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Lekanof: I got busted for OUI

Suzanne Downing
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House candidate Anthony Lekanof issued the following statement tonight:
“Following a situation last Friday, I was arrested on suspicion of OUI while attempting to recover my stolen wallet and cell phone from an event I was attending.
“As a candidate for office, I’m aware of what this situation looks like from the outside.
“While some will use this to diminish my campaign and my ability to lead, I hope that, over the coming weeks, I’ll be able to earn back the trust that I may have lost as a result of this decision.
“On the advice of my mentors and campaign team, I’ve chosen to focus on the issues at hand, and will let the process run its course. I greatly appreciate your support and prayers.”
Lekanof is running for House District 18, a seat now occupied by Democrat Harriet Drummond. He is 21 years old and has been a rising force in the Alaska political scene as an Alaska Native and a Republican.

Parnell recalls Rev. Billy Graham’s Alaska legacy

Suzanne Downing
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Parnell recalls Rev. Billy Graham’s Alaska legacy

When the Rev. Dr. Billy Graham died last week, some in Alaska thought immediately of his son, Franklin Graham, who has strong ties to the 49th state and who has brought his ministry, Samaritan’s Purse, to remote places like Eagle, Hooper Bay, Galena, Marshall, Nunapitchuk, and Togiak. Through Franklin, Alaskans have come to have close ties with Graham family.

The Samaritans organization rebuilt housing after floods, built churches and youth centers, and brought Christian love and prayer to many far-flung corners of Alaska.

Franklin Graham has traveled to Alaska nearly every summer with Operation Heal Our Patriots, providing faith-based marriage retreats for wounded warriors and their spouses in the Lake Clark retreat center that the organization built for that purpose.

Known world-over for its disaster recovery and rebuild services, Samaritan’s Purse is offspring of the Graham ministry begun by the Rev. Billy Graham some 70 years ago.

Franklin Graham in Togiak, Alaska. (Samaritan’s Purse photo)

Samaritan’s Purse President Franklin is in the process of arranging the final resting place for his father’s remains, which are in repose at the Billy Graham Library in Charlotte for two days, where thousands of fellow Christians and his many admirers are paying their respects. The Rev. Graham will lie in state in the U.S. Capitol Rotunda on Wednesday.

President Donald Trump ordered flags lowered to half-staff at all public buildings on the day of Graham’s interment.

 

GOVERNOR PARNELL RECALLS MEETING

Former Gov. Sean Parnell recalls meeting Billy Graham several years ago, when as governor he was an invited speaker at a Samaritan’s Purse conference for volunteers.

After the conference, the Parnells — Sean, Sandy, and their daughter Rachel — were asked to come to Billy Graham’s home, which was a modest, cabin-like structure on a beautiful site in the Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina.

They entered the home to find Dr. Graham, dressed in a suit and tie, sitting by the fire. He was in his early 90s, Gov. Parnell recalled, and he asked each of them about their lives, and their interests.

“He cared about each one of us as individuals. He was asking about our personal interests, what we enjoyed doing, asking for insights about the people of Alaska, asking about our spiritual life, our own life in Christ,” Parnell told Must Read Alaska.

“Probably the highlight was when he asked Rachel, who was 16 years old at the time, to sit next to him so he could talk with her. He was so focused on her and her interests, asking her about her life and what was important to her and what she wanted to be when she was an adult. And this from a man who had spoken personally — and in crowds — to millions of people in his lifetime. His willingness to engage with a 16-year-old about her life was extraordinarily special,” Parnell said.

“Later, when we were in our own cabin, I asked Rachel what she would remember most about her visit and she said something to the effect (and this she said to her own dad) ‘I’ve never been in the presence of such love before.’ It was being in the presence of God’s love through a man, a human. And for me that really sums it up. He came across as charismatic, but that came out of his own faith — that God so loved him, that He gave His only Son.”

Rachel had also asked Rev. Graham what he was most thankful for in his life.

