Page 1710 – Must Read Alaska

Ortiz truth-stretching catches up in Ketchikan

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September 22, 2016

Ortiz truth-stretching catches up in Ketchikan

ORTIZ’ ACTUAL ACCOMPLISHMENT: FORCING LEGISLATURE INTO SPECIAL SESSION

KETCHIKAN – The House race between two well-known people in Ketchikan is heating up with reports that Indie-Democrat Daniel Ortiz has claimed an all-important endorsement — one that he hasn’t received.

Ortiz, incumbent for District 36, sent a letter to voters saying he has the endorsement of United Fishermen of Alaska. He doesn’t. He did in the 2014 cycle, but this time, not so much. UFA has not given an endorsement in this race.

His challenger, Republican Bob Sivertsen, has been a gentleman about the false endorsement statement, as Ketchikan is a close-knit community and people are reluctant to call others out on matters such as this. But the fishing community has been talking. So have other leaders that Must Read Alaska spoke with this week.

In fact, Ketchikan conservatives say Ortiz is taking credit for the same things that other Democratic incumbents are proud of:

He “worked closely with independent Governor Walker,” Ortiz notes in his letter to voters, saying he is a “steady, consistent voice calling for the Legislature to adopt a fiscal plan.”

Ortiz leaves out the key piece: He and the Democrats forced the Legislature into four special sessions. Because of his unwavering allegiance to the minority’s refusal to pass the budget, the spending ballooned back up with his support.

The Ortiz pattern of taking credit continued as he claimed he alone protected the funding for the Ketchikan Airport access project.

But Ketchikan political observers point out that the money is federal transportation funds earmarked by Rep. Don Young with SAFETEA-LU, and cannot be removed from the Ketchikan area without a change in federal legislation, or if for some reason Gov. Bill Walker found a way to move it by fiat.

Ortiz was the test case for Democrats in the 2014 election cycle, using a long-time Democrat to run as an “independent,” and then caucusing with Democrats.

It’s a pattern being rolled out across the state by the Alaska Democratic Party in the 2016 cycle, as they cannot successfully run candidates under the ADP flag any longer.

Several Democrats are now running as independents, including the boss of the AFL-CIO, Vince Beltrami, who is making a play for Senate District N.

Ketchikan is a conservative part of the state, but the race could be close, because many voters are not yet aware that Ortiz is part of a bigger plan for Democrats to take over the House and to weaken the Senate, so they can push through an income tax that will fund government payroll.

Bob Sivertsen was born and raised in Ketchikan, and is in his third term on the Ketchkan Assembly. He worked for the City of Ketchikan’s Public Works Department for thirty-eight years at duties that ranged between carpentry, dog catcher, sign painter, heavy equipment operator, and float builder.

House District 36 serves Wrangell, Hyder, Meyers Chuck, Loring, Ketchikan, Hydaburg, Metlakatla, & Saxman.

A debate between the two candidates is scheduled for Oct. 19 at the Ted Ferry Civic Center in Ketchikan. Will the moderator ask Ortiz to defend his claims of productivity? Or will the debate be “Ketchikan nice”?

Isn’t it time they tell us?

The 907

Suzanne Downing

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September 20, 2016

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SERIAL ANCHORAGE

Mayor Ethan Berkowitz and Police Chief Chris Tolley won’t confirm or deny there is a serial killer stalking the urban trails of Anchorage.

Three unsolved double homicides have left joggers, the homeless and everyone in between on edge.

Isn’t it time they tell us if they suspect a serial killer is loose on our trails?

The mayor’s advice to children who are worried for their safety is: “What I can tell you is what I tell my own kids, which is, make sure to say goodnight to your parents so they know where you are, stay in your bed, and make sure your parents have locked the doors.”

Weeks prior, the Anchorage police warned how “criminal activity often increases late at night and during early morning hours.

APD wants to remind our citizens to be cautious when they are out during these hours, especially if they are in isolated areas like our parks, bike trails or unoccupied streets. If you plan to be out late at night, make sure you travel with several friends and not alone.”

Mind you, not one friend shall you travel with, but “several friends.” Because people are going down in twos.

Mayor Berkowitz also noted this about any neighborhood that wants to increased police protection: “If any community is ready to specially assess itself, I’m sure there’s a way that could happen,” Berkowitz said.

