Alaskans attending the swearing-in festivities in the nation’s capital this week are sending photos of themselves and their friends at various historic events. We’re posting them throughout the rest of the week, and captioning the photos as names are available:
It was 50 minutes of oratorical mediocrity, but there have been worse in the history of State of the State Addresses.
Alaska Gov. Bill Walker tonight stammered his way through his Address to the people of Alaska — not tipsy, but with that lazy elocution that Alaskans have come to know as the Walker Dialect.
In the content department, however, it was like Gertrude Stein arriving in Oakland: When you get there, she said,”there is no there there.”
Walker struggled to read the teleprompter, rushing through the text and skipping over words, and there were many to skip over.
He was his most animated and endearing when he broke free from the script and told the story of his teenage years and a harrowing winter drive from Delta to Valdez in a car that only had a reverse gear and only made it part of the way home before giving up that gear too. It was reminiscent of a Jay Hammond moment. The crowd didn’t go wild, but at least returned to a waking state.
The moral of his story, he said, is to learn from the past. Another wag in Juneau noted: “Don’t get into a car with Walker. He’ll take you backwards and then it will break down.”
In the end, there really wasn’t anything that stood out in what was ultimately a nothing-burger, hold-the-relish performance, except his admonishment to the Legislature: If you don’t like my fiscal solution, bring one of your own, he said. But don’t bring it unless it balances.
“Gravest Fiscal Crisis in State History” was the title of Walker’s speech, and he spent at least some time reviewing the seriousness of the problem, which has not changed much since last year, except the options are clearly closing.
State revenues are down more than 80 percent from four years ago, he said. During that period, he said he has cut the budget 44 percent.
“But we still face a $3 billion fiscal gap,” he said.
Walker didn’t mention the spending cap that the Senate has proposed, nor the $750 million in cuts the Senate has also offered as a three-year plan. But he acknowledged that Alaskans said they want their government cut.
We learned that Walker is still pursuing the income tax: “In this vein, I maintain my support for a modest income tax and other revenue bills I introduced last year,” he said. “If all of these measures passed, with Alaskans receiving a PFD each year, we would still be the lowest taxed individuals in the nation.
“Before reintroducing those bills, I plan to work with you in this body to chart a path forward,” Walker said.
The translation is that he’s going to count votes before introducing any more taxes under his own name.
The governor also did not talk about how to stimulate the private sector economy, although he cheered the news that there are oil finds on the North Slope that will help the state. He’d like to see more of them, at least.
He revisited his request that all Alaskans shop at farmer’s markets in their area, as that circulates millions of dollars through communities: “If every Alaskan spent just $5 a week on Alaska-grown products, that would translate into $188 million circulating through the Alaska economy annually,” Walker said.
The governor said he would not pursue projects that “don’t pencil out,” referring to the cancellation of the Juneau Access project and Knik Arm Crossing. He said the gasline project “will be financed by long-term purchase commitments from LNG buyers, not from the Permanent Fund. It will not be pursued at all costs. It will only be pursued if it has long-term customers.”
Walker spoke at length about the gasline project that he’s pursued most of his adult life, but did not mention the fact that the Alaska Gasline Development Corporation has just opened up a Tokyo office.
The best speaking of the night came in the prerecorded response from a casual and unrehearsed Senate President Pete Kelly of Fairbanks, who let it be known that the Senate’s proposed $750 million in budget cuts over three years and the proposed spending cap would be every bit as essential as looking at the Permanent Fund Earnings Reserve Account. Kelly was articulate, spoke with conviction, and was, well, chill.
Importantly, Sen. Kelly focused on getting oil production ramped up, which implies he will not be friendly to any bills coming from the House of Representatives that further hobble an already struggling oil industry.
A source connected to President-elect Donald Trump expressed optimism today that the road between King Cove and Cold Bay will be a top priority early in the Trump Administration.
The source, who spoke to Must Read Alaska on the condition of anonymity, has spoken directly with Rep. Ryan Zinke, the Interior Secretary nominee, and received assurances that the life-saving road is one of Zinke’s top priorities.
The confirmation hearing for Zinke are underway in Washington, D.C., where he was intensely grilled by Democratic members of the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, chaired by Sen. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska.
Three years ago, current Secretary Sally Jewell rejected the road that would connect King Cove residents with the all-weather airport in Cold Bay. Many Alaskans saw it as evidence that the Obama Administration cares more about the birds of the Izembek Refuge than it does for the lives at risk in windy and foggy King Cove community.
Zinke is being pressured by the Alaska DC delegation to commit to building the 11-mile emergency gravel road.
King Cove Mayor Henry Mack last month expressed hope for the Trump Administration coming to the aid of the community: “Unlike Secretary Jewell, we believe President-elect Donald Trump and Interior Secretary nominee Ryan Zinke value human lives as well as birds,” he told reporters. “We are confident they will take action because they understand that the lives of King Cove residents matter. We’re encouraged that we may finally get access to a small life-saving road corridor, and our dream of safe passage to the Cold Bay airport will become a reality.”
