Sen. Mike Shower of Wasilla will be minority leader of the incoming Senate Republican minority in the Alaska Legislature.
During the past two years there hasn’t been a minority because the Democrats peeled off enough Republicans to have a super-majority of nine Democrats and eight Republicans, leaving three Republicans — Sens. Mike Shower, Shelley Hughes, and Robert Myers — out in the cold with no voice in the Senate.
But now there are six Republicans in the minority, which leaves the Republicans left in the majority outnumbered by Democrats 2-to-1.
In addition to Shower leading the minority, Myers of Fairbanks-North Pole will be minority whip. Other members of the minority are Sen. James Kaufman of South Anchorage, Sen. Shelley Hughes of Wasilla, and Senators-elect Mike Cronk of Tok-Interior and Rob Yundt of Wasilla.
Although Republican Senators Kelly Merrick and Jesse Bjorkman are both on the record saying they would only stay with a bipartisan majority if the numbers were even, they appear to have gone back on their word and put the Democrats clearly in charge, as they have done the past two years.
Shower was appointed by Gov. Bill Walker to serve out the term of then-Sen. Mike Dunleavy, starting Feb. 22, 2018. Dunleavy had resigned to run for governor and Shower has held the seat ever since.
The caucus extends an open invitation to any senator who wishes to join in opposing government expansion and advocating for common sense solutions for Alaska, the group said in a statement.
“Our caucus is focused upon small-government, conservative principles that a majority of Alaskans support,” said Myers. “We look forward to working with members of all caucuses who share our commitment to sustainable and responsible budgets.”
“With the new federal administration, there will be opportunities for the state to be a partner in new resource development projects, education reform, and greater state control over our own destiny,” said Sen. Hughes. “As the Senate Republican Caucus, we stand poised to advance great things for Alaska.”
“I’m a firm believer that Alaskan values and ways of life should be reflected in everyone having a voice at the table. By putting our differences aside, we will work together for all of Alaska,” said Senator-elect Cronk.
“Alaska’s economy has been buffeted by national inflation, while also being stressed by local economic stagnation. Now more than ever, we need a caucus that is clearly focused on enabling the private sector, which is the force that can lift all boats by providing increased economic opportunity. State government can help, and has an important role to play, particularly by getting out of the way whenever possible, and by efficiently delivering infrastructure projects and services that are outside of the private sector’s reach,” said Sen. Kaufman.
“I’m excited to work with this dynamic group. Our caucus, made up of the majority of elected Republican Senators, will be the team who offers a fiscally and socially responsible path forward that benefits all Alaskans,” said Senator-elect Yundt.
The 12 jurors in the election misconduct trial of former Rep. Gabrielle LeDoux were not able to come to a decision on the 12 counts against her. The judge declared it a mistrial due to deadlock. Whether Department of Law prosecutors will try the case again is yet to be determined.
LeDoux, who moved from Kodiak to the Muldoon area so that she could then run for state House, was accused by the state of encouraging people to register and vote in her district when she knew they didn’t live in the district. The charges included five felony charges.
The case had many twists and turns, with one key witness and campaign employee, Charlie Chang of California, dying in 2018. He had been hired to bring in the vote of the Hmong community.
But two associated with the case did not die. One, then-legislative aide Lisa Simpson, pleaded guilty and testified against LeDoux, as did Caden Vaught, who is Simpson’s son who was apparently taken advantage of in the alleged scheme.
In her defense, LeDoux had testified that she never wanted her campaign to do anything illegal, arguing that she was misunderstood. But after a two-year investigation, which involved the FBI due to federal candidates being on the ballots during the timeframe of the elections, the State Department of Law concluded that there was actual election fraud taking place.
Even Sen. Lisa Murkowski would not vote for the 2021 confirmation of Tracy Stone-Manning, who had been with EarthFirst! and was tied to a tree-spiking terrorism incident decades before President Joe Biden brought her on as the director of the Bureau of Land Management.
