Anchorage police officer Alexander Roman will not be charged, since he was “legally justified in his use of deadly force against Easter Leafa,” according to the report from the Alaska Office of Special Prosecutions.
“Today, the Office of Special Prosecutions completed its review of an officer-involved shooting on August 13, 2024, involving Easter Leafa, 16, and Anchorage Police Department Officer Alexander Roman,” the Department of Law said in a statement.
“The review determined that Officer Roman was legally justified in his use of deadly force against Easter Leafa. The incident occurred after APD received a 911 call alleging Ms. Leafa had threatened a family member with a knife and responded to the report,” the department said. The Office of Special Prosecutions investigates all such officer-involved shootings in the state.
After the incident in August, Mayor Suzanne LaFrance jumped to the conclusion that the police officers were wrong to shoot the teen, although she was a large person who started coming at them with a large knife. She said the shot should never have been fired.
Anchorage Police have had to deal with an increasing number of violent individuals over the past year, and Mayor LaFrance made a public announcement that the police were at fault and that she would open up her own investigation with a third party.
To date, none of the police involved in shooting of suspects has been prosecuted by the Office of Special Prosecutions. There have been five officer-involved shootings in 2024 in Anchorage.
After meeting with the police union officials who supported her campaign, LaFrance then halfway apologized for apologizing for the Easter Leafa incident.
The group trying to retain the controversial ranked-choice voting method in Alaska wants voters to mark ‘No’ on Ballot Measure 2 so badly that they are using veterans as a way to tug at the heartstrings of voters, who are being falsely told that veterans will have to register with a political party in order to vote in the Alaska primary, if Ballot Measure 2 passes.
The information in the “No on 2” ads is 100% false.
This year, voting “Yes” on Ballot Measure 2 would return Alaska voting to its normal procedure of one vote per person.
The matter is so confusing to voters that the No on 2 advertisements have been getting away with peddling materially false information this campaign season.
But now, the disinformation ads have brought out the “Yes on 2” team to object to the lies being told on the air.
This “Yes on 2” team is a grassroots group that has little money to fight the dark Outside money flowing into the state to keep ranked-choice voting in place. But the group has lots of determination to undo the damage ranked-choice voting has done to Alaska over the past two years.
Outspent by more than $7.8 million, the “Yes on 2” can’t run counter ads to the false claims being made about military and veteran voters. But it can demand that radio stations cease and desist airing patently false information that pertains to a ballot measure.
Mikaela Emswiler, on behalf of the board of directors of Yes on 2, has done just that — demanded radio stations pull down the ad.
In a letter to the management of several radio stations, she writes, “Specifically: No registered voter, including veterans, was required to register with a political party to vote in a primary election before the implementation of jungle primaries through Alaska’s Ballot Measure 2 in 2022.”
Her letter continues: “No voter, including veterans, will be required to register with a political party to vote in a primary election if the jungle primary is repealed through new Ballot Measure 2 in Alaska’s November 2024 election.”
As proof, she points out, the Republican Party platform, which remains unamended on this point since before the jungle primary was implemented in 2020, states that “Only registered Republicans, registered Independents, and those who state no preference of party affiliation shall be allowed to vote in the Republican Primary Election for Governor, Lieutenant Governor, US Senator, US Representative, and members of the State Legislature.”
Members of the Democrat Party can vote in their own primary ballot, the letter says, like they did before the new system went into effect in 2022.
“The statements made in this advertisement are either knowingly false or made with reckless disregard for the truth. Such false statements have the potential to mislead voters and interfere with the democratic process. The Board of Yes on 2 hereby demands that Vision Alaska: Immediately cease and desist from airing the aforementioned “No on 2″ advertisement” and “Provide written assurance within five (5) business days that you will cease and desist from further airing of this advertisement,” Emswiler writes on behalf of “Yes on 2.”
The board says in its letter that there are remedies if the radio stations do not comply. Among those remedies are monetary damages and a complaint filed with the Federal Communications Commission.
The “No on 2” group repeated the lie in its letter back to the stations in response to the cease-and-desist letter.
Lawyer Thomas Amodio lied when he wrote, “Accordingly, the ad being attacked by Yo2 does not contain any false statements. To the contrary, the ad fairly states what would happen if BM2 passes and a party closed its primary—the voter would have to register in that party to ensure being able to vote in that party’s primary.”
