a Director of Operations and Human Resources of Alaska Native Heritage Center, Incorporated. She is a Registered Health Information Administrator (RHIA) with over 25 years of experience in health information services. She specialized in inpatient rehabilitation coding for prospective payment system reimbursement, and also has expertise in acute care and long-term care PPS coding. She provides oversight and training for coding and reimbursement systems as well as assuring all HIPPA requirements are met in all partnership locations. She serves as Director of Alaska Travel Industry Association.”

A PARTY IN SHAMBLES?

Alaska Democrats took the State House over when they convinced three Republicans to join them in 2016 in a coup.

But now, one third of House Democrats are either not running for reelection or have resigned, and the party has Bill Walker as its current standard-bearer; he is not even a Democrat. If he won a second term, they could not count on his support for their party platform.

This is a Democratic Party in need of rescue and Begich is the man to do it. Today at 5 pm is the filing deadline for candidates. This story will be updated. Check back for more.

[Read: Dead man Walker. Begich circles]
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