King Cove residents have lobbied for a road for two generations. But the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in 2013 decided the road could cause damage the wetlands and lagoons of the 150-square-mile Izembek Lagoon It is a seasonal home to various migratory birds.
Environmental groups remain opposed to the road, and Secretary Jewell agreed with them, and even refused a land swap that would have traded state land for federal land. The federal government would have received 97.5 square miles of state land and given up 3 square miles of federal land.
The environmentalists’ opposition remains.
“Check back for updates on this story.
Gov. Bill Walker will offer his third State of the State address at 7 p.m. tonight, Jan. 18.
State of the State day is typically filled with excitement and anticipation on the Third Floor of the Capitol, where the Governor’s Office is situated. This year there may be some hand wringing thrown in with that anticipation.
The governor is developing a track record, after all, and it’s concerning the public. Walker has seen the polling numbers and they’re not good as he heads into his third year: His approval rating dropped into the 30’s and his disapproval numbers are steadily climbing, according to a Walker-sympathetic pollster. The public’s confidence in the governor’s ability to manage his key initiatives is flagging.
Gov. Walker has a particular challenge this year. While a leader must express optimism and cast a vision that gives people hope, the economy of Alaska is encountering strong headwinds. That means he, as governor, is encountering headwinds as well.
In fact, a combination of low oil prices and high state budgets created a perfect storm under Walker’s watch. His method of dealing with it in the past two budget cycles was to immediately convene a “summer tax camp” (or feedback session, if you will), at the University of Alaska Fairbanks in the summer of 2015, and begin the process of softening the target so he could tax Alaskans wage-earners and job-creators without making the budget cuts Alaskans wanted first.
2015 was a faux crisis compared with 2017.
Now, in Year 3 of his governorship, Walker has an actual economic meltdown on his hands because he didn’t want to do the heavy lifting for the two prior years.
The economy will be the elephant in the room, as Alaskans face the largest job loss since the economic crash of the 1980s: More than 14,000 jobs will disappear in just two years — most of them in the private sector.
Alaskans are reluctantly packing their trucks and leaving the state to look for opportunity elsewhere.
The governor desperately needs to articulate a plan for getting the state back on track. He cannot allow the economic downward spiral to continue. He is going to have to exude confidence tonight, but also substance. Most of all, his speechwriter must dissuade him from discussing the beer and carrot economy.
PIPE DREAM: Walker ran for office primarily on the gasline, and back in 2014, candidate Walker provided a clear and convincing vision for building that gasline, in contrast with Gov. Parnell, who had been proceeding more cautiously, allowing the private sector to set the pace.
Once in office, Walker spoke of the gasline project as his highest priority during his first State of the State Address in January of 2015.
Over the past 24 months, Walker hired his friends, like Rigdon Boykin, who he paid $120,000 a month, and Radoslav Shipkoff, who he paid $100,000 a month, as well as other special consultants to help him move the gasline forward. He blew up the board and leadership of the Alaska Gasline Development Corporation, put in place his own appointees, and proceeded to burn through the cash.
He blew through two commissioners of Natural Resources, who could not support his gasline vision. He traveled to Asia multiple times to tout the gasline and tell the world that Alaska was on track.
In 2015, Walker stated this during his State of the State:
Under my administration, we will finally begin building the Alaska gas line to tidewater.
It will be done with Alaska hire to the maximum extent allowed under the law.
And it will comply with Alaska’s constitutional mandate that our resources be developed for the maximum use and benefit of Alaskans. I was honored to have the president of a major Japanese energy consortium travel from Tokyo to Juneau last month for our inauguration.
I met with this Japanese delegation the following morning as my first official meeting as your governor.
About 10 days later, they returned to Juneau with a memorandum of understanding.
Since signing that MOU, other significant LNG buyers in Asia have contacted me expressing similar interest.
In fact, on our way to church on Christmas Eve, I received such a call from a major Japanese company.
The gas is available. The market is responding. And as we know, Alaska is the crossroads of the world. It’s time we engage those markets, diversify our economy, create long-term fiscal stability and job growth.
If Walker pushes forward with the same gasline message tonight, viewers may be reminded of the old Hans Christian Anderson story, “The Emperor’s New Clothes.”
MEDICAID EXPANSION: While the gasline is a messaging hurdle for Walker, touting his Obamacare Medicaid expansion is a tough sell as well.
The health insurance experiment under President Obama has led to all but one insurance company leaving the Alaska market, and there’s no telling what the future of the program will be under a Trump Administration.
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services reports that Medicaid expansion enrollees in Alaska cost about 49 percent higher than had been estimated. Looking ahead, Alaska will soon pick up at least 10 percent of the cost of the Medicaid expansion population, which grows by the year as more and more people lose their jobs and fall under the income threshhold for mandatory insurance. While the Legislature passed some significant reforms, cost drivers are continuing to grow.