It’s not true, however, and Amodio knows it. People who are not registered in any party were always allowed to vote in the Republican primary, which was only partially closed — to Democrats and those members of other formal parties — to prevent those parties from making mischief in the primary and advancing a candidate to the general election who Republicans didn’t vote for.
The Yes on 2 group responded to Amodio’s false claim with their own letter back to the stations, doubling down on their warning to pull the ad:
“I am writing in response to the letter you received from Reeves Amodio LLC, on behalf of its clients No on 2, regarding Yes on 2’s support for Ballot Measure 2 to repeal the state of Alaska’s jungle primary election and ranked choice election system. After careful review, I must respectfully point out several inaccuracies in the statements made in their letter:
1. Claim: “[N]o Alaska court would give credence to Yo2’s baseless claims…” “Fact Check: Under Alaska Statute AS 15.56.014(a)(3 ), it is a violation of the law to knowingly communicate false information about a candidate or a ballot measure. This statute defines campaign misconduct in the second degree as knowingly making a communication: (A) containing false factual information relating to a candidate for an election; (B) that the person knows to be false; and (C) that a reasonable person would construe as damaging to the candidate’s reputation for honesty or integrity, or to the candidate’s qualifications to serve if elected to office.
“The statute further states that violation of this section is a corrupt practice. It is important to note that the Alaska Public Offices Commission (APOC) applies the definition of “express communication” equally to ballot propositions and measures as well as to candidate elections. In other words, the State of Alaska interprets laws applicable to “candidates“ as equally applicable to “ballot measures.“ This interpretation has been longstanding and was recently highlighted in the Brief of Appellee, Alaska Policy Forum v. APOC, 2023 WL 3972969 at ‘”12-21 (Alaska Apr. 4, 2023). The brief describes APOC’s established practice of using this definition to identify express communications in the context of ballot measures. This broader application of the “express communication” definition underscores the importance of accuracy in all election-related communications, whether they pertain to candidates or ballot measures. It further emphasizes the potential legal implications of disseminating false information relating to election issues.
2. Claim: “The Republican Party of Alaska (RPA) sued for the right to close its primary to anyone who was not a registered Republican (or undeclared or unaffiliated). That was the state of Alaska’s primaries before the voters passed OP/RCV 4 years ago. OP/RCV returned Alaska to the commendable, open primary system.”
Fact Check: This statement is false. The primary system before the implementation of jungle primaries and ranked-choice voting (OP/RCV) already allowed undeclared voters and Independents to participate in the Republican primary, as evidenced by the Republican Party’s own 2020 platform. The Republican Party of Alaska’s own 2020 platform, Section 10(a), clearly states: “Only registered Republicans, registered Independents, and those who state no preference of party affiliation shall be allowed to vote in the Republican Primary Election for Governor, Lieutenant Governor, US Senator, US Representative, and members of the State Legislature.“ (emphasis added)
“This demonstrates that the Republican primary was open to more than just registered Republicans.
“Moreover, under the prior election system, the Alaska Democrat Party permitted voters who were not registered to as Democrats to vote in their party primary. Voters did not have to register as Democrats to vote in the Alaska Democrat Party’s primary.
3. Claim: “[T]he ad fairly states what would happen if BM2 passes and a party closed its primary-the voter would have to register in that party to ensure being able to vote in that party’s primary. From its plain wording, BM2 allows any party to close its primary.”
“Fact Check: Ballot Measure 2 (BM2) explicitly states: “Elections will occur exactly as they did before a previous ballot measure changed the election laws in 2022.” (emphasis added) This means that if passed, the election system would revert to the previous system where people who were not registered with a political party could still vote in the Republican and Democrat party primaries. This is the exact opposite of what Reeves Amodio claims (that voters would have to register to vote in that party to be able to vote in that party’s primary).