Uh, that would be illegal. It would mean people in South Anchorage could assess themselves more and pull some police out of Mountain View to protect them.

QUESTIONS FOR THE MAYOR

Has the FBI been brought in to investigate the three double homicides?
What were the types of weapons used in the double homicides? Guns? Knives?
Was there evidence left behind at the scene to help investigators?
Is it believed a serial killer is at work on Anchorage trails at night?
Are trail watchers going to be safe unarmed, when they don’t know what kind of threat they face? Will they be deployed at night, when the killings have taken place
Regarding the recently released police sketch of a “person of interest” in another recent killing.The FBI is said to be involved. Is this person a suspect in the other murders?

Gasline defenders struggle

Politics

Suzanne Downing

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September 19, 2016

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IT’S GETTING HARDER TO MAKE SENSE OF THE PROJECT

From this morning’s Must Read Newsletter –The preliminary engineering work for the AK-LNG project is wrapping up. Consultants to the Alaska Legislature issued a report saying the project is uneconomical.

Like a gal giving a fake phone number to a bad blind date, the three remaining partners have backed away from AK-LNG, as Alaska’s governor has become their date from hell.

Dave Harbor knows how it’s going down: The expert, commenting on the gasline is not giving it good odds.
Pat Race knows: The hippie cultural phenom of Juneau predicts the gasline is dead, so it must be so.
Forbes Magazine agrees with Pat Race: Here’s the eulogy.
John Hendrix gets out the defibrillator paddles: The newest cabinet member of the Walker Administration gave it his best at Resource Development Council. The video here.

Keith Meyer makes a shot on the goal: The new head of the Alaska Gasline Development Corp. promises prosperity for Alaska with a gasline.

OUR TAKE — IT’S STILL OIL IN ALASKA

At the end of the day, oil fuels Alaska’s public employees and the state’s economy. All credible experts point to the fact that gas from Alaska is just not competitive for the foreseeable future.

Alaska should work on oil, not gas, they argue. Case in point, Armstrong Energy just found one of the largest oil discoveries in North Slope history, enough to put 120,000 barrels into the Trans Alaska Pipeline System every year for the next, say, 25 years.

That will pump $1.2 billion per year into our state budget. Per year.

Then there’s Liberty, Pikka Unit-Nanushuk, Oooguruk and Nikaichuq — all oil plays that resulted from good tax policy. Oil that brings taxes and royalties.

But Gov. Bill Walker has waved the white flag on oil. He has given up.

Lt. Gov. Byron Mallott, a year ago at the GLACIER conference, pleaded for help to save Alaska from its oil economy:

“We need help to continue, yes in the waning days of the petroleum era, to make the transition from petroleum to a new world built upon renewable energy. We will get there, we need your help. We need to develop Alaska’s resources, a need to do it in a way that recognizes the impact upon the Arctic and the consequences of ill-devised action that would occur and impact climate change if we are not smart and we are not resilient.”

The Walker Administration has thrown the state into a tailspin economically in Walker’s singular quest for a gasline that the oil companies are saying is uneconomical.

Walker says the State won’t need to make money like private sector companies need to make money…But will the State actually lose its shirt on his state-owned gasline project?

Bright, shiny objects: Don Young is at top of game; Mark Begich not a resident?

Suzanne Downing

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September 17, 2016

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Guess who got one of the highest ratings in the latest Legislative Effectiveness Scores”? Here are the top five most effective Republican representatives, according to the nonpartisan score-keepers:According to the Washington Post, Don Young continues to be “a strong advocate for Alaska, just as he has in previous Congresses. Alaska is the beneficiary of almost all of the more than 40 bills that he has introduced into the 114th Congress.

“Two of the bills, H.R. 336 and H.R. 1335, have already passed the House and have been referred to the relevant Senate committees for consideration. Several others have been the focus of various committee and subcommittee markups and hearings.”

IMITATION IS THE SINCEREST FORM OF FLATTERY

Roll Call, the newspaper, quoted Anchorage political strategist Jim Lottsfeldt as a close adviser to Mark Begich who gives Begich a 40 percent chance at launching a write-in campaign against U.S. Senator Lisa Murkowski.

The question arose: Does Super Lobbyist Begich even qualify as an Alaska resident, seeing as he lives back in the Beltway? Does he claim Alaska residency based on the Begich name? That looks to be a soft spot some Murkowski supporter will drive a stake in. But there are so many soft spots, including where he will get the money.