“He spoke so highly of his wife Ruth who had passed away, and he mentioned how he was looking forward to seeing her again when he himself passed away. That stood out in the meeting —  his marriage to her and how he honored her with all of his words,” Parnell said.

“We were with Franklin and his sister Gigi, and both of them were extremely close and loving toward their father. So the love of his wife, and love among his family members, his love for Ruth. — those are memories I will cherish. And if God grants me 99 years, I want to finish my life and be known for loving others,” Parnell said.

Parnell’s former Deputy Chief of Staff Cindy Sims is now the executive assistant to Franklin Graham in Boone, N.C.

Monday newsletter for Feb. 26, 2018

Suzanne Downing
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Monday newsletter for Feb. 26, 2018

Do you get the Monday newsletter in your inbox? If not, here’s your complimentary Feb. 26 edition, a glimpse of what 11,000 Alaskans receive on Monday mornings. Sign up for the newsletter at the right-hand side of this web site.

* * *

The plow-out edition from somewhere in Alaska … Plowing out the mainstream media with Must Read Alaska … Anchorage has the largest municipal operating budget in its history, topping $520 million dollars (up from $474 million in 2015), yet the streets are still knee-deep in the biggest shovel-ready project in the state …At least it’s keeping the car thieves from getting too far with your new truck … But first …

DON YOUNG ON TOUR

Steve Tyler of Aerosmith makes a cameo appearance with Congressman Don Young.

Between Anchorage, Juneau and Fairbanks, more than 450 Alaskans attended one of three “Young Guns” events celebrating the 45th year of Congressman Don Young as Alaska’s U.S. Representative. In Juneau on Wednesday evening, Sen. Lisa Murkowski gave gracious remarks about the congressman, and Capital City Republicans Paulette Simpson, Andy Mills, and Ben Brown produced a video about Young’s storied life. The video was shown at all three events across the state.

EXCLUSIVE! Watch the video here. 

(See if you can spot the photograph of a young mini-skirted Lisa Murkowski, working as an intern in his office).

NATION

PEACE OUT, OLYMPICS

With the Olympics in the rear view mirror, the US and South Korea will announce dates for their next joint military exercises, which had been put on hold. Stay tuned for jets leaving JBER.

STATE DINNER AND A SHOW

Gov. Bill Walker, head shown on far right, listens to President Donald Trump at the White House dinner for governors.
A smaller-than-usual group of governors gathered at the White House for the annual dinner with the president; 36 governors and their spouses attended, including Alaska Gov. Bill Walker and First Lady Donna Walker. Those not attending were Democrats. They’re in D.C. for the National Governors Association meeting.

CONGRESS IN SESSION

The U.S. House gavels in today and considers a resolution to allow the late Rev. Billy Graham’s body to lie “in state” in the Rotunda on Wednesday. H. Con. Res. 107.

The Senate gavels in this afternoon to consider a judicial nominee.

GUN OWNERSHIP IN AMERICA

40 percent of Americans live in households that have guns (62 percent of Alaskans).
48 percent of Americans grew up in a house with a gun.
67 percent of gun owners cite protection as their number one reason for owning one.

More about Americans and attitudes toward guns at Pew Research.

Are these numbers understated? Probably. A lot of gun owners are skeptical of polls that question whether they own a gun and how many they own.

PUBLIC EMPLOYEE UNION DUES AT SCOTUS

Today, the Supreme Court will take up the case of Mark Janus, who objects to the $45 per month he is forced to pay to the American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees. Janus doesn’t belong to the public employee union but has to pay dues.

UNIVERSAL INCOME? YOUR TAX DOLLARS NOT AT WORK

Widely shared by the mainstream media  (because Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg has made basic income his cause) is research coming from the University of Chicago Harris School of Public Policy, which says the Alaska Permanent Fund represents a form of universal basic income, and getting it doesn’t cause people to quit their jobs.

Therefore, the research infers, everyone in America should receive a basic a income just for being here.