“ConclusionThe Reeves Amodio LLC letter is full of misinformation. Given the discrepancies between the claims made in the Reeves Amodio LLC letter and the documented facts, including the Republican Party of Alaska’s own platform and the text of Ballot Measure 2, it is imperative that this information be corrected to ensure voters have accurate information about the State’s upcoming election and the potential changes proposed by BM2. The Board of Yes on 2 hereby reiterates that CBI Media Group: Immediately cease and desist from airing the aforementioned “No on 2” advertisement regarding the false claims about how BM2 will limit veterans’ participation in primaries. Provide written assurance within five (5) business days that you will cease and desist from further airing of this advertisement. If you do not comply with this cease and desist demand, the Board of Yes on 2 is prepared to pursue all available legal remedies, including seeking monetary damages and equitable relief. We further are prepared to file a complaint with the Federal Communications Commission against your station for intentionally distorting the news about this important ballot initiative to Alaskan voters in its broadcasting. CBI Media Group is hereby directed to preserve and maintain all records, documents, and communications related to this advertisement and its airing, as they may be relevant to potential future legal action. We further request that you keep a copy of this letter in your public file, as required bylaw. We greatly appreciate your support in ensuring your broadcasting accurately reflects the truth about the proposed state of Alaska’s primary election system.
The “No on 2” group also is sending mailers to the homes of voters, with dark imagery of soldiers in combat, warning with the same false information that they won’t be able to vote in the Alaska primary if people get rid of ranked-choice voting. The mailer is not only misleading, it is materially false.
In a heart-stopping video released by U.S. Sen. Dan Sullivan, a Russian fighter jet recklessly came just a few feet away from an American Air Force jet patrolling Alaska’s coastal defense zone on Sept. 23.
The reckless and unprofessional maneuvers of Russian fighter aircraft—within just a few feet of our Alaska-based fighters—in Alaska’s ADIZ on September 23 put the lives of our brave Airmen at risk and underscore the escalating aggression we’re witnessing from dictators like… pic.twitter.com/uutqZYBaYn
“The reckless and unprofessional maneuvers of Russian fighter aircraft—within just a few feet of our Alaska-based fighters—in Alaska’s ADIZ on September 23 put the lives of our brave Airmen at risk and underscore the escalating aggression we’re witnessing from dictators like Vladimir Putin,” Sullivan noted on social media. The video demonstrates that the act was an intentional provocation.
“These tactics stand in stark contrast to the skill and discipline of our Alaska-based service members who are on the front lines at all hours in defense of our entire country. I want to commend our Airmen for consistently and professionally executing these complex intercept missions. We need to answer force with force and continue building up America’s military presence in Alaska and the Arctic with more infrastructure, like the strategic Arctic port at Nome and reopening the Adak Naval Base, and more military assets,” Sullivan said.
The video was also provided by NORAD, the North American Aerospace Defense Command.
“The conduct of one Russian Su-35 was unsafe, unprofessional, and endangered all – not what you’d see in a professional air force,” Gen. Gregory Guillot, commander of the United States Northern Command and North American Aerospace Defense Command, said in a statement.
NORAD deployed jets to fly a “safe and disciplined intercept” of the Russian aircraft in the Alaska Air Defense Identification Zone, an area beyond U.S. sovereign air space, but where pilots are expected to identify their aircraft.
The video was released a week after NORAD said four Russian military planes were detected and tracked off the coast of Alaska. About 130 U.S. soldiers and a mobile rocket launcher were deployed to Shemya, a remote Alaska island, as an increase in Russian military activity off the coast has caught the attention of the Pentagon.
Eight Russian military planes and four Russian Navy ships, including submarines, have spent the month patrolling close to Alaska during joint Russia-China military drills. None of the jets came into actual U.S. airspace but have been detected several times before this Sept. 23 incident — Sept. 11, 13, 14, and 15.
The U.S. House Oversight Committee is investigating why the Federal Communications Commission fast-tracked a deal that allowed a billionaire Democratic donor to buy a wide swath of American radio stations just weeks before the presidential election.
The major radio company Audacy Inc. fell into financial straits, but through a complex business deal Democratic mega donor and billionaire George Soros has gained control of the stations. Deals of this size require FCC approval, but in this case the FCC expedited the approval process.
FCC Commissioner Brendan Carr raised concerns about the deal at a Congressional hearing, telling lawmakers that “… the FCC is not following its normal process for reviewing a transaction.
“We have established over a number of years one way in which you can get approval from the FCC when you have an excess of 25 percent foreign ownership, which this transaction does,” Carr said. ““It seems to me that the FCC is poised to create, for the first time, an entirely new shortcut.”
House Oversight Chair Rep. James Comer, R-Ky. and Rep. Nick Langworthy, R-N.Y., sent a letter to FCC Chair Jessica Rosenworcel Friday raising concerns about the deal.