Last year the Legislature approved $55 million in extra funding to bail out the last remaining insurer, Premera, and prevent Obamacare from altogether collapsing in Alaska. There was no help from the federal government — or did Walker seek help in fixing what the federal government had created as a monopolistic problem that plagues many states?
PERMANENT FUND DIVIDEND: By 2016, Gov. Walker and his then-Chief of Staff Jim Whitaker, had developed such sour relations with lawmakers that Walker abandoned working with the Legislature and simply garnished half of every Alaskan’s Permanent Fund dividend.
That didn’t help solve the budget crisis because he does not have appropriation authority over it, but that $600 million is now sitting in reserve, waiting to be spent to patch a budgetary hole somewhere. To his credit, he had to know that taking half of the Permanent Fund dividends would be deeply unpopular and that he would pay a political price for it. Therefore, his move was probably not a cunning political maneuver, but an actual attempt to preserve some options for this year’s budget dialogue.
BUDGET THAT CAN’T BE CUT: If polls can be believed, Alaskans are not entirely impressed with a governor who has had to be dragged kicking and screaming into budget discipline. Alaskans think government has not yet been trimmed to its true fighting weight.
The Senate Majority this year is looking for another $300 million in cuts and has stated they’ll come from Transportation, Education, and Health and Social Services, as well as other portions of state government. The House, now controlled by Democrats, is instead lining up a host of taxes.
The majorities of two governmental bodies are far apart, which is where a truly nonpartisan governor might have a shot at success.
But the governor is not nonpartisan. Through his agent Bruce Botelho, Walker has populated key positions up and down the bureaucratic column with Democrats who are there to protect state jobs. Unless he cleans house, Republicans in the Legislature will remain mistrustful.
Walker’s move to hire Scott Kendall as his chief of staff was a step in the right direction. Jim Whitaker, who is one of Walker’s closest allies, was so toxic to the governor that he finally had to be moved aside, but the damage to the relationship between the Executive Branch and the Legislative Branch has been bloody.
Retaining Darwin Peterson as governor’s legislative director was a solid move on Walker’s part. Peterson has had his bumps dealing with legislators, but they know him and basically trust him, or at least understand that he has certain water to carry for the governor. That relationship goes a long ways. The rumors of Peterson’s demise were greatly exaggerated, but Chief of Staff Kendall has done damage control.
THE ECONOMY: The one thing Walker can do is to focus the bulk of his attention on getting more oil into the pipeline. He needs to stop listening to the inner-circle fatalists who whisper in his ear that we are in a post-oil era. We’re only in that era if he makes us so. Walker needs to believe in oil again.
Judging from the massive finds announced lately, such as the Smith Bay discovery by Caelus Energy, the Pikka field by Armstrong Oil, and the Willow discovery by ConocoPhillips-Alaska, there’s plenty of oil to put in the pipeline. SB-21, the tax reform bill, is bringing all that oil into play, but it will remain in the ground if the governor monkeys around with taxes again.
There’s an old saying: “It’s not enough to work hard. You have to work on the right things.” Work on oil, Governor, and jobs will return, taxes and royalties will flow, and the working men and women of Alaska will have their faith in government restored.
(Alaskans can catch the State of the State address on your computer with Gavel Alaska coverage or watch it on 360 North. )
OCCUPY SOMETHING — ANYTHING: They’re protesting President-elect Donald Trump this Saturday, in the nation’s capital and all over America, including as many as 14 communities in Alaska. Or is it 16? We’ve lost count.
Perhaps they’re not protesting Donald Trump. Not exactly.
The Women’s March has morphed into a Protest Everything event: It’s Black Lives Matter. It’s Occupy Wall Street. It’s immigration. Sexual violence. Abortion on demand. LGBTQ. Proper gender pronouns. Bathrooms. Climate change.
All liberal grievances are welcome on Saturday.
“No matter what your cause, there is something we can all agree on and it’s open to everyone,” one march organizer and interviewee said from Fairbanks on APRN’s Talk of Alaska radio show earlier this week.
But, not exactly every cause is welcome. When a pro-life women’s group tried to join in the merriment, they were quickly uninvited from the official line-up of sanctioned groups. Planned Parenthood, after all, is the main organization behind the march in most communities, including in Alaska, since they have money and experience to organize a nationwide day of rage.
At least in Washington, D.C. there will also be a protest of the protest as pro-life groups are organizing, although they’ll be outnumbered and likely shouted down.
In Alaska, protests are planned for Ketchikan, Juneau, Anchorage, Fairbanks, Homer, Palmer, Kotzebue, and little Gustavus, population 430 people. Organizers say there are eight other communities, so consider yourself warned.
PUSSY HATS AND PATRIARCH-BASHING: Women who voted for Hillary Clinton, and a few men, we are told, will be the main ones out in force to begin the steady drumbeat of opposition to the Trump agenda.
Many of them will sport pink “pussy hats,” which is the latest version of the “Nasty Woman” t-shirt that was fashionable before the election, and the Pantsuit Nation that was popular last year. We’ve come a long way, baby, since pant suits. We’re now into pussy hats.