But she was confirmed by the Democrats in the Senate anyway, and has been in charge of the agency for four years, converting it from a multi-use land agency to one dedicated to complete preservation of land, including the 70 million acres the agency owns and controls in Alaska.
Now that the Biden Administration is coming to an end, Stone-Manning is heading back to the environmental non-governmental organization industry, also known as ENGOs.
She’ll be taking over the leadership of The Wilderness Society, which opposes and litigates against all oil and gas leases on Alaska’s North Slope, against all mining, and against all forestry.
President Biden nominated Stone-Manning to direct the BLM in 2021, taking over from Acting Director William Perry Pendley, who served under the Trump Administration.
While she was being confirmed, her past actions with EarthFirst! came to light. Republicans argued against her due to her work as an environmentalist who supported the driving of spikes into trees in order to discourage logging, knowing the spikes would do deadly harm to loggers working in the forest, she was a poor choice. Stone-Manning is on record saying she “retyped” a letter detailing the attacks and sent the letter anonymously to the U.S. Forest Service so that logging would be halted.
Stone-Manning had also been a senior advisor at the National Wildlife Federation in Montana, and was chief of staff to Democrat Gov. Steve Bullock. She was a senior aide to Democrat U.S. Sen. John Tester.
The Coast Guard said Monday afternoon that it suspended its search Monday morning for five people after their fishing boat reportedly capsized near Pt. Couverden Point in northern Southeast Alaska, pending the development of new information.
Coast Guard crews searched for nearly 24 hours, covering more than 108 square nautical miles. Survival suits were found empty and the life raft from the vessel was found, but may not have been inflated.
“We stand in sorrow and solidarity with the friends and family of the people we were not able to find over the past 24 hours,” said Chief Warrant Officer James Koon, a search and rescue mission coordinator at Coast Guard Sector Southeast Alaska. “I am deeply grateful for the swiftness of our crews and other search assets who came together to amplify our efforts and completely saturate our search areas. Our collective hearts are with the friends and families of the who are experiencing the effects from this loss.”
Involved in the search were:
Coast Guard Sector Southeast Alaska
Coast Guard Air Station Sitka
Coast Guard Station Juneau
Coast Guard Cutter Healy (WAGB 20)
Coast Guard Cutter Douglas Denman (WPC 1149)
Alaska Marine Highway System motor vessel Hubbard, which was first on the scene.
U.S. Coast Guard Sector Southeast Alaska watchstanders received the mayday call at approximately 12:07 a.m. on VHF-FM channel 16 from the crew aboard the fishing vessel Wind Walker reporting they were overturning. The watchstanders attempted to get more information but no more communication was made by the Wind Walker, which was battling six-foot seas, heavy winds snow and possible icing conditions in frigid temperatures of -8 degrees F.
The Wind Walker is based out of Sitka and is well known in the fishing community.
The search area was around Pt. Couverden near Hoonah, according to the U.S. Coast Guard. The last-known sighting was west of Rocky Island, about 15 miles west of Juneau, around Icy Strait/Chatham Strait.
Anyone with new information about this situation is requested to contact Coast Guard Sector Southeast Alaska watchstanders at 907-463-2980.
President-elect Donald Trump responded to President Joe Biden’s expansive pardon of his son, Hunter, calling it a “miscarriage of justice.”
Trump’s comments were echoed by a wave of criticism following the Sunday night pardon. The president and his White House press secretary, Karine Jean-Pierre, both previously said Biden would not pardon his son.
“President Biden insisted many times he would never pardon his own son for his serious crimes,” House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., said in a statement. “But last night he suddenly granted a ‘Full and Unconditional Pardon’ for any and all offenses that Hunter committed for more than a decade!
“Trust in our justice system has been almost irreparably damaged by the Bidens and their use and abuse of it,” he added. “Real reform cannot begin soon enough!”
Republicans have argued for years that Democrats weaponized the Justice Department against Trump. Republicans have pushed back, pointing to whistleblower reports and other evidence suggesting that Hunter received special treatment from the DOJ and helped lead an international Biden family business raking in money from entities in Ukraine, China and elsewhere.