“Despite the unprecedented nature of this action, the FCC majority has apparently decided to approve licenses on an accelerated timeframe for a company in which George Soros has a major ownership stake, and with stations in 40 media markets reaching ‘more than 165 million Americans,’” the letter said. “By all appearances, the FCC majority isn’t just expediting, but is bypassing an established process to do a favor for George Soros and facilitate his influence over hundreds of radio stations before the November election.”
Critics of the deal say it gives too much power to a heavily political, and liberal, billionaire just before the election.
“I have no idea why Soros would do this unless it was to manipulate the thinking of Americans and the information they listen to,” author and former member of the George W. Bush administration Mike Gonzalez told The Center Square.
“Conservative talk radio is huge, and there is no left wing talk radio because it’s just not interesting,” said Gonzalez, who is now at the Heritage Foundation. “Conservative talk radio is one of the few communications that conservatives have not a monopoly on but have a strong handle on, and he has bought stations that have Mark Levin and Sean Hannity and Dana Loesch and Glenn Beck.”
Critics also point out that Soros’ business partners in the deal include significant funding from sources overseas.
“The Audacy, Inc. deal, which will lead to Audacy, Inc. being partially ‘directly or indirectly controlled’ by foreign individuals or entities holding ‘more than one-fourth of the capital stock’ will require FCC approval to determine whether ‘the public interest will be served by the refusal or revocation of such license,’” the letter said. “In carrying out this statutory mandate under the Communications Act, FCC has years-long established processes and procedures for adjudicating broadcast licenses in such situations, most recently updated in 2016.”
Other wealthy media owners have faced scrutiny for potential abuse of their ownership power, such as billionaire Jeff Bezos when he purchased the Washington Post. However, Soros’ influence over so many radio stations may have even more influence over the country than one of the major papers, which Americans usually see as having a certain political leaning.
Soros is one of the most strategic and prolific funders of liberal organizations in the U.S.
“I don’t know why else he would plunk a pile of money this size unless it was to try to have influence over the thinking of Americans,” Gonzalez continued, adding that “this guy is committed to left-wing causes.”
What a surprise — Chuck Kopp is running for the Alaska State Legislature again, this time challenging conservative incumbent Rep. Craig Johnson.
But before we jump to conclusions about what Kopp claims he’ll do, Anchorage’s District 10 voters would be wise to remember the last time Kopp was in the Alaska Legislature.
Let’s discuss it.
Kopp wants us to believe he will prioritize education, improve teacher retention, and solve Alaska’s economic woes. But this is the same politician who was soundly defeated by Rep. Tom McKay in 2020 for his poor choices and failed policies in office. Voters in District 10 should take a hard look at his record, particularly his support of Senate Bill 91 (SB 91), ranked-choice voting (RCV), support of public employee defined benefits, reductions to the Permanent Fund Dividend (PFD), and the expansion of the state bureaucracy.
One of Kopp’s most glaring failures was his leadership role in pushing SB 91, a disastrous criminal justice reform bill. SB 91 was meant to reduce prison costs, but what it really did was unleash a wave of crime across Anchorage and other parts of Alaska. The city saw an increase in property crime and public safety concerns skyrocketed. Who was at the helm advocating for this reckless policy?
None other than Chuck Kopp.
The result was chaos, making communities less safe. Kopp’s willingness to prioritize cost-cutting over public safety showed poor judgment. How can we trust him to make sound decisions on educational funding, workforce retention, or economic reforms when he was responsible for such a blunder?
Then there’s Kopp’s support for ranked-choice voting, a policy that has confused voters, complicated elections, and fueled concerns over election integrity. What was supposed to ensure more voter representation instead led to widespread disengagement and confusion.
Rather than offering transparency and reliability, Kopp backed a system that only adds more layers of complexity to the electoral process, making it harder for voters to trust the outcome. His support of RCV effectively removes our choice in the election process. If Kopp truly wanted an open and transparent government, why support a system that does the exact opposite?
Kopp’s support for reducing the PFD is perhaps the biggest slap in the face to Alaskans. The PFD is not just a bonus check — it’s a lifeline, especially for rural residents who face higher costs of living. Yet Kopp consistently voted to reduce the PFD, even while supporting more government spending. Billions of dollars that should have gone to Alaskans went instead to feed a bloated state bureaucracy.