You’ll be seeing those pink hats in the Alaska protests, because it definitely won’t be t-shirt weather. The 49th state is experiencing the coldest winter in recent years, and Anchorage may get as warm as 11 degrees but it will be -21 in Fairbanks. Those gals will need more than one pussy hat.
On social media, Alaska women’s march enthusiasts are using hashtags to indicate their particular brand of indignation: #MalePrivilege, #WhitePrivilege, #WomensMarch, #equalpay, #fighttheman, #WhyIMarch.
Singer/songwriter Fiona Apple released a song in advance of the march with this chant embedded in it: “We don’t want your tiny hands anywhere near our underpants.” If you’re out and about in Alaska on Saturday, you might catch a whiff of that chant, a sequel to Ms. Apple’s song, “Trump’s Nuts Roasting on an Open Fire,” which came out in December.
Some in the media are helping advance the cause. On Talk of Alaska, host Lori Townsend interviewed some of the Alaska organizers of the protests. Listen to the first four minutes to hear one of the organizers break down in tears at the thought of a Trump presidency.
One Juneau conservative quipped that there’s a demonstrated need for counseling among some who didn’t like the election outcome.
Host Townsend, perhaps swept up in the moment, prompted the organizers to continue the movement after the marches are over: “You raise an important issue that there’s pain and anger and division and the only way to overcome that is for people to try to see beyond their anger and come out and share their concerns for the future if they really want to have impact and effect change.”
Organizers of the Anchorage march expressed their feelings this way, as they raised money to pay for associated march costs, such as hand warmers:
Our country is in turmoil after the 2016 political campaign. We in Anchorage host the most diverse communities in the entire United States. Many of us in our country are afraid for our children and ourselves. We are dismayed at the fear mongering. Minority children are afraid in schools. Victims of sexual violence and intimidation are feeling re-victimized. Many of us are afraid of losing our hard fought rights as Americans. We have so much fear and anxiety, and need to organize.
After the march is over, and when Monday starts the first week of a new president, those still wanting more can refer to an online guide to resistance, written by Democrats who were once congressional staffers, who are now teaching people how to resist a “Trump Agenda.”
The authors of the guide write in detail about how to harass members of Congress, or MOCs, as they call them, with sit-ins, social media bombardment, and much, much more.
It’s good, clean family entertainment, pussy hats, “Trump’s nuts roasting” chants, notwithstanding. Be sure to honk on Saturday if you protest, well, anything. Anything at all.
Day One of the 30th Alaska Legislature looked much like many others that came before it. The new lawmakers took their oaths of office and traipsed with their staff members to the Third Floor of the Capitol to have their picture taken with Lt. Gov. Byron Mallott.
Coming off the elevator, they were met by a six-member marimba band in the lobby outside the Governor’s Office, merrily playing old favorites like “Yankee Doodle Dandy.” It was unclear who had paid for the band.
When the House gaveled in, Rep. Bryce Edgmon was elected as the new speaker. It was not unanimous, however. Breaking with tradition, Rep. David Eastman, newly elected in District 10, voted against Edgmon.
He said he’d been asked by people in his district if he was going to vote for House leadership that was for a sustainable budget, and who was pro-life.
Eastman said, “I haven’t been able to convince Edgmon to be any of those things yet, so voting for him was more than I could do, but I congratulated him on his election and I have the deepest respect for him as Speaker. I think we’ll have a good relationship going forward.”
Edgmon, a Democrat, was being heralded by the press as the first Alaska Native Speaker of the House. If the Republicans had maintained control, the Speaker likely would have been Charisse Millett, also an Alaska Native. Either way, it was historic.
Of the 60 legislators who were sworn into office, a quarter of them — 15, to be exact — are part of a freshmen class.
Happy birthdays were sung in the House to two representatives, and family members, including plenty of children, filled the seats in the galleries to witness the ceremonial first day. Across the street, Juneau police organized a “kindness” rally to mark the department’s Year of Kindness initiative. About a dozen people gathered, including Rep. Dan Saddler, who wandered across the street to mingle in an area typically used for pro-life demonstrations every session.
In the Senate, the gavel passed from Sen. Kevin Meyer to Sen. Pete Kelly, who took over as Senate President. Senate leadership held a press conference, where Senate Finance Co-Chair Lyman Hoffman said the Senate’s expected $300 million in cuts would focus on the Department of Transportation, the University system, Education, and Health and Social Services.
(Watch the Senate Majority’s press conference here.)
Leadership in the Senate sent a strong message to the House that a spending cap and cuts are both high priorities and must come before the body will tap in to the Permanent Fund Earnings Reserve Account. The Senate is rolling out a three-year plan to cut spending by $700 million.
Over at the Governor’s Mansion, Gov. Bill Walker rehearsed his State of the State Address, which will be broadcast live at 7 pm on Wednesday, Jan. 18.
(Watch the State of the State Address live here.)