It’s a shame that publicly funded universities are producing this level of work. Alaska’s Permanent Fund Dividend has always been highly elastic — it was as little as $330 and as high as $2,072. And with half of it being sequestered now by government, it’s not exactly something people can count on. Alaskans are not going to leave their jobs for $1,000 a year, ($2.74 a day).

STATE
‘CULTURAL APPROPRIATION’ MOMENT OF THE DAY
Juneau’s Rep. Justin Parish and Bethel’s former Rep. Zach Fansler wear traditional kuspuks on the House floor in this file photo. Is it appropriate for these and other non-Iñupiaq to wear kuspuks? Doesn’t it fall under the new liberal crime of “cultural appropriation” of style? We’ll ask the Juneau Arts and Humanities Council for a ruling.

DAN SULLIVAN AT 11

Sen. Dan Sullivan will speak to a joint session of the Legislature at 11 am today. Watch it via internet at  360north.

AN UNFORTUNATE OVERSIGHT … OR SNUB

Normally, the Governor’s Office lowers the flag when a former Alaska legislator passes, but although Joe Hayes, Republican and Speaker of the House from 1981-1983, died on Feb. 16, there has been no mention of it 10 days later by Gov. Bill Walker, who has been in Washington, D.C. for several days and who dined at the White House last night.

Must Read Alaska’s obituary of Hayes, plus many kind remembrances from friends and colleagues here.

Surely Gov. Walker will lower the flag for the late Rev. Billy Graham, whose son Franklin Graham has done so much for Alaska with disaster relief on the Yukon and elsewhere, and restorative retreats for war veterans and their spouses. Surely Walker’s office will say something.

REP. ZULKOSKY

On Thursday evening, House Democrats confirmed Tiffany Zulkosky’s appointment as House District 38’s representative. One of her first orders of business will be to take the sexual harassment training mandated by Rep. Gabrielle LeDoux after former Reps. Dean Westlake and Zach Fansler both got themselves kicked out of the Legislature for inappropriate touching — butt slapping for Westlake, and (upper) cheek slapping for Fansler.

Calendar note: The next training date is Tuesday.

Must Read Alaska is supported by readers like you.

WHITE FLAG OF SURRENDER

The House Majority has sent up the white flag. Last week Speaker Bryce Edgmon said he doesn’t see how they’ll be done in 90 days. That’s because the Senate doesn’t seem interested in the governor’s proposed budget, which is even larger than what he proposed last year.

POLL IN THE FIELD

There’s a poll being conducted in Alaska. Someone — likely a candidate — wants to know:

1. What you think about these candidates or potential candidates:

(They were read in alphabetical order)
  • Mark Begich
  • Mike Chenault
  • Mike Dunleavy
  • Scott Hawkins
  • Lisa Murkowski
  • Dan Sullivan
  • Donald Trump
  • Bill Walker
  • Don Young

2. Your likelihood to vote next state election.

3. Are you more or less likely to vote for someone who supports or opposes (on a sliding scale):

  • Income tax
  • Sales tax
  • Using a portion of Permanent Fund dividends for state government
  • Drastically cutting state government costs
  • Large increases in state spending to fight crime
  • State funding of abortion
4. If state had to raise funds to balance the budget, which would you prefer:
  • Income tax
  • Sales tax
  • Permanent Fund Dividend

LOCAL

ANCHORAGE

Planned Parenthood is issuing endorsements in school board races with greater frequency, and Tasha Hotch of Anchorage got the latest nod.

Why? Because Planned Parenthood sells sex assistance (contraceptive) kits to schools. Our story from Sunday.

WRANGELLThe City of Wrangell has declared a water shortage and asks residents to cut their water usage by 10-20 percent. Yes, in Wrangell, where the shortage is due to a lack of rain. The measure went into effect Friday and will last indefinitely, or until another deluge hits.