Alaska is unique. While 66% of the state population is urban, a staggering number of rural Alaskans depend on the PFD to make ends meet — almost 250,000 Alaskans. And still, Kopp’s policies undermined their economic stability, robbing families of much-needed support. His promises of economic reform ring hollow when his actions have led to deeper financial insecurity for countless Alaskans.
Kopp also championed government expansion at a time when fiscal restraint was desperately needed. Because of Kopp’s time in the Alaska State House, he participated in laying the groundwork for a continuing pattern of increasing the state’s budget, rewarding the state bureaucracy but punishing his constituents. At every turn, he seemed more interested in growing the state bureaucracy than solving real problems. Whether it was backing unnecessary regulations or increasing state spending, Kopp showed time and again that he prioritizes the government machine over the people.
When the economy was on the brink during the Covid pandemic, Kopp aligned with restrictive measures that strangled small businesses and delayed meaningful relief. His decisions caused further financial strain on families and workers who were already struggling to survive. Instead of fighting for his district, Kopp dug in and sided with policies that worsened the economic fallout.
In his latest pitch, Kopp talks about diversifying Alaska’s energy sources and supporting new environmental initiatives. But where was this enthusiasm when Alaska industries were drowning under federal overreach? Many political figures, like Kopp, have supported federal funding, with its sweeping progressive regulatory requirements. This only harms Alaska’s future economic growth. Small businesses and large industries alike have faced unbearable costs and regulatory hurdles that stifled growth. Kopp’s track record shows little to suggest he would be any different.
Kopp’s support of the return of an Alaska state-defined benefit plan for public employees will bankrupt the state because it guarantees fixed lifetime payouts based on salary and years of service, regardless of the fund’s actual investment returns or state revenues. It will also install a permanent bureaucracy class in a natural resource development state. How will this benefit our communities and their people? With Alaska’s volatile oil-dependent economy, inconsistent revenues, and the growing number of retirees, the state risks massive unfunded liabilities. This burden would likely require increased taxes or cuts to other critical services, further straining the state’s finances and potentially driving Alaska into deeper fiscal crisis.
“Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me.“
Chuck Kopp may sound like he has all the answers now, but we’ve seen this before. His previous tenure in the Legislature was marked by failures that hurt the safety, prosperity, and economic stability of Alaskans. Kopp claims to be a problem-solver, but when given the chance, he pushed policies that caused more harm than good.
District 10 voters should not be fooled again. We deserve a representative like Rep. Craig Johnson, who puts Alaskans first, who fights for our financial independence, and who works to keep our communities safe, not someone who will grow the government at our expense.
Michael Tavoliero is a resident of Eagle River and writes for Must Read Alaska.
North Pole City has been rocked in recent months over the “Candy Cane street light” controversy.
Former Mayor Mike Welch and the public works director were removed from office for procurement issues and cost overruns on a project to repaint the Candy Cane street light poles, which are iconic to the community.
Neither mayoral candidate is an incumbent, but both have served on the North Pole City Council. Both candidates are very personable and are men of faith, and both want to bring healing and trust back into city politics. There are subtle differences in campaign style and messaging that could give voters clues as to what they are choosing.
Councilman Larry Terch was elected last year to the city council. As a 46-year resident of North Pole, he has worked in real estate for nine years and is a fiscal conservative who is concerned about the aging city water and sewer infrastructure. The water system needs a substantial overhaul of equipment, which is bound to be costly. There are further concerns with the PFAS [per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances] contamination that is slowly migrating to the city’s source of water, and there are other contaminants that will need to be addressed soon.
Terch has expressed an interest in the role that taxes play in the community. Besides a property tax, North Pole has a city sales tax and a large share of the sales tax revenue that comes from people who live outside the city. The city has to remain attractive to draw those outside dollars into the retail core, and that means tourists and residents outside city limits, who can bring those dollars.
Terch has a few campaign signs out, but most of his campaigning has been going door to door. He does not have much of a footprint on social media.
Terch’s opponent, Councilman Anton Keller is a chiropractor who works in Fairbanks. He moved his family to North Pole from Ohio in 2018, according to his Facebook posts, although he says he has lived in North Pole for 14 years.
Keller does not have much in the way of specifics on his platform. Most of what he talks about the most is bringing “big stakeholders” to the table to come up with plans on what is best for the city. However, no one is really certain who these stakeholders are and what they would say beyond what has already been said at city council meetings.