“Does the Pardon given by Joe to Hunter include the J-6 Hostages, who have now been imprisoned for years?” Trump said in a statement. “Such an abuse and miscarriage of Justice!”
Biden also repeatedly bashed Trump, saying no one is above the law and leading Democrats in their campaign attacks against Trump with the refrain of “no one is above the law.”
“I honestly don’t care,” Charlamagne said on the Breakfast Club show. “I just want Democrats to stop acting like they are on this moral high ground politically when they have shown us they’re not. You know, whether it’s skipping the primary process when Biden stepped down and things like Biden pardoning his son. Stop acting like y’all are the pure party and Republicans aren’t.”
Biden released a statement Sunday announcing and preemptively defending his decision to broadly pardon Hunter and that the charges were “instigated” by the president’s political opponents in Congress.
As The Center Square previously reported, Hunter Biden’s plea agreement with the Department of Justice fell through earlier this year amid pressure from Republican lawmakers, who said the deal was too favorable to the president’s son.
“Without aggravating factors like use in a crime, multiple purchases, or buying a weapon as a straw purchaser, people are almost never brought to trial on felony charges solely for how they filled out a gun form,” Biden said in a statement. “Those who were late paying their taxes because of serious addictions, but paid them back subsequently with interest and penalties, are typically given non-criminal resolutions. It is clear that Hunter was treated differently.”
Many mainstream media pundits and outlets took fire for repeatedly insisting that Biden would not pardon Hunter, referencing Biden’s commitment to not do so.
“Never mind about the corruption, never mind about the gun offenses, never mind about the drug offenses, never mind about the tax offenses,” U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, said on his podcast “The Verdict” Sunday. “No man is above the law unless your name is Joe Biden and the entire Biden family.”
Hunter faced tax and gun-related charges, but the president’s pardon covers any potential crimes dating back to 2014, which happens to cover the years where Hunter did his overseas dealings and brought in millions of dollars to his business using the Biden name, according to House investigations.
“Democrats said there was nothing to our impeachment inquiry,” U.S. Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, said on X. “If that’s the case, why did Joe Biden just issue Hunter Biden a pardon for the very things we were inquiring about?”
The FBI went rogue a very long time ago. Director J. Edgar Hoover was a law unto himself, and everyone in political life was a potential victim. His violations of civil rights were a national disgrace. Throughout his 48 years as director, he broke the law routinely. Like his insufferable successor, James Comey, he believed he answered to “a higher authority” — his own conscience. These are delusions of grandeur. The FBI has degenerated into one of the greatest threats to American liberty. These people think they’re above the law.
In fact, they are merely criminal investigators, acting at all times under the direction of a U. S. Attorney. Every district attorney in the country has law enforcement officers who he tasks with investigating crimes. They’re called cops. FBI agents are just federal cops.
FBI Associate Director Mark Fell, playing the role of Deep Throat, took down a duly elected president of the United States, Richard Nixon. Comey and his gang tried to do the same thing to President Donald Trump, but they couldn’t pull it off. Now Trump is back, and he’s loaded for bear. His appointee, Kash Patel, will have the president’s unwavering support as he goes after this rot root and branch. Every civil libertarian in the country should back him 100%.
It’s true that he doesn’t have extensive service with the Department of Justice. That’s not a bug, it’s a feature. He’s not part of the club. There are thousands of perfectly fine FBI agents who work for the Bureau. Patel just needs to find them and promote them.
It wasn’t that long ago that the most zealous champions of American civil liberty were on the left. No more. They have succumbed to the totalitarian impulse hiding in many a liberal heart, and they should be ashamed of themselves.
This is not a Trump thing. It’s a “restoring-the-rule-of-law thing.”
Fritz Pettyjohn was a prosecuting attorney for the City of Ketchikan, Alaska in 1973 and served in the Alaska Legislature in the 1980s. He blogs at ReaganProject.com
It’s hard to believe, but the ballots for the Anchorage municipal election go out in less than 100 days, and candidates are already filing their financial paperwork and intent for office.