ALASKA UNEMPLOYMENT TICKS UP

Alaska’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate trended upward to 6.8 percent in August, a bit higher than the previous month. How does it compare to August of 2015? It was 6.6 percent a year ago. The 2015 unemployment average was 6.5 percent.

CRYSTAL SERENITY DOCKS IN BIG APPLE

The approximate 33-day voyage of the Crystal Serenity over the Arctic Ocean, from Alaska to New York, has come to an end. They saw polar bears. They saw ice floes. They saw a whole lot of nothing for days on end.

If you want to try it yourself, the next trip leaves Anchorage Aug. 16, 2017, and will set you back at least $21,000. Here’s the bridge-cam photo for today, as the ship docked in New York City. No polar bears were harmed in this voyage, which went off swimmingly.

IN TRUMP SHE TRUSTS

Author, lawyer, and no-holds-barred commentator Ann Coulter is in Anchorage for her In Trump We Trust book launch, speaking tonight at the Egan Center.

Emily Carlson scored the interview. You might still be able to get tickets to the private VIP party here.

And why might you want to hear what Coulter has to say about Donald Trump?

Coulter has been a Trump supporter from the beginning — and now the polls are proving her right; several polls show Donald Trump now trending for the win.

Check out what poll analyst Nate Silver has to say: Hillary supporters might be worried, if only for this reason.

SPEAKING OF WINNERS…

The event of the coming week in support of a candidate who has Sen. Bill Wielechowski worried enough to file a headline-grabbing lawsuit against the governor. Do attend:

Awkward: Former allies sue Gov. Walker

Suzanne Downing

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September 16, 2016

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SOME UNUSUAL SUSPECTS

Three former allies of Alaska Gov. Bill Walker, at least two of whom were vocal backers of his campaign in 2014, have joined in a lawsuit against him.

The lawsuit is over the governor’s veto of the funding for more than half of what Alaskans would have received in their Permanent Fund dividends.

Former State Senate Presidents Clem Tillion and Rick Halford joined current Senator Bill Wielechowski in the lawsuit, which says the governor does not have the authority to take the PFD, as Alaskans fondly refer to it.

The cast of characters make for bipartisan bedfellows:

RICK HALFORD

screen-shot-2016-09-16-at-4-07-58-pm — *Rick Halford*

Serving on the Alaska Gasline Development Corporation board is former state Sen. Rick Halford. He was appointed to the AGDC seat by Gov. Walker last year. His term expired on Sept. 13.

Halford assumes he would not be reappointed and told ADN reporter Nat Herz he will not seek reappointment. It matters not to him, as he told Herz, because the gasline is dead for now anyway.

Halford, of Dillingham and Eagle River, served 24 years in the Alaska Legislature, retiring as Senate President in 2003.

Although he is a Republican, Halford was a force behind the election of Walker, endorsing him every step of the way. In 2014, Halford wrote: “He is smart enough to listen and tough enough to lead.”

CLEM TILLION

screen-shot-2016-09-16-at-4-03-49-pm — Clem Tillion

Clem Tillion, 91, was a senator back in the days when the Permanent Fund was being created. A fisherman from Halibut Cove, Tillion served seven terms in the Alaska House and two terms in the Senate. He was a close ally and friend of Gov. Jay Hammond and is credited with helping Hammond and others design the Alaska Permanent Fund.

Another Republican, Tillion’s son-in-law, Sam Cotten, is in the Walker Cabinet as commissioner of the Department of Fish and Game. Cotten is a Democrat and former legislator himself.

In 2015, Tillion was already warning Walker not to touch the dividend. It was no surprise this week when he reiterated the message.

BILL WIELECHOWSKI

wielechowski-copy-2 — *Bill Wielechowski*

Wielechowski is a labor lawyer in Anchorage who has served in the Alaska Senate since 2007, as part of the Democratic minority. He is a reliable vote against every bill sponsored by a Republican.

In fact, this lawsuit may be the only bipartisan thing Wielechowski has ever done. As he faces re-election, he has chosen the careful timing of a lawyer-candidate, when rolling out the lawsuit against the governor, whom he supported in the 2014 election.

This gets him votes, as there’s little doubt the PFD will be the public discussion leading up to the election.