Keller uses terminology that sounds like it comes from an International Council of Local Environmentalist brochure. However, it is uncertain if he actually understands the ICLE doctrine and aligns with it, or is just using words he has heard in liberal circles from people with globalist training. He re-posts things on social media from a known Fairbanks Marxist group called the Fireweed Collective, so perhaps Keller is far more left-leaning than it appears on the surface.
Keller’s campaign has been more focused on big signs and gimmicks, such as asking people to post selfies with Keller’s sign in the background. The person who can post photos with all his signs will be entered into a raffle to get a $100 dinner with him and his wife at one of North Pole’s fine restaurants. It’s unclear if this is covered by Alaska Public Offices Commission rules or is regulated by Alaska charitable gaming laws.
North Pole City Council
The City Council race in North Pole has two formally announced candidates and one write-in candidate. Santa Claus, a known socialist and “Bernie Bro,” is one of the contenders for a seat. He ran for Congress and has served on the council in the past, also as deputy mayor. Like Terch, he is concerned about the city water system. Claus would also like to see city services expanded based on what residents desire.
The other contender is Ellen Glab, a former city employee. She is more interested in lines of communication between the staff and leaders in the community. She is more focused on public employee issues.
The write-in candidate is Michael Mowery. Write-in candidates are often a long shot, but Mowery is a fiscal conservative and has experience with budgets from his businesses.
Mowery grew up in the North Pole area, is the owner of an apartment complex, and is and a heavy equipment operator. While Mowery is significantly younger than Santa Claus, he has extensive experience in property management. Mowery would bring a new skill set and perspective to the council if he was elected.
The North Pole municipality’s election will end Oct. 1 at 8 p.m.
In the Fairbanks North Star Borough Assembly Seat F race, voters can choose between Tammie Wilson, a former Assembly member with extensive budget experience, or high school gym teacher Garrett Armstrong. One of them — the Republican or the Democrat in what is ostensibly a nonpartisan contest — will replace departing de facto marxist Savannah Fletcher, who is attempting to join the state Senate in November.
It’s been a year since the Fairbanks Assembly took a hard tack to the left, and voters saw the results almost immediately, with lavish spending on an animal shelter followed by attempts to ratchet up taxes, and move Fairbanks to an all-mail-in ballot, so it can become like Anchorage.
Candidate Tammie Wilson brings to the table extensive experience with budgets, both on the Assembly and as a state legislator. While she was chair of the Assembly Finance Committee, Wilson delivered a budget well under the tax revenue cap, which resulted in a lower overall borough mill rate for taxpayers.
Since her departure from the Assembly last year, the budget instantly expanded, and spending has started to climb.
While the 2022-23 budget was $183,566,824, the budget by the new left-leaning Assembly was over $197 million, resulting in an estimated areawide mill rate of 10.599 mills, an increase of 0.158 mills from the FY23-24 budget. It taxes up to the Borough’s revenue cap.
Among the list of budget items Wilson has called out as excessive is the $33 million spent on the lavish “Puppy Palace” animal shelter replacement project. The proposed shelter has limited additional capacity, limited outdoor runs, and no drop off boxes, but does have a clerestory roof and extensive meeting rooms and facilities for borough staff along with other excessive amenities. Yet it cost as much as an elementary school in Alaska.
To compare, a new 33,000-square-foot elementary school (nearly twice the size of the Puppy Palace) was built in Kivalina in 2023 for $50.4 million.
The new Mat-Su Central School, at about 50,000 square feet, is being built for $25 million. But the 17,737-square-foot animal shelter in Fairbanks was a $33 million expenditure.
Wilson would have voted against the project at that budget level. She has called out the current Assembly members for failing to listen to the extensive testimony against what appears to be the most expensive animal shelter in the nation.
The Assembly not only voted to proceed with the enormous cost, it added another $236,700 to the project in September for a design change.
And yet, the Assembly needed money for schools, but it had spent so much on the puppy palace that it decided to try to blow through the tax cap and get the public to tax itself another $10 million for education. After six hours of testimony that went largely against holding a May 7 special election to increase property taxes, the liberal majority on the Assembly voted for the election, which cost taxpayers another $130,000. The taxpayers revolted and turned it down.
Wilson has noted that some Assembly members spend their time texting during Assembly meetings rather than listening to the public. Those who do testify are often treated with disrespect, she has noted.
Garrett Armstrong is on the board of the local chapter of the NEA — the National Education Association, which is one of the most powerful Democrat surrogate organizations in the country. On the Assembly, the NEA would be his master, as this is a playbook the NEA has run time and again in Alaska.