At the day’s end, many legislators and lobbyists were spotted at Salt, the restaurant, where they’ll all be spending many an evening during what Speaker Edgmon has been quietly warning will be a six-month long battle royale over the Alaska 2018 budget gap. A lot of crispy calamari will be downed between now and adjournment, whenever that is.
Last week, ConocoPhillips-Alaska President Joe Marushack stood before a room of energy contractors and service providers and, in his low-key way, made a dramatic announcement:
Three-hundred million barrels of oil have been identified at the company’s Willow drilling site in the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska.
It was some of the best news the members of the Alaska Support Industry Alliance could have received first thing on Friday the 13th.
A visitor could almost see the thought balloons dance above their heads: Things were, perhaps, looking up for the gritty, determined energy contractors who have come to expect nothing but bad news. If only they can hang on through low prices. If only government will not get in the way. If ConocoPhillips can clear the state and federal obstacles to get from discovery to production.
That the announcement was made to the actual Alaskans who have workers freezing in the cold, dark Arctic nights to make these projects happen was not lost on this crowd. A buzz rippled through the banquet hall.
The two exploration wells Marushack referred to are at Greater Moose’s Tooth Unit and are a stone’s throw from the company’s Alpine operation. The Willow prospect could put 100,000 barrels a day of light oil into the Trans Alaska Pipeline, he said to the Alliance’s annual Meet Alaska conference.
Production from Willow might continue for well over a decade and bring the volume of the pipeline up by nearly 20 percent during its peak production years, something that is very much in Alaska’s interest.
A find this size, within 28 miles of existing infrastructure, is a big deal. On federal land, the oil would go through the pipeline and be subject to royalties and taxes that the State of Alaska and local governments like the North Slope Borough would receive. Alaskans would get their share through their Permanent Fund dividends.
Also, the development phase of Willow would require many billions of dollars, Marushack said, and bring potentially thousands of jobs online. Much of that would spin through the currently faltering Alaska economy and, especially, the heavily battered oilfield services industry.
ConocoPhillips’ Greater Moose’s Tooth-1 project, now under construction, and GM-2, in the permitting stages, will put 30,000 barrels into the pipeline during peak production. GMT-1 will start pumping oil in 2018. GMT-2 will follow, and Willow could start pumping by 2023, if the company can get through all the federal permits in a timely way.
Alaska has a big dog in the fight to help this company and others get their projects up and running. Between GMT-1 and 2, Willow, and Armstrong Energy’s Pikka project, these producers could increase today’s pipeline’s flow from 517,000 barrels per day to close to 650,000. The point is: Prospects are good.
RAZOR’S EDGE: There are things that can get in the way. ConocoPhillips is working in Alaska at a loss right now. Cash flow is negative. The company hopes to get to “cash flow neutral” this year, but if legislators or state officials in the Walker Administration do anything that raises the cost of doing business in Alaska, then the folks who run ConocoPhillips-Alaska will have a tough time preserving the projects in the near future.
Marushack noted that the entire ConocoPhillips annual capital spend for 2017 is $5 billion, and $1 billion of that is slated for Alaska.
He also pointed out there are many great finds in the continental United States, not to mention globally. For example, shale oil that is easy to get to, provides quick return on investment, and doesn’t require long lead times is a very attractive investment right now. Alaska is having a tougher time competing because of it.
Alaska is in a precarious position if it wants to see these major oil finds move forward to development. Companies need to know that oil taxes aren’t going to spike again, and that the State will do its part to make sure the project can be competitive with all the other prospects ConocoPhillips has around the world — projects that have managers and other internal advocates who would love to get their hands on the $1 billion now designated for Alaska.
“If we get delayed, that capital goes somewhere else,” Marushack stated. “So it is very important we stay on track.”
DECISIONS IN THE BALANCE: As the Alaska Legislature gavels in today, and the State’s looming government budget crisis is making Alaska’s oil producers wary, Senate President Pete Kelly articulated the role he’d like to see government play:
“As we are looking at oil taxes or oil tax credits, production has to be our goal,” he said during a press availability this morning.
Last year the Gov. Bill Walker Administration had pages upon pages of complicated tax restructuring plans, and there was no focus on oil production, Kelly said. Production is what’s needed to get the Alaska economy stabilized.
“Whatever actions we take cannot result in less oil going through it,” Kelly continued, referring to the Trans Alaska Pipeline, which is running nearly three-quarters empty.
ALLIANCE AT 40: The Alliance is a 40-year-old trade organization with more than 500 members that provide over 50,000 Alaska jobs in the state’s oil, gas, and mining industries.
That ConocoPhillips made the announcement to this group went over well. They know that a find this size has big implications for their businesses, which have all suffered during the downturn in oil prices and with Gov. Walker’s tax attempts that have made oil production less attractive.
The majority of the companies making up the Alliance have had to downsize operations, cut jobs, and lose valuable employees who have years or decades of North Slope experience — experience that is hard to replace.