THE GOVERNOR BITES BACK

Within a couple of hours of the lawsuit being filed before the courts closed at noon, Gov. Bill Walker had struck back:

“As most Alaskans realize, and as stated by the legislature’s own financial advisor, our state is in the midst of the gravest financial crisis in our history,” he said, before blaming his own failure to veto spending on the Alaska Legislature.

“It is truly unfortunate that our legislature failed to pass a sustainable fiscal plan, like the one we submitted this past year, to protect and grow the permanent fund dividend program. Instead, this continued lack of action will result in the elimination of the PFD program in just a few years,” his press release stated.

He then went on to explain how it was he chose to take $1,100 from every man, woman, and child in Alaska:

“This year’s PFD is close to the historical average paid to every eligible Alaskan since 1982. It was set at a level that could be sustained as part of a larger fiscal solution—to ensure a PFD program continues for generations to come. ”

Walker then piled on the criticism on Wielechowski:

“I’m disappointed that an incumbent legislator who failed to work towards a solution to our fiscal crisis—a solution that would protect the long-term viability of the PFD—has decided instead to pursue this lawsuit eight weeks prior to his re-election bid. [emphasis ours]. This suit detracts from the real issue: solving Alaska’s fiscal crisis so we can then begin to grow Alaska.”

He then went on to criticize elder statesman Tillion for penning an opinion piece in the Alaska Dispatch News, even though Tillion had written the same thing back in December, 2015.

Walker’s statement said:

“Today, a former legislator compared our current situation to that in the 1990s. That’s misleading. In the 1990s, we had approximately 2 million barrels of oil a day going through the Trans Alaska Pipeline System (TAPS). Today, the TAPS throughput is about a half-million barrels a day. That’s a huge difference in the potential for an economic rebound. In the 1990s, we were not facing a $3.2 billion deficit and drawing down on our savings at a rate of $12 million a day. Relying on a 1990s-type rebound is very, very risky.”

Walker was silent on the matter of Halford, who had brought him to the dance in the first place.

Those who know Halford as a senator recall his ability to see an outcome long before anyone else does. As he was able to predict that Walker would win in 2014, he likely knows how this lawsuit will end. And so does Governor Walker.

Throwdown: District 40 election challenged

Suzanne Downing

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September 16, 2016

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A REVIEW OF PROBLEMS LEADS TO ELECTION LAWSUIT

Representative Ben Nageak, and attorneys Tim McKeever and Stacey Stone have filed a challenge to the Primary election results that were certified in District 40, the farthest north region of the state.

Rep. Nageak lost by eight votes to challenger Dean Westlake in the Democrat primary, which was found to be fraught with enough irregularities to have influence the outcome.

The challenge is based on several points:

SHUNGNAK DOUBLE VOTING

There were 50 votes cast in Shungnak – all 50 voters were allowed to vote both primary ballots — Republican and Democrat. The state acknowledged this as an error. The Division of Elections and the lieutenant governor took the position that since the House race was only on one ballot, no one voted twice and so this, while illegal, was ok.

However, the suit contends that the public has no way to know how many people would have chosen the Democrat (ADL) ballot if they had to choose, as they are everywhere else in the state. By choosing one ballot over another, they would either get to vote in the US Senate and House races or else the State House race, but not both during the primary. The Republican ballot is a closed ballot that is available to Republicans, undeclareds, and nonpartisans. This ballot has been upheld by the U.S. Supreme Court.

KIVALINA

Must Read Alaska has learned that in Kivalina seven voters insisted they were entitled to both ballots and they were given both but were required to file questioned ballots.

Both the regional review board and the state review board declined to count those seven double ballots. However during the recount the decision was made by the Director of the Division of Elections.

Four of those votes went to Westlake and 1 to Nageak.

Unlike Shungnak where the poll workers apparently made the mistake, in Kivalina the poll workers correctly thought it was wrong to vote both ballots, but the voters insisted, and the election workers relented.

Because the voters insisted on doing something illegal, the legality of those ballots is in question.

BROWERVILLE

Voters who were registered Republican were required to vote questioned ballots if they asked to vote the open-ADL primary ballot.

Luke Welles, a resident of District 40, also reported issues with voting and testified at a legislative hearing with details about having to argue at length with election officials in order to be allowed to vote just the open-ADL ballot.