SITKA 

Unlike Wrangell, Sitka is looking at a proposal to sell water to Cape Town, South Africa, which is suffering from severe drought. Sitka has a permit from the State to sell 9 billions of gallons of water per year from Blue Lake. Such proposals have gone on for years, and so far, not a drop of water has been sold, but maybe this one is the breakthrough for a thirsty world.

JUNEAU

The Juneau Arts and Humanities Council bent to the wishes of the radical left and removed art from an exhibit because one person judged it as  “cultural appropriation,” a new and very elastic artistic crime.

Then JAHC apologized to everyone concerned and said the council should never have let the work of art go in the wearable arts exhibit in the first place. That story is here.

Now, some Juneauites on Facebook are posting a protest on their profiles:

PEOPLE

Weston Eiler left his job in the Legislature, where he worked for Sen. Mia Costello, and now works for Miles Baker, the University of Alaska lobbyist.Grace Jang, former communications director for Gov. Bill Walker, now has the title “Deputy to the Chief of Staff.” At least on her LinkedIn page, if not on the State’s directory.

Sam Kito, Juneau’s representative, made a big stink in the Capitol Building because there were two chairs placed outside his office and people were sitting in them and talking. Kito lost his head and flipped the chairs over.

Andy Pennington, above, is the new publisher of the Anchorage Daily News, coming from Idaho, where he has been publisher and president of  Idaho Falls Post Register, Idaho State Publishing in Pocatello, Standard Journal in Rexburg, and Teton Valley News in Driggs.

Kyle Hopkins, once at the Anchorage Daily News, is back at the Anchorage Daily News as special projects reporter. He had been at KTUU, where he had done some outstanding work. Michelle Theriault Boots and Erica Martinson both are back after family leave.

Chris Dimond, above, has filed a letter of intent to run for the House District 33, Juneau downtown. Dimond….Dimond….rings a bell. That name goes back to even before Judge Dimond. Chris’s great grandfather, Anthony Joseph “Tony” Dimond was the Alaska Territory delegate to the United States House of Representatives between 1933–1945 and was an early champion of statehood.

Tony Dimond was also a territorial legislator and a Democrat. Chris Dimond has filed as an undeclared. He’s a union guy and a Douglas boy who has worked all over Southeast.

Rep. Mike Chenault had a birthday on Sunday and spent it at home in Kenai.The candle tells the whole story about what happens when you get to a certain age.

JOBS

KTUU has a listing for an investigative reporter. Those Kyle Hopkins shoes will be hard to fill.

INTERNSHIPS

Alaska Permanent Fund Corp. has an internship for the summer. That would burnish a young resume.

OUTRAGE OF THE WEEK:

WHAT IS THIS SYMBOL?

A student in Louisiana thought another student had drawn a picture of a gun. Police were called. On Feb. 20, detectives investigated a report of terroristic threats at the school, and even searched the home of a student who had been completing a math problem that required a square-root symbol.

MUST READ’S BOOK OF THE WEEK: 

Back in the 1950s, when spying was so simple, Witness became a bestseller. Whittaker Chambers had just participated in the Alger Hiss trial, and claimed Hiss was a spy for the Soviet Union. Chambers, himself, claimed to be a former member of the Communist Party and said he was once a spy for the USSR. He beae an informant for the FBI, and later became an editor for Time magazine.

In hearings before the House Un-American Activities Committee, Chambers made accusations against Hiss that resulted in Hiss’ eventual conviction for perjury. This is Chambers’ autobiography.