Formal candidate filing openson Friday, Jan. 10, 2025 at 8 a.m. and closeson Friday, Jan. 24, at 5 p.m. Meanwhile, there are the filings with the Alaska Public Offices Commission that indicate who may be running for local seats.
Republican Jared Goecker, who just finished an unsuccessful challenge to Eagle River Sen. Kelly Merrick in the state legislative race, has filed with the Alaska Public Offices Commission to run for Assembly to represent Chugiak/Eagle River for a seat that will be open.
The Assembly seats up for election include:
District 1 – Seat L – North Anchorage, incumbent Daniel Volland has filed for reelection
District 2 – Seat A – Chugiak, Eagle River, JBER, Jared Goecker has filed. Incumbent Mark Littlefield doesn’t plan to run.
District 3 – Seat D – West Anchorage, incumbent Kameron Perez-Verdia has filed with APOC to run again.
District 4 – Seat F – Midtown Anchorage, incumbent Meg Zaletel is not running for a third term. Erin Baldwin Day has filed with APOC and appears to live in that district.
District 5 – Seat H – East Anchorage, incumbent Karen Bronga is not running for reelection. Yarrow Silvers is running for the seat with Bronga’s support.
District 6 – Seat J – South Anchorage, Girdwood, Turnagain Arm – incumbent Randy Sulte has not yet filed for reelection.
For the Anchorage School Board, these seats are up for election:
School Board – Seat A, incumbent Margo Bellamy has filed with APOC to run again.
School Board – Seat B, incumbent Kelly Lessens has filed with APOC to run again.
Also expected on the Anchorage ballot is a proposal from the Anchorage Assembly to amend the city charter and enact a 3% sales tax in Anchorage, which the Assembly promises will reduce property taxes.
The next Regular Municipal Election ends Tuesday, April 1.
Anchorage votes by mail-in ballot. Ballot packages will be mailed to the mailing addresses on record with the State of Alaska’s voter registration database.
“For Regular Municipal Elections, ballot packages will only be mailed to qualified Anchorage voters, at least 21 days before Election Day,” the city’s Division of Elections says.
Gov. Mike Dunleavy’s carbon storage revenue model is still in the works. The Department of Natural Resources will accept comments through the end of business today proposes to adopt regulations on “Carbon Storage Exploration Licensing and Leasing.”
The regulatory changes come as a result of Dunleavy’s legislation that allowed for the state to enter the carbon storage business, plus new regulation of natural gas storage and geothermal energy. House Bill 50 set up the regulatory framework for storing carbon gases in underground caverns; the carbon market is an effort to reduce greenhouse gases by issuing carbon credits that can be bought and sold, and for nations and companies to buy space in the underground caverns where they can pump carbon dioxide. It’s all part of the climate change agenda and companies are making billions of dollars off of it.
The regulations to be amended are in Title 11, Natural Resources, of the Alaska Administrative Code, dealing with Carbon Storage Licensing and Leasing, and include the following:
Proposed amendments:
11 AAC 05.110. Leasable minerals. Includes carbon storage exploration license and lease application and administration fees, simplifies the section title, and adds a definition for leasable minerals.
11 AAC 80.045. Field gathering lines exempt. Adds definition of “carbon dioxide” and amends definition of “field gathering line” to add new classification to transport carbon dioxide.
11 AAC 80.055. Field gathering lines defined. Repeals definition and readopts it as subsection (b) to 11 AAC 80.045 with added classification for transport of carbon dioxide.
Proposed new Title 11, Chapter 84, Article 9, Carbon Storage Licensing and Leasing, to be adopted:
11 AAC 84.1000. Minimum qualifications. Establishes minimum qualifications for who may apply for, obtain, or transfer interest in carbon storage exploration licenses and leases.
11 AAC 84.1005. Carbon storage exploration license applications. Establishes what must be included in an application for an exploration license.
11 AAC 84.1010. Call for competing proposals. Establishes the procedure for calls for competing proposals after an exploration license application is received.