Welles eventually cast the open-ADL ballot. His wife was forced to vote a questioned ballot, also open-ADL.

It’s possible some voters may have declined to vote the open-ADL ballot because of the extra hassle of filling out the paperwork for a questioned ballot.

BETTLES

Richard Thorne of Bettles was greeted by the election officials with the comment, “Oh here is Rick the Republican!”

He was not given the choice of a Democrat ballot. He was given a Republican ballot.This problem may have happened in other locations.

BUCKLAND

Several problems arose regarding special needs voters and the “personal representative” voting method. Only one voter indicated a party preference but all received the Democrat ballot in spite of the fact that some of these voters are non-declared and eligible to vote an R ballot.

The date the ballots were issued was not listed, likewise the date/time the ballots were returned was not listed.

The date of the signature by the representative was obscured on 11 out of the 12 ballots.

These ballots did not arrive in Nome until six days after the election.

It appears one of the official election workers took it upon herself to go out to find voters and allowed them to vote a special needs ballot without the voter requesting it. As a result, Buckland had more special needs ballots cast than Palmer or Wasilla, in spite of the population differences and the vastly greater number of aged people in Palmer-Wasilla, due to nursing homes in the area.

Buckland’s ballot box stuffing with personal representative ballots is enough by itself to contest the election, because if these are all discarded, then Nageak wins by 1.5 votes using the proportional method, i.e. Westake got 79.629% of the Buckland votes and that amounts to 9.5555555 of the special needs ballots. If the state allowed the one special need ballot collected by a non-election worker, Nageak wins by .759 votes.

NOME

During the regional absentee and questioned ballot review board session, four absentee ballots were misplaced. They may have been commingled with the questioned ballots and could not be retrieved. Election workers in Nome apparently consulted with their colleagues in Juneau outside the presence of the observers. They returned to the observers and stated that had been instructed to randomly select four questioned ballots and count them as absentee ballots.

Thus, election workers took ballots that were not necessarily legal to be voted and counted them as if valid, which is inappropriate.

WILLIAM OVIOK

William Oviok was allowed to vote in Barrow. It’s unknown if he is eligible, given he has a felony conviction and the fact that he was apparently not legal to vote in the mayoral election just a few weeks before.

However, he is a registered Democrat, but the poll workers refused to give him an open-ADL ballot. A Division of Elections employee later sent him an email apologizing for this and acknowledging that he should have been allowed to vote an open-ADL ballot.

MISTAKES ADD UP TO PATTERN

The law provides that the election is presumed valid and that mistakes by election personnel should not disenfranchise voters.

However some mistakes by voters and errors by election workers involved mandatory provisions of law and enough votes were involved that the outcome of the election could be changed.

OPTIONS

Today, the complainants asked the Alaska Supreme Court to review the process of the recount. They asked a Superior Court judge to review the process of the election.

In either case the courts could:

Order the count be changed in some way, by tossing out certain ballots.
Find the election was so flawed that a new election is necessary. If this option is selected it is likely the new election would be held Nov. 8.

None of the specific issues in the complaint has been litigated in Alaska before, according to our research. But there are clear violations of the law involved in most of the above problems. The problems were widespread, in several precincts, and involved enough ballots to change the outcome of the election.

Our original reporting on Aug. 18 peeled back the covers on voting problems in District 40. Other stories on Must Read Alaska can be found in the search box with keyword: election.

Alaska Dispatch New story of Aug. 19.

KTVA’s story of Aug. 22.

Juneau Empire’s story of Aug. 24.

Craig Medred’s report.

Where in the world is Byron Mallott

Politics

Suzanne Downing

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September 16, 2016

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LIEUTENANT GOVERNOR BUSY NOT OVERSEEING ELECTIONS

Byron Mallott’s first test as lieutenant governor laid bare the inadequacies of his attention to training, oversight, and diligence when it comes to his singular job of ensuring fair and transparent elections.

Mallott did pay attention on election day when he traveled to Dillingham and a couple of rural precincts to observe and document the new, improved Yup’ik ballot.

But he did a disappearing act when numerous irregularities started showing up in one of the key districts that his Democrats had targeted for change. His party, for which he is the highest elected officer in the state, was attempting to take out Rep. Ben Nageak, a moderate Democrat, and install Dean Westlake, someone they could control.

For days Mallott was just nowhere to be seen, and his Division of Elections director was being torn to shreds over very questionable results.