POETIC

“My home is in Heaven. I’m just traveling through this world.” – The Rev. Billy Graham

Planned Parenthood playing in school board race

Suzanne Downing
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Planned Parenthood playing in school board race
Planned Parenthood of the Pacific Northwest is endorsing in school board races with greater frequency, and Tasha Hotch, candidate for Anchorage School Board Seat E, just got the Planned Parenthood nod.
Hotch has never served an elected position before, and thus had no voting record on controversial topics such as the limits of sex education in schools.
Planned Parenthood endorsed Hotch last year when she ran for Seat C against a slate of others that included Dave Donley, who won that seat with 42 percent of the vote.
Why did Planned Parenthood endorse her?
Because the abortion provider sells “safe sex” kits to schools. Planned Parenthood originally called them “Birth Control Training Kits,” but now market them as “Birth Control Educator Kits” and they are $150 a their web site. The kits have male condoms, female condoms, birth control pills, dental dams, water-based lubricants, spermicides, contraceptive sponges, and a syringe with Dep Provera.
Planned Parenthood as a nonprofit is unable to endorse candidates without losing their 501(c)(3) status, but this is the Planned Parenthood PAC, which goes by Planned Parenthood Votes.
Others running for the Board’s E seat are Alisha Hilde, Ron Stafford, David Nees, and Don Smith. The election begins when ballots are in the mail March 13, and ends on April 3.

Alaskan Tom Braund, in his own words

Suzanne Downing
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0

NO MIDDLE GROUND

By TOM BRAUND

Information is fungible. If you don’t give in to the press’ demands and you’re toast – they think. They don’t run up against many who have a pretty decent foundation in civics, history and law or one with a heckuva lot more life experience and integrity individually than they have collectively.

Freedom of the Press is for individuals, not organizations. The corporate “press” has no “right” to break ANY laws.

Channel 2 (KTUU) News trespassed on my clearly posted property uninvited to do their story, not mine. If they do it again, I will arrest for trespassing and violating my privacy (Alaska law).

The media may ask a public figure questions, which I am under no obligation to answer. If you don’t answer, they roast you with lies and invented scenarios.

If you answer, they probably will roast you with lies and invented scenarios if you are 1. Christian, 2. Patriotic, and/or 3. honest.

Once you withdraw, you’re no longer a public figure. I am Christian, patriotic and honest; the grounds for their War On Tom. They could not intimidate a Marine or shoo me away, as they like you to think they have.

Why I really withdrew has to do with a principle out of The Human Being Operator’s Manual (the Bible): Relationships are more important than institutions.

On Feb. 14, 2018, I accepted the governor’s appointment (offered through his Legislative Director Darwin Peterson, not the governor) in the early morning.

My intent: Do what’s best for Alaskans, come what may. Within a couple of hours, my friend’s desperate need became apparent to me. She had nobody else who would “be there” for her since the State withdrew its long-supplied assistance.

She tried to get me to continue with the appointment. I refused because a person is not one to be thrown into the gutter when helping is uncomfortable or inconvenient and no other “duty” supercedes. I could not be both in Juneau and available to her need, simultaneously. Hence, my decision a few hours later – to withdraw.

There is nothing more to my decision. The press may have a field day with this; don’t believe a word they say.

Nat Herz of the Anchorage Daily News deals quite well in lies and backstabbing. I get truth from Suzanne Downing of Must Read Alaska and Joshua Fryfogle of The People’s Paper.

The Establishment press made libelous statements and twisted three of my Facebook entries to look like evil. Not one word of evil is in them. One was about a relationship. Another was about a U.S. senator who turned on Alaskans and her duty. The third obviously is a much-circulating internet joke.

Gov. Bill Walker’s administration, without asking me one question, took the media’s lead and published that they didn’t know of these bad things prior to appointing me. I will publish more detailed follow ups on Facebook as No Middle Ground Part 2, etc., as I am able.

Alaskans, ask for specifics at Tom Braund on Facebook. Please identify yourself.

Tom Braund was appointed by Gov. Walker on Feb. 14 to serve as the senator for District E, but withdrew within the day. Mike Shower was appointed and has been confirmed as the senator.

The state hiring freeze: A devolutionary tale

Suzanne Downing
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0

The State hiring freeze has devolved and faded into memory.

In December of 2014, several GOP lawmakers from both the House and Senate encouraged Gov. Bill Walker to institute a hiring freeze in advance of coming budget shortfalls. He refused.