Marushack identified with that. His company has also gone through two tough years, he said: “This is about as different a time as we can recall. We can’t control oil prices so we need to control the things we have a lot of control over.”
“We need to retain a capable Alaska workforce,” Marushack said. “That means enough work to maintain health of contractors.”
At the beginning of every Alliance conference, people who were present during the original discovery at Prudhoe and who worked on building the Trans Alaska Pipeline are always asked to stand and be recognized.
As years go on, the numbers diminish, but even last week, some 30 people stood and received a round of applause. They’ve seen the booms and the busts, the upturns and the downturns. They’ve recently watched as hundreds of jobs have been shed, and as wages, including their own, have been frozen.
For the graying crowd of pipeline pioneers, they are just hoping and praying for government policies that will lead to a healthy industry for their children and grandchildren.
Joe Marushack was speaking their language. The Willow project going forward has “got to have fiscally stable tax structure,” he said. “This is multi-billion dollar project, a step up from GMT-1 and 2. We are basically structured for $1 billion of capital investment, and that is at risk if there is an increase in taxes.”
Read ConocoPhillips-Alaska’s press release on the Willow discovery.
NO NATURAL HOME ON THE RANGE: Both Democrats and Republicans have fundraisers in Juneau tonight, and the buzz around the Capitol is — where will the Musk Ox Republicans go?
To the Republican fundraiser at the Hangar Ballroom, or will they stop in at the Juneau City Museum, where their new allies are –the Democrats who have taken over the majority in the House?
The Musk Ox have gone over to the Democrats in a pure, unadultrated grab for power. It was a dangerous play because the Democrats barely need them, and the Republicans are now furious with them.
Rules Chair Gabrielle LeDoux, still a Republican, is now the titular leader of the Musk Ox Caucus, a group that includes Reps. Louise Stutes of Kodiak and Paul Seaton of Homer, who landed himself the plum job of Finance co-chair.
One other Musk Ox was thinned out in the election when Republican George Rauscher knocked off Jim Colver to restore a conservative to District 9.
With her now-open purse, where she is gathering lobbyists’ money, LeDoux is becoming the new Bill Allen of Juneau.
Those with a Biblical frame of mind may recall the vivid New Testament story of how Jesus stormed the Temple of Jerusalem, violently overturning the moneylenders’ tables and shouting that they’d turned a place of worship into a “den of thieves.”
The Capitol may be no temple, but Rep. LeDoux, with her newly minted political action committee, “Gabby’s Tuesday PAC,” and Rep. Seaton, with his “Sustain Alaska” slush fund, have gotten the Den of Thieves part down pat.
LeDoux is a sharp lawyer who found a money-laundering loophole in state campaign finance law. That loophole lets her collect money from lobbyists who have business with the Alaska Legislature, and give it to other legislators who will join with her and vote the way she wants them to.
She created her “Gabby’s Tuesday PAC” last July, purportedly to support “common sense conservative candidates.” She quickly collected $5,000 from lobbyists, then funneled the money to legislative candidates.
In a more genteel age, Gabrielle LeDoux might have been described as a Republican “of easy virtue.”
She was a Democrat when she ran and lost to Gary Stevens for Alaska State House in 2000.
She was a Democrat when she ran, won and served as Kodiak Island Borough mayor from 2001-04.
She was a Republican when she ran and won and served as a state representative from Kodiak from 2005-2009.
She ran and lost as a Republican against Rep. Don Young in 2007.
When she packed her carpet bag and moved to Muldoon in 2009, she was a Republican, first losing to Democrat Pete Peterson, then beating Democrat Kay Rollison.
Since she and other Musk Ox refused to consider using Permanent Fund earnings to help fill the state budget gap in 2015, she has been actively consorting with Democrats.
Shortly after Election Day 2016, her end game became clear: She abandoned her Republican colleagues and principles, and took two Republicans with her to join a caucus in return for the chairmanship of the powerful Rules Committee, with near-total control over what bills even make it to the House floor for a vote.
The combination of her PAC and her new legislative job make Gabrielle LeDoux like the mobster who visits a lobbyist’s office and says, “Nice little business you’ve got here. It’d be a real shame if anything should happen to it – like, for instance, if you weren’t able to get in to see legislators with the power to pass bills your clients want. Oh, incidentally, my Gabby’s Tuesday PAC is accepting contributions from lobbyists, especially smart lobbyists like you. The maximum annual contribution is $500. We’re holding a fundraiser next week. See you there?”
Alaskans generally don’t like “pay to play” politics, and thought they had made such legislative money laundering illegal.
Alaskans didn’t want lobbyists to be able to buy influence with legislators by making campaign contributions to legislators, in hopes of currying favor with clients paying tens and even hundreds of thousands of dollars a year to lobbyists.
Alaskans thought they had made it illegal for a legislator to demand that a lobbyist contribute to his or her campaign, as a condition of being able to ply their trade of seeking to inform or influence legislation in the interests of their clients.
Alaskans were wrong.