11 AAC 84.1015. Best interest findings. Establishes the procedure and criteria for issuance of a best interest finding before determining whether to issue a carbon storage exploration license or lease.
11 AAC 84.1020. Competitive bidding procedure; assessment criteria. Establishes competitive bidding procedures and assessment criteria if competing proposals are accepted.
11 AAC 84.1025. License administration. Establishes reporting and payment requirements for licensees.
11 AAC 84.1030. Default by licensee; termination, revocation, and surrender of a license. Establishes procedures, rights, and responsibilities for default, termination, revocation, and surrender of a license.
11 AAC 84.1035. Conversion of carbon storage exploration license to storage lease; lease provisions. Establishes the procedure and requirements for converting a license to a lease.
11 AAC 84.1040. Transition from enhanced oil recovery operations to carbon storage operations; lease provisions. Establishes the procedure and requirements for issuing a carbon storage lease to an oil and gas lessee upon transitioning from enhanced oil recovery to permanent carbon storage operations.
11 AAC 84.1045. Default by lessee, termination and surrender of a carbon storage lease. Establishes procedures, rights, and responsibilities for default, termination, and surrender of a carbon storage lease.
11 AAC 84.1050. Carbon storage lease unitization. Establishes procedures and requirements for unitizing carbon storage leases.
11 AAC 84.1055. Assignments. Establishes procedures and requirements for assigning an interest in carbon storage exploration licenses and leases, which must be approved by the commissioner.
11 AAC 84.1060. Application for approval of assignment. Establishes the requirements for approval of an application of an assignment of interest in a carbon storage license or lease.
11 AAC 84.1065. Plan of development; application requirements. Establishes requirements for a plan of development for carbon storage leases, which will be subject to regular review.
11 AAC 84.1070. Plan of operations; application requirements; completion reports.Establishes requirements for a plan of operations to permit on-the-ground activities.
11 AAC 84.1075. Surety requirements. Establishes requirements for bonding or other acceptable forms of surety of performance under the conditions of a carbon storage license or lease.
11 AAC 84.1080. Damages. Requires a licensee or lessee to pay damages and indemnify the state in the case of claims made by surface owners in accordance with AS 38.05.130.
11 AAC 84.1085. Long-term monitoring and maintenance of leased area. Establishes procedures for the Department of Natural Resources to assume long-term monitoring and maintenance of a storage facility after closure, including the use of the carbon storage closure trust fund established by AS 37.14.850.
11 AAC 84.1090. Definitions. Defines terms used in the adopted regulations in 11 AAC 84.
The public may comment on the proposed regulation changes, including the potential costs to private persons of complying with the proposed changes, by submitting written comments to Department of Natural Resources, Division of Oil & Gas, at 550 W. 7th Ave, Suite 1100, Anchorage, AK 99501-3563. Additionally, the Division of Oil & Gas will accept comments by fax at (907) 269-8939 and by electronic mail at [email protected]. The comments must be received not later than 5 p.m. on Dec. 2.
This is the third in a three-part series on Alaska’s election integrity.
In recent weeks, Alaskans have called for greater transparency and accountability in our election system, expressing concerns through court challenges, social media discussions, and peaceful protests rejecting a system designed to exclude voters. Three areas where Alaska’s election system faces risks.
First, when votes are received and counted, and when a decision is made to exclude a ballot. Second, how is the ballot chain of custody and security ensured during mail-in voting, and how is this process documented? Third, what happens to a ballot when there are technical errors; what is ballot curing?
As the Alaska Division of Elections prepares to certify the 2024 results, frustration is growing over a troubling pattern: early vote counts often favor Republicans, only for a surge of mail-in ballots in the days after the election to shift results toward Democrats.
Alaska’s election model prioritizes ballot exclusion over inclusion, lacking reliable tools to verify eligible voters or identify improperly cast votes, effectively seeking to discard ballots. Instead of focusing on fairness, the system defaults to exclusion, favoring convenience over accountability.