But by Jan. 5 2016, Walker had run up a $3.5 billion budget deficit and the optics were not in his favor. Walker instituted a travel restriction and hiring freeze for all State jobs not connected to protecting life, health, and safety.

It was clearly worded in a memo from then-Chief of Staff Jim Whitaker, who said every hiring waiver would have to get his approval:

2016 HIRING RESTRICTION

“A general restriction on hiring is effective immediately. This applies to all positions, including part-time, except those that are necessary to protect the life, health and safety of Alaskans. Departments may pursue a waiver due to extraordinary circumstances, as noted below.

“A department commissioner may request a waiver to the hiring restriction if the Commissioner believes a position is mission critical and the position function cannot be achieved by reassignment or reprioritizing functions of other employees. Please make note that “mission critical” refers to core service functions, not administrative functions. A waiver may also be requested if a vacancy occurs as a result of poor employee performance. All hiring waivers must be approved by the Chief of Staff or his designee.

“The hiring restriction does not apply to: Positions that are essential in protecting the life, health or safety of Alaska citizens. This includes Alaska State Troopers, corrections and probation officers, and employees that provide patient and resident services at 24-hour institutions; Revenue generating and revenue collections positions, such that the failure to hire would result in a net reduction in revenue; Positions fully paid other than by General Funds, such as federally funded programs or program receipts.”

The hiring freeze did not apply to the University system or other quasi-governmental agencies.

2016 HIRING RESTRICTION, SOFTENED

By August, 2016, the freeze had thawed a bit. The authority for hiring shifted from the chief of staff to commissioners, relieving Whitaker of having to approve each hire, except for positions above Range 22, which he still would need to approve:

“With the exception of the University of Alaska and the Alaska Railroad, the hiring restriction continues and is extended to all executive branch entities. Approval from the Chief of Staff or his designee is required before recruitment can begin.

“Agency requests must be signed by the Commissioner and cover the elements identified in the attached request template. Before submitting a request, agencies should consider alternate service delivery options that may reduce overall cost, including internal reorganization.

“While all positions supported with general funds will be scrutinized, positions fully funded by federal or other non-general fund receipts will also be reviewed to ensure all public dollars are being used to maximize public services.

“Blanket approvals will be considered for specific classes of positions if they are essential to life, health and safety, are essential to the operation of 24 hour facilities, or are directly engaged in revenue collection and enhancement. All blanket approvals currently in place will expire on December 31, 2016. Agencies must resubmit blanket approval requests to extend them into 2017.”

2017 HIRING RESTRICTIONS

By Jan. 6, 2017, there was a new chief of staff, Scott Kendall, and he issued even less restrictive language, except that now Kendall also wanted to know who, specifically by name, was being hired into a job at a Range 22 or higher:

“All hiring wavier [sic] requests will be presented to, and approved by the Commissioner responsible for the position, with the following exception: before an offer is made on any exempt or partially exempt position at or above Range 22, an agency must submit a hire request to the Chief of Staff, or his designee, which must include the proposed salary and the individual’s resume. All salaries in excess of $150,000 must provide adequate justification and will be thoroughly scrutinized.

“Before approving a request, Commissioners should consider alternate service delivery options that may reduce overall cost, including internal reorganization or outsourcing.

“While all positions supported with general funds must be scrutinized, positions fully funded by federal or other non-general fund receipts must also be reviewed to ensure all public dollars are being used effectively to maximize public services.

“Blanket approvals can be given by Commissioners for specific classes of positions if they are essential to life, health and safety, are essential to the operation of 24 hour facilities, or are directly engaged in revenue collection and enhancement.”

2017 EASY-PEASY WAIVERS

In June of 2017, the Attorney General had hired a lawyer to focus on LGBT and tribal issues, and Health and Social Services had hired away the governor’s press secretary, Katie Marquette, who serves as the department’s communication director, although her official job listing says she is a project analyst. Between the two of them, they are paid more than $250,000 a year plus nearly that amount in benefits.