Even Democrats know this money-laundering loophole stinks. Back when Gabby was running for re-election as a Republican, the Alaska Democrat Party objected to her PAC plan in a complaint to the Alaska Public Offices Commission. Once Gabrielle traded sides, and APOC ruled Gabby’s PAC legal on a technicality, however, Democrats have not only forgiven her, but embraced her PAC tactics.
On Dec. 10, 2016, Gabrielle held a held a fundraiser to raise even more money for her money-laundering PAC, and to pay campaign debt for by Democrats Harriet Drummond, Dean Westlake and Zach Fansler.
They were joined by Rep. Paul Seaton of Homer, another Republican who won a plum job — as Finance Committee co-chair — after defecting to caucus with the Democrats. Seaton even followed LeDoux’s lead by forming his own money laundering PAC, the “Sustain Alaska Fund.”
Alaskans who supported a bipartisan House Coalition in hopes it would inspire a new bipartisan spirit of cooperation, bring an end to politics as usual, and maybe even, as the Democratic bumper sticker says, get “Big Money OUT of Alaska Politics,” should be concerned.
Some who they championed have made it their first order of business to turn the Alaska State Capitol into a marble money-laundering temple, and the Alaska House of Representatives into a house of ill repute.
ARE YOU GOING? GET IN TOUCH: Alaskans heading back to Washington, D.C. for the inauguration of President-elect Donald Trump will join hundreds of thousands of others from around the country — and for most of them, this will be their first presidential inauguration. There’s so much to know, the Metro doesn’t work as it should, and by now if they don’t have restaurant reservations they’ll be out of luck.
A few names of Alaskans we’ve heard who are heading to DC for the festivities include Alaska Republican Party Chairman Tuckerman and Kristie Babcock, ARP Treasurer Julie Tisdale, Past Chairman Randy and Gloria (Shriver) Ruedrich, Kathy and Fred Hosford, Randy Comer and his son Andy Comer, Kelly Cusack-Millen, Sharon Jackson, Misty Steed, Felice Schilling, Elisa Snelling, Erik and Angelina Burney, Tammi Lindsey George Lamoreaux and his daughter Ashley, Joe Mathis, National Committeeman for ARP Peter Goldberg, Marti Goldber, Donna McCarrey, National Committeewoman for ARP Cynthia and Ken Henry, Ryan McKee, Jeremy Price, Bob Gillam and a private jet full of people, Lesil McGuire, Patti McGuire, Mike Robbins, Jerry and Margaret Ward, George Owletuck and his daughter Fiona Owletuck, Drue Pearce, Cam and Michelle Toohey, Bill Armstrong, Jim Musselman, Andrew Guy, President/CEO Calista Corp., Sen. Charlie and Becky Huggins, John Moller, Trevor and Lisa Marie Shaw, Gov. Bill and Donna Walker, and a host of officials from the Walker Administration that include senior oil adviser John Hendrix, presumably traveling on the state dime. Hendrix paid his own way and slept on a family sofa, sources tell us [updated 01.23.2017]. About 1,000 in all, so far as we know.
Alaskans attending the inaugural events are invited to send photos to [email protected] and we’ll post many of them here throughout the week.
Here’s a partial schedule of the official events that some Alaskans might witness if they can get to where they want to go on time:
Wreath-Laying Ceremony
Arlington National Cemetery
When: morning
What: Trump and Vice President-elect Mike Pence honor the country’s military heroes at Arlington, Virginia.
Welcome Concert
Lincoln Memorial
When: TBA
What: The inaugural events officially start with this event, which will include a concert and appearances by Trump and Pence. The two public events are themed: “Voices of the People” and “Make America Great Again! Welcome Celebration.”
Voices of the People event includes the DC Fire Department Emerald Society Pipes and Drums, King’s Academy Honor Choir, the Republican Hindu Coalition, Montgomery Area High School Marching Band, Marlana Van Hoose, Maury NJROTC Color Guard, Pride of Madawaska, Webelos Troop 177, Northern Middle School Honors Choir, American Tap Company, South Park and District Pipe Band, Everett High School Viking Marching Band, TwirlTasTix Baton Twirling, and Celtic United Pipes and Drums.”
Make America Great Again! Welcome Celebration follows with President-elect Trump delivering remarks. Special guests include: “Toby Keith, Jon Voight, Jennifer Holliday, The Piano Guys, Lee Greenwood, RaviDrums, 3 Doors Down, and The Frontmen of Country.
Deploraball
The Deploraball will take place at 8 pm Thursday night, along with several other inauguration balls. This ball does not take itself seriously, has no dress code and is at the National Press Club. The 1,000 tickets for the fun event have already been sold. Special big-name attendees include Mike Cernovich, Jack Posobiec, Lauren Southern, Cassandra Fairbanks, Bill Mitchell, Stephen Limbaugh, Joe Biggs, Roger Stone, Jim Hoft, Lucian Wintrich, Gavin McInnis, and Scott Isbell. The event will be livestreamed on rsbn.tv.