Many voters are also registered in the wrong district due to boundary changes, risking disqualification in legislative races. Despite awareness of these issues, the Division of Elections has failed to notify voters or implement solutions. This persistent neglect leaves thousands of ballots, especially in rural Alaska, at risk of rejection, underscoring the urgent need for reforms to restore trust and voter inclusion.
Alaska lacks a ballot curing process, rejecting many mail-in ballots without notifying voters. Courts have ruled that curing is essential to voter rights, allowing voters to fix minor technical errors like missing or mismatched signatures. Other states notify voters of such issues, ensuring ballots are counted, as upheld in cases like Democratic Executive Committee of Florida v. Detzner (2018) and La Follette v. Padilla (2020). Alaska, however, disqualifies many ballots without notice, eroding public trust.
Adding to this, Alaska’s courts, with little resistance from the executive branch, have blocked key security measures, such as signature requirements. In 2020, despite legislative approval to keep signature verification during COVID-19, courts ruled it unnecessary for that cycle. This undermines election integrity. Allowing ballots from likely ineligible voters erodes confidence, but rejecting valid ballots from eligible voters is a greater injustice. Urgent reforms like hard voter registration deadlines and pre-printed eligibility rolls are needed to restore transparency and trust.
A critical issue is Alaska Statute §15.20.081(e), allowing absentee ballots postmarked by Election Day to be counted if received within 10 days. The October 2024 Republican National Committee v. Wetzel decision deemed Mississippi’s similar practice unconstitutional, requiring ballots to be received by Election Day. Alaska’s law likely violates federal standards, meaning late-arriving ballots should not be counted. This process lacks proper controls, security, and transparency, opening our elections to fraud.
Before certifying the election, the division should audit all mail-in ballots received after Election Day to verify they are from eligible voters. The executive branch must propose aligning Alaska’s law with federal standards by requiring ballots to be received by Election Day, not just postmarked. Senator Mike Shower (R-Wasilla) has championed this reform since 2019. Concerned citizens should demand accountability from the Division of Elections, the state attorney general, and the lieutenant governor to ensure compliance with federal law and protect election integrity.
Alaska lacks a secure chain of custody for mail-in ballots. While you can track a pizza or FedEx package at every stage, Alaska’s vote-by-mail process suffers from inflated voter rolls, lax procedures, and poor tracking protocols. Anchorage’s ballot tracking system records only when a ballot is sent and received, offering no visibility into its journey. This lack of transparency creates the illusion of accountability while leaving custody and handling a mystery. Weak safeguards and loopholes further expose the system to risks, including illegal ballot harvesting.
By contrast, many states, like California, offer robust ballot tracking systems. California’s “Where’s My Ballot?” provides real-time updates via text, email, or voice call, allowing voters to monitor their ballot every step and receive alerts for issues. Alaska must adopt similar systems to ensure transparency, security, and voter confidence in its election process. The current system fails to meet these essential standards.
Since 2019, I have advocated implementing similar technology in Alaska, but the Division of Elections and executive branch officials have rejected these proposals. Their refusal undermines voter confidence and the integrity of Alaska’s elections. It’s time for Alaska to prioritize ballot security and transparency.
Alaska’s election system needs urgent reform to prevent disenfranchisement, particularly among rural residents, Alaska Native communities, the elderly, and deployed military personnel. While in-person voting achieves a 99.9 percent acceptance rate, mail-in ballots face rejection rates as high as 12.5 percent, as reported by Alaska Public Media in June 2022, often without voters knowing why their votes were discarded.
Until the system is fixed, in-person voting remains the most reliable option. Mail-in voters, especially in rural areas, face legitimate concerns about their ballots being rejected. As an Alaska Native, I worry about the increased risks for my family in remote communities. The executive branch’s inaction leaves the system vulnerable to errors, misuse, and corruption. Accountability must prevail.
Alaska’s leaders must fulfill their constitutional duty to protect voting rights, ensure integrity, and restore trust so every citizen knows their vote counts.
Terrence Shanigan is a lifelong Alaskan of Sugpiaq descent from Bristol Bay. He is also the co-founder of Mission Critical, is a combat veteran, an honored husband and a dedicated father.