The governor also hired his own personal photographer, whose title is “director of public engagement.” David Lienemann is the former longtime photographer for Vice President Joe Biden, where he documented the Obama Administration for eight years.

Walker hired John-Henry Heckendorn to serve as his campaign liaison and strategist. Heckendorn founded the Ship Creek Group, which has the Walker-Mallott campaign account. It is not a stretch to assume that Heckendorn is advising the governor on how to win in November, since managing political campaigns is his background.

[Read: Hiring freeze…not so much]

2018 HIRING RESTRICTIONS? 

By January, 2018, there were no more updates to the hiring restriction. Today, 172 job openings are advertised with the State of Alaska, including administrative assistants, recreation therapists, and an information officer II for Health and Social Services, who will write press releases for the department.

The overall workforce for the State of Alaska government exceeds 18,000.

Joe Hayes, former House Speaker, passes

Suzanne Downing
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KNOWN AS A GENTLE MAN, AND FOR TREATING PEOPLE WELL

Joe Hayes, who was Speaker of the Alaska House of Representatives during the 13th Legislature in 1983-84, died on Feb. 16, 2018. He was 88.

In Juneau, many former colleagues in government learned of his death when U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski noted it during her annual remarks to the Legislature on Thursday.

Hayes served with legends of the Alaska Legislature, among them the late Al Adams, Ramona Barnes, Charlie Bussell, and Ben Grussendorf.

According to the Alaska Blue Book* of 1977, Hayes was “an American retired civil engineer, lobbyist and politician. Hayes moved to Alaska with his family as a teenager, among one of the first civilians to travel the Alaska Highway following World War II. Hayes was a founding partner of Tryck, Nyman and Hayes, one of Alaska’s leading engineering firms. He served as a Republican member of the Alaska House of Representatives from 1977 to 1985 and was the body’s speaker from 1981 to 1985. He later became a leading legislative lobbyist in Alaska.”

He was elected to then-District 9-A in 1976, 1978, 1980 and 1982.

By 2001, he was the state’s leading lobbyist in dollars earned, representing the cruise industry and a multitude of other clients. He was the go-to lobbyist because he kept extraordinarily good relationships with people, always treating them with respect.

TERRITORIAL DAYS

Born in Bakersfield, Missouri on Feb. 18, 1930 to “Darby” and Dicy Hayes, Hayes moved to Alaska with his family during World War II. His uncle, Herman Cotter, worked throughout the Territory of Alaska during World War II and had convinced the Hayes family to come north with him and his family. The Hayes family drove the Alaska Highway in June of 1946 and settled in Anchorage. The following year, Joe Hayes graduated from Anchorage High School.

He attended the University of Washington, where he earned a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering. At the University of Alaska, he received a master’s degree in engineering management.

He was a member of the Anchorage Platting Board and on the roster of the Anchorage Chamber of Commerce. Hayes was a partner at Tryck, Nyman and Hayes, an engineering firm.

TALES FROM BACK IN THE DAY

Among the stories that old politicos remember is how, when the confirmation of Norm Gorsuch for attorney general was being debated, Gov. Bill Sheffield called the Troopers to bring in recalcitrant House members, in order to get the quorum needed for the joint-session vote.

That year, the House was controlled by Republicans, with Hayes as Speaker, while the Senate was controlled by Democrats, with Jay Kerttula of Palmer, as President.

The Republicans were going to try to block Gorsuch because of a perceived conflict of interest he had with Sheffield and his hotel business.

But Sheffield called for a joint session on June 7, 1983, and Kerttula supported the call because he knew there were enough votes to confirm.

However, only 17 members of the House attended that day, not enough for a quorum. Troopers searched all over Juneau for the other Republican legislators but came up empty handed. Some had flown to Skagway on a small plane rented by Rep. Vernon Hurlburt, a bush pilot from Sleetmute.

Eventually four were found in their offices and escorted by armed Troopers into the House Chambers, where a vote was held. This short-changed the Republicans, who wanted to hold hearings and bring up information they thought showed the conflict of interest between Gorsuch and Sheffield.