They’re calling this a “big tent” event for Trump supporters. But there are likely to be a bunch of protestors there, too.
Alaska State Society Inaugural Reception.
Inaugural Swearing-In Ceremony
West Front of the U.S. Capitol Building
When: Ceremony begins at 9:30 a.m.; opening remarks at 11:30 a.m.; swearing in at noon by Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts Jr. Security opens up the stand-only and seating areas at 6 a.m. Wear warm clothes.
What: Trump and Pence families will attend, as will members of Congress, the U.S. Supreme Court, and other guests. Several Democratic members of Congress are boycotting, so there may be seating that opens up. Notables who will attend include Bill and Hillary Clinton, George W. and Laura Bush, and Jimmy Carter. George HW Bush cannot attend due to his fragile health.
Six faith leaders have been chosen to participate: His Eminence Timothy Michael Cardinal Dolan, the Archbishop of New York, Reverend Dr. Samuel Rodriguez of the National Hispanic Christian Leadership Conference, Pastor Paula White of New Destiny Christian Center, Rabbi Marvin Hier, Dean and Founder of the Simon Wiesenthal Center, Reverend Franklin Graham of Samaritan’s Purse and The Billy Graham Evangelistic Association, and Bishop Wayne T. Jackson of Great Faith Ministries International will offer readings and give the benediction.
Supreme Court of the United States Clarence Thomas will administer the Oath of Office to Vice President-elect Michael Pence. Chief Justice John Roberts will administer the Oath of Office to President-elect Donald Trump.
The Mormon Tabernacle Choir and America’s Got Talent star Jackie Evancho will perform.
Inaugural Parade
Starts at the steps of the Capitol Building and proceeds along Pennsylvania Avenue to the White House.
When: After the inauguration ends
What: Trump, Pence and their families will be escorted down Pennsylvania Avenue, followed by a parade. Viewing areas require tickets. The Talladega College Marching Band and the Rockettes are slated to perform.
Parade participants include:
1st Cavalry Division Horse Cavalry Detachment – Fort Hood, Texas
1st Infantry Division Commanding General’s Mounted Color Guard – Fort Riley, Kansas
Boone County Elite 4-H Equestrian Drill Team – Burlington, Kentucky
Caisson Platoon, Fort Myer – Fort Myer, Virginia
Cleveland Police Mounted Unit – Cleveland, Ohio
Coastal Florida Police & Fire Pipes & Drums – Palm Coast, Florida
Columbus North High School Band – Columbus, Indiana
Culver Academies Black Horse Troop & Equestriennes – Culver, Indiana
First Troop Philadelphia City Cavalry – Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Fishburne Military School Army JROTC Caissons Battalion – Waynesboro, Virginia
Frankfort High School Band – Ridgeley, West Virginia
Franklin Regional High School Panther Marching Band – Murrysville, Pennsylvania
Indianapolis Metro Police Motorcycle Drill Team – Indianapolis, Indiana
Lil Wranglers – College Station, Texas
Marist College Band – Poughkeepsie, New York
Merced County Sheriff’s Posse – Hilmar, California
Michigan Multi-Jurisdictional Mounted Police Drill Team & Color Guard – Ann Arbor, Michigan
Mid America Cowgirls Rodeo Drill Team – New Buffalo, Michigan
Nassau County Firefighters Pipes & Drums – East Meadow, New York
North Carolina Vietnam Helicopter Pilots Association – Hillsborough, North Carolina
NYPD Emerald Society Pipes & Drums – East Moriches, New York
Olivet Nazarene University – Bourbonnais, Illinois
Palmetto Ridge High School Band – Naples, Florida
Russellville High School Band – Russellville, Arkansas
Talladega College Band – Talladega, Alabama
Texas State University Strutters – San Marcos, Texas
The Citadel Regimental Band & Pipes and Summerall Guards – Charleston, South Carolina
The Freedom Riders – Kersey, Colorado
Tupelo High School Band – Tupelo, Mississippi
University of Tennessee Marching Band – Knoxville, Tennessee
VMI Corps of Cadets – Lexington, Virginia
West Monroe High School Marching Band – West Monroe, Louisiana
American Veterans – National
Boy Scouts of America – National
US Customs and Border Protection Office of Field Operations – National
Disabled American Veterans – National
Paralyzed American Veterans – National
Tragedy Assistance Program for Survivors– National
US Border Patrol Pipes & Drums – National
Wounded Warrior Project – National
Military & DoD Kids Overseas– U.S. Naval Air Station Sigonella, Italy
Many streets will be closed. Visit the official website and Twitter account for more information. The officially determined social media hashtag is #Inaug2017.
The Official Inaugural Balls
Walter E. Washington Convention Center and National Building Museum
When: Friday night
What: Two official inaugural balls are in the works featuring entertainment and appearances by Donald and Melania Trump.
Inaugural Balls
Numerous unofficial balls will also take place, including: Alaska Inaugural Ball, Native American Ball, More details on Alaska-oriented events here.