By Aug. 24, Sen. Bill Stoltze, chair of the State Affairs Committee, had seen enough. Numerous instances of illegal voting were evident, and he called a meeting of the committee so that lawmakers could hear from the lieutenant governor, his director of the Division of Elections or their designees.

The hearing was set for Aug. 28 at 10 a.m.

On Aug. 25, Mallott responded to the request that he attend the hearing. No thanks, he said, in his letter to Sen. Stoltze> Mallott would not attend the hearing since the election was still being processed. He said the hearing was premature:

NO BYRON MALLOTT, BUT JOSIE BAHNKE SENT TO THE SLAUGHTER

The combined hearing of the Senate and House State Affairs Committee proceeded without Mallott, and without his chief of staff, Claire Richardson.

Josie Bahnke, director of Elections, sat in her Juneau office with unknown and unnamed staff members around her to help her as she fielded questions from what turned out to be a very polite committee.

It was clear to everyone in the hearing that Bahnke was simply over her head with an election that had warts all over it.

Where was Lt. Gov. Mallott that day?

He was at his home in Yakutat that morning, as he had been for a couple of days prior. He was taking some time off and had been showing his hometown to some philanthropists brought to the state by Diane Kaplan, President of the Rasmuson Foundation.

But the morning of the hearing, there was nothing on his calendar. Nothing at all.

That afternoon, Mallott toured the Yakutat Seafood Plant and met with some staff members from the Department of Fish and Game. He attended the Yakutat Fish and Game Advisory Committee. He met with the local U.S. Forest Service Staff.

None of those meetings are part of his official job description. The only thing the lieutenant governor is supposed to do is to oversee free and fair elections. And guard the state seal.

According to his travel authorization and expense reports, Mallott was off duty on Aug. 27 and did not come back on duty until noon, Aug. 28.

MALLOTT ZIPS OFF TO JACKSON HOLE

Prior to the State Affairs Committee hearing, on Aug. 18 Mallott met with Department of Justice representatives invited by the Governor’s Office to monitor the elections.

On Aug. 19, he met with Chief of Staff Claire Richardson and Division of Elections Director Josie Bahnke, and Libby Bakalar, the assistant attorney general who was assigned to the elections process. The focus was ballot translation for three census areas.

Mallott then issued a press statement saying that the double voting in Shungnak was not a problem because everyone had an opportunity to vote:

“With respect to the Shungnak precinct, the Division is aware of reports that the precinct workers gave voters both Republican and the combined Alaska Democratic Party, Alaska Libertarian Party and Alaskan Independence Party ballot. The Democratic Party allows any qualified voter to vote in their primary so anyone who voted in their primary was legally entitled to do so under party rules. Moreover, a candidate’s name appears on only one ballot, not multiple ballots, so no voter was able to cast more than one vote for any individual candidate.”

It is illegal to cast two ballots in Alaska. This is not a point of dispute, regardless of what the lieutenant governor is proposing, because if what he says stands as law, then everyone in Alaska should be allowed to vote both ballots. And that doesn’t happen.

Two days later, Mallott jetted off to Jackson Hole, Wyoming, where his first meeting was with Khalid Alsweilem. The Saudi Arabian is Chief Counselor and Head of Investment at the Saudi Arabian Monetary Agency, and has been published on the topic of “A Stable and Efficient Fiscal Framework for Saudi Arabia: The Role of Sovereign Funds in Decoupling Spending from Oil Revenue and Creating a Permanent Source of Income.”

Why would Alaska’s lieutenant governor meet with the central bank of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia?

Mallott then met with venture capitalist Robert Grady, who has been introduced to Alaska before,

Grady is with Gryphon Investors. He previously was with the Carlyle Group. His expertise is in investment and debt capital markets. Grady is a name known to the governor’s office as a close friend of Alaska Dispatch News Publisher Alice Rogoff and Jack Ferguson, a lobbyist for the governor.

Grady was brought into the discussion last year when Ferguson was hired by Gov. Bill Walker to try to sell his new fiscal plan. Grady was vetting the various models being proposed by people like John Tichotsky, formerly at the Department of Revenue and now on the governor’s staff.

Mallott then met with economist Paul O’Brien, who has written extensively on Norway fisheries and economy. He attended some keynote addresses and dinners and then flew back home to Juneau.