The story of armed Troopers escorting unwilling lawmakers made the New York Times.

Hayes had become Speaker of the House as a result of a political coup, when Democrats formed a coalition with two Libertarians and Republicans, deposing the Democrats House Speaker Jim Duncan, a reverse of how the House is formed in 2018, with a coalition of three Republicans who sided with the Democrats and two “indie-Democrats” to take over the House deliver it to Democrat control.

Hayes opted not to run in 1984, and ran for governor in 1986. It was an unusually crowded field of 14, and he placed fourth after Arliss Sturgulewski, Wally Hickel, and Dick Randolph.

*The author of the 1977 Alaska Blue Book is Robert Burnett, who is Suzanne Downing’s father. This story will be updated as details are gathered. Memories about Joe Hayes are welcome in the comments section below.

SB 91 Poster Child: Charles Sadler

Suzanne Downing
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9
SB 91 Poster Child: Charles Sadler

On Oct. 26, 2017 Anchorage police started getting calls from Mountain View in Anchorage about shots being fired. People hunkered down in their homes, held their children close.

By 1 am, there was a patrol car trolling the area. The officer was flagged down by a man at the 100 block of Ridgeline Loop, who reported someone had just tried to rob him and had shot at him.

The victim told police he had ridden his bike home from the Shell gas station nearby. As he was opening his garage door with the key pad, a man got out of the driver’s side of a car parked in front of his home.

The robber produced a gun, followed the victim into his garage, and tried to force his way into the house. The robber then ordered the victim to empty his pockets, at which point the victim tried to knock the gun out of the man’s hand.

That’s when the suspect fired, shooting at the victim from both inside and outside the garage. Luckily, he was a bad shot and the victim wasn’t hit. Police recovered bullet casings.

The suspect was 18-year-old Charles Sadler. He was located about a half hour later based on the description given to the officer, and he was stopped at the corner of Thompson and North Flower. He had two guns in his car. One was reported as stolen.

Sadler was charged with Robbery 1, Misconduct Involving a Weapon II, Assault II, and Theft II.

He pled guilty on the robbery charge (armed with a deadly weapon) and other charges were dismissed.

On Jan.5 he was sentenced to serve time. But then he was placed in a halfway house.

By Feb. 15, he had left the Cordova Center, the halfway house, with permission only to never return to the facility that is on contract with the Department of Corrections to help prisoners re-enter society.

It’s been less than three months since the armed robbery to the conviction, to the incarceration in a low-supervision facility, to the inevitable escape.

Sadler is 19 now and has been on the run for a week. He doesn’t have a long list of priors, at least in his short adulthood. But rather than his June, 2018 release date, when he could turn over a new page in his life, he’ll be looking at prison when the law catches up with him.

Anchorage is hoping that’s sooner, rather than later, considering his history with stolen guns and his willingness to use them.

Mr. Mayor continues to have ‘nothing to report’

Suzanne Downing
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2
Mr. Mayor continues to have ‘nothing to report’

“Reformed Snowflake” has been at it again, with another in the series of videos that show a nonchalant Mayor Ethan Berkowitz, who has nothing to report, to the point where Anchorage Assembly Chair Elvi Gray-Jackson wonders aloud why she even bothers to ask him.

In a year when murder hit a record high in Alaska’s largest city, Berkowitz never has anything to say to the Assembly or public. Even though he was, behind the scenes, working on the sale of the city’s utility, ML&P, he still had nothing to say to the Assembly.

Reformed Snowflake’s identity is unknown, but he or she has obviously been reviewing tape from the Assembly meetings, and is hardly impressed.

It’s all on You Tube with the other “Nothing to say mayor” videos posted in recent weeks, including the “Galaxy Far, Far Away Mayor.”

See Part III here:

 

Galaxy Far, Far Away version:

 

The original: “All these people and nothing to say?”

 

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