Armstrong has consistently indicated in forums that he doesn’t have enough information on issues to make an informed statement on a topic. However, he has made it clear in his newspaper commentaries and in social media posts that he is in favor of expanding the role of government. He endorses Democrat Grier Hopkins for mayor and indicates he will vote with the liberal side of the aisle to continue the march toward converting the Fairbanks North Star Borough into an Anchorage-style government.
One of his ads, claiming Wilson opposed the trails plan, had to be pulled because it was materially false. Wilson, along with Jimi Cash, voted to approve 2022-47, the trails plan; there is a difference between making sure easements are legal versus being “anti-trails.”
Armstrong, a registered Democrat, signed a petition to recall Gov. Mike Dunleavy in 2019. That petition, organized by supporters of scandalized Gov. Bill Walker, including the brother-in-law of Grier Hopkins, failed to advance for lack of interest in the voters’ part. Most of the signers of the petition were Democrats.
Armstrong would be a vote for the liberal side of the spectrum for Fairbanks.
Anchorage Mayor Suzanne LaFrance has not yet issued an apology to the family of a man who reportedly lunged at a police officer while brandishing a knife, and ended up shot dead, as the officer pulled his weapon out and defended his own life.
Earlier in the summer, LaFrance immediately apologized to the family members of another knife-wielding person, but this time LaFrance has not yet issued a statement that police were wrong to shoot the perpetrator.
The incident went down starting at about 7:12 p.m. on Sept. 29, when Anchorage Police Department officers were dispatched to the 500-block of N. Park Street after a man called 9-1-1 and said there had been an emergency and that someone was hurt. The location of the encounter is in the Mountainview neighborhood, where violent crime is a regular occurrence. The University of Alaska says Mountainview is the most ethnically diverse neighborhood in America. Bystanders said the man was of Samoan heritage.
One officer arrived near the scene and was waiting for backup. Additional officers were en route along with the city’s Mobile Intervention Team when a man suspect holding a knife began to approach the officer.
The officer backed away and directed the suspect to drop his weapon, according to Police Chief Sean Case. However, the suspect continued to move toward the officer with the knife, eventually running at the officer. The officer discharged his weapon striking the suspect in the upper body at least once.
This was the fifth fatal shooting by an Anchorage police officer in 2024. The incident was captured on both a body-worn camera and patrol car dash cameras. No officers or any other civilians were injured in this incident, police said.
Anchorage Police performed life-saving measures on the suspect until Anchorage Fire Department medics took over and transported the suspect to a hospital, where he was declared dead.
A reporter at the press conference held at midnight asked the police chief if the incident would contribute to the lack of trust that the public has in the police. Police Chief Case said the police officer did everything he could to avoid shooting the suspect.
Watch the press conference here:
According to policy, the Alaska State Office of Special Prosecutions will review the officers’ use of force and determine whether it was justified. Once that has been completed, APD Internal Affairs will review the officers’ actions to confirm whether there was any violation of policy. It is APD practice to place the officer who discharged his weapon on administrative leave for four days; his or her name will be released 72 hours after the incident.
Republicans were shocked on Sunday when House Democrat candidate Walter Featherly, running as a nonpartisan, announced he had the endorsement of a major pro-business association known as Associated General Contractors. That’s the group that represents commercial contractors in the state and it generally goes either right down the middle or to the pro-business side of the political spectrum. It’s part of a national group that is decidedly more conservative than Featherly.
Featherly is far from the center, which is why his announcement took Republicans by surprise.
But evidently, Featherly was peddling misinformation. No sooner had he posted his pride in receiving the coveted endorsement, than he took that information down. Someone reached him and made a demand that he pull down the claim. There is no such endorsement for Featherly, who was caught peddling misinformation.
This is the same Walter Featherly who was recalled from the Anchorage School Board in 1992, after he and his collaborators on the school board, including his future wife, started holding secret meetings out of the eye of the public. He lost his seat in a landslide that year during the special recall election.
Featherly is running against Republican Rep. Julie Coulombe for House District 11. Coulombe has served just one two-year term for the South Anchorage district and is part of the Republican majority in the House, while Featherly has aligned financially with the Alaska Democratic Party.
The general election is Nov. 5, with early voting starting Oct. 21 and running through Nov. 4.