Meanwhile, the evidence continued to mount that his election system had completely broken down in at least one important district: District 40, where Rep. Ben Nageak was fending off a same-party challenge from Dean Westlake.

‘YOU’RE ON YOUR OWN, JOSIE’

The lieutenant governor has left his Division of Elections director high and dry.

Inexperienced, facing mounting questions she cannot answer, Josie Bahnke has discovered that when good news happens, such as smooth voting on the Yup’ik ballot, Mallott will get the credit and the photo-op.

But if bad news happens, such as a Democratic Party-rigged election in District 40, it’s all on her.

Bright, shiny objects: What PFD is worth in ’82 dollars; mayor says lock doors

The 907

Suzanne Downing

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September 15, 2016

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INFLATION BITES

At some point in the next three weeks, The Alaska Permanent Fund dividend will be distributed to all eligible Alaskans. The amount was announced by the governor in June when he vetoed the funding for well over half of the dividend, and set the amount by fiat at exactly $1,000. It was a first.

One thousand dollars happens to be the amount of the very first dividend in 1982. Still not a bad haul for doing nothing but being an Alaskan.

KTUU did an analysis showing if Gov. Bill Walker had not vetoed the funding for the dividend, every Alaskan would get approximately $2,100 this year.

But to the point: $1,000 today is just $482 in 1982.

To keep up with inflation since 1982, this year’s check would have needed to be $2,481.

FIRST CUP OF IRONY: MORE TAX CREDITS SIGNED INTO LAW

While Gov. Bill Walker has vetoed millions of dollars in tax credits to the smaller oil and gas companies that came up to Alaska because of those incentives, he signed into law Monday a new set of tax credits.

The bill he signed, with House Speaker Mike Chenault looking over his shoulder, is to help reopen the Nikiski fertilizer company Agrium, which shuttered itself in 2011.

“This one is different than the other ones we’re doing up north,” Walker explained. “This is one the benefit to Agrium will be three, four, five million dollars with a maximum of five years, and the benefit on the revenue side is four, five times that.”

But will these tax credits be paid? What good is a tax credit if companies don’t know if they will really be honored?

MAYOR TO RESIDENTS: STAY IN BED, LOCK DOORS, SAY GOODNIGHT

Anchorage residents, who have already heard from Mayor Ethan Berkowitz’ administration that they should not walk alone at night and never be on the trails by themselves because it’s not safe, are now hearing that they should say goodnight to their parents and be sure to lock the doors.

Mayor Ethan was at the North Star Community Council yesterday when young girl told him her concerns about safety in the neighborhoods and how she feels unsafe.

“Make sure to say goodnight to your parents so they know where you are, stay in your bed, and make sure your parents have locked the doors,” Berkowitz advised.

Banishment, in the name of tradition

The 907

Suzanne Downing

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September 15, 2016

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BANISHMENT IS THE NEW BLACK

In 1994, two 17-year-old Tlingit boys robbed a young pizza delivery man in Everett, Washington, and beat him with a baseball bat for a bit of cash and a few slices of pepperoni pizza.

A Washington state judge was convinced by a Native American activist and possibly hustler named Rudy James to allow the boys to have the old-ways punishment of banishment for one year to an uninhabited island in Southeast Alaska with only a small stash of food and a few small tools.

And so the boys started their punishment, but the whole experiment fell apart quickly as they were soon seen in local towns of Klawock and Craig.

Eventually they ended up serving a stint of prison time, and they’ve both had several brushes with the law since the 1990s.

The victim? He came too close to death that day. He still has permanent hearing loss where the bat smashed him in the head.

“Never before had an American court allowed defendants to be punished by banishment. But a judge here in Snohomish County, north of Seattle, was assured that it was a traditional form of Tlingit justice, and it was hailed by some as a bold and innovative move in a criminal justice system gone awry,” reported the New York Times in 1994.

Many Southeast Alaska Tlingits looked askance at Rudy James’ claim that he was a Tlingit judge. He hadn’t even lived in Alaska for three decades, and they were embarrassed by the whole charade.

“Rudy James was just making this up as he went along,” Aaron Isaacs, of Klawock, was quoted as saying by the Times. “The biggest problem the native people have with this now is we are going to be held responsible for the promises of Rudy James.”

HERE WE GO AGAIN

Banishment is a punishment fashion that appears to be making a rebound in Alaska. Earlier this week the Alaska Dispatch News reported about several villages exercising their right to banish a person.

Derek Adams was 19 when he set fire to a house in the Yukon River village of Nunam Iqua. He had been awaiting trial since then, and took a plea deal to criminally negligent homicide charges in a Bethel court. It’s all pretty much behind him now, except for the three dead people that died that day in August of 2013.

Meanwhile, the village of Nunam Iqua has banished Adams. Out of self-defense, Alakanuk, and Emmonak banished him too.

Now Adams out of prison and homeless, because he can’t go to any villages near his home of Nunam Iqua. He’s hanging around Bethel because that’s what is going to happen to people who are banished — they’ll end up in the urban centers.

Tribal governments have spoken, and the State will have to decide if it will listen. Are State Troopers obliged to back up the banishment of a tribal government?

And why is this particular young man banished, but not the rapists in Nunam Iqua that have been reported on by CNN? A reporter spent time in the village and featured it as a place where every woman in town has reported as having been a victim of domestic or gender-based violence, rape, or other sex crimes. And a lot of the kids have been raped and beaten too. The ADN story leaves open the question about whether Derek Adams was also abused in the village from which he is now banished.

IF WALLY OLSON WAS ALIVE…

Walter Olson was a retired professor of anthropology at the University of Alaska at Juneau. Married to Marie Olson until his death last December, he was the foremost expert on Tlingit culture, and history.

He told New York Times reporter Tim Egan that there was neither oral nor written history of any banishment tradition among any Alaska tribes. Not a single one, he said.

“Under old Tlingit law, you could turn someone over to be a slave, or take their life. But banishment — no.” – Wally Olsen

Today, banishment is being revived as a form of tribal sovereignty and “traditional justice.”

Few if any in the legal community are making critical inquiries as to which tribes practiced it or if any did at all.

It sounds good. It sounds traditional. And for those who just don’t feel like mixing it up with a tribal government, it sounds like an issue you might not want to touch in this age of political correctness.

But it leaves the question: How many systems of justice shall we allow in Alaska. Are there going to be different standards for different people?

Because for some folks in Anchorage, Fairbanks, Juneau, Bethel, Kotzebue, and Nome, there is a whole cast of vagrants, drug addicts, gangsters, and troublemakers that the law abiding citizens of the city wouldn’t mind banishing.

It’s tradition, right?

ORTIZ’ ACTUAL ACCOMPLISHMENT: FORCING LEGISLATURE INTO SPECIAL SESSION

SERIAL ANCHORAGE

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Keith Meyer makes a shot on the goal: The new head of the Alaska Gasline Development Corp. promises prosperity for Alaska with a gasline. OUR TAKE — IT’S STILL OIL IN ALASKA

DON YOUNG’S GOT GAME

IMITATION IS THE SINCEREST FORM OF FLATTERY

ALASKA UNEMPLOYMENT TICKS UP

CRYSTAL SERENITY DOCKS IN BIG APPLE

IN TRUMP SHE TRUSTS

SPEAKING OF WINNERS…

SOME UNUSUAL SUSPECTS

RICK HALFORD

CLEM TILLION

BILL WIELECHOWSKI

THE GOVERNOR BITES BACK

A REVIEW OF PROBLEMS LEADS TO ELECTION LAWSUIT

SHUNGNAK DOUBLE VOTING

KIVALINA

BROWERVILLE

BETTLES

BUCKLAND

NOME

WILLIAM OVIOK

MISTAKES ADD UP TO PATTERN

OPTIONS

LIEUTENANT GOVERNOR BUSY NOT OVERSEEING ELECTIONS

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MALLOTT ZIPS OFF TO JACKSON HOLE

‘YOU’RE ON YOUR OWN, JOSIE’

INFLATION BITES

FIRST CUP OF IRONY: MORE TAX CREDITS SIGNED INTO LAW

MAYOR TO RESIDENTS: STAY IN BED, LOCK DOORS, SAY GOODNIGHT

BANISHMENT IS THE NEW BLACK

HERE WE GO AGAIN

IF WALLY OLSON WAS ALIVE…

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Keith Meyer makes a shot on the goal: The new head of the Alaska Gasline Development Corp. promises prosperity for Alaska with a gasline.

OUR TAKE — IT’S STILL OIL IN ALASKA