The Alaska Supreme Court will hear the appeal to the Vazquez v. Armstrong on Jan. 13 at 12:30 pm at the Boney Courthouse.
The case involves whether Rep.-elect Jennie Armstrong has lived in Anchorage legislative District 16 long enough to qualify as a legislator. Armstrong, from Louisiana, adventured her way to Alaska at some point in the summer of 2019, but whether she moved to Anchorage in time to meet the legal deadline for becoming a candidate in the district is under dispute. She ran for House and won in November. The matter includes the Division of Elections, which certified Armstrong as a candidate.
The group challenging Armstrong’s residency is raising funds for the appeal and have set up an account for donations. Contributors should note “ Liz Vazquez -Anchorage Residency Challenge,” on their contribution.
The group’s goal is to raise $40,000 for the challenge of Judge Herman Walker’s decision that Armstrong said she moved to the district in time, and he was essentially going to accept her word, rather than the words of her social media track record, which indicate otherwise.
Walker delayed releasing his decision by nearly three weeks over the holidays while he left the country on vacation. Legislators are being sworn in on Jan. 17 in Juneau. The Jan. 13 hearing by the Supreme Court will necessitate a speedy decision before that swearing-in.
If sworn into office, Armstrong will be the legislator who has lived in Alaska for barely three and a half years before being seated as one of 40 House members, and will be the legislator with arguably the least time in Alaska in legislative history, deciding everything from funding for schools to whether state taxes should be enacted, and the amount of Alaskans’ Permanent Fund dividends.
Amy Demboski, former municipal manager for Anchorage, has retained attorney Scott Kendall and appears to be pursuing a settlement for what she says was a retaliatory and wrongful firing by Mayor Dave Bronson.
Demboski was fired on Dec. 19, after which she said that the mayor’s staff leaked information to certain people in the media in an attempt to destroy her reputation. Demboski is currently the interim host of the morning drive-time show on 650 KENI.
Demboski said that Bronson fired her because she had brought to his attention unlawful and unethical activities and uses of municipal resources involving lobbyist contracts, sole source contracts, and the hiring of Larry Baker as a consultant.
Demboski and Kendall said that firing her for using vulgar language in the office is a “fig leaf” to cover up for the real reason, which is retaliation.
The letter, which was sent to the various news agencies by various actors, makes numerous claims about governmental malpractice in the Bronson Administration’s purchasing department, and serves as a warning that Demboski will be seeking a financial settlement and a promise from the mayor that further disparagements of her, which have been made to the media, will cease.
Kendall is the well-known political attorney who usually represents Democrat interests and the choice of him as an attorney shows that Demboski is going to the mat. Kendall was the chief of staff to former Gov. Bill Walker and was a leader in several well-known political movements, including an attempt to recall Gov Mike Dunleavy. He is the architect of Ballot Measure 2, ranked choice voting.
In the race for Anchorage Assembly Seat 6 scheduled to end this April 4, 2023, there appear to be two Republican candidates now: Rachel Ries and Carmela Warfield.
Rachel Ries declared her intentions to run last summer. Carmela Warfield has just announced her intentions at the last minute by filing with the Alaska Public Offices Commission.
The question needs to be asked: Has Carmela Warfield’s ego clouded her good judgment or is she intentionally trying to ground a preferred conservative Republican candidate?
Politicians and pilots need healthy egos. Strong egos need to be tempered with clear judgment and common sense for best effect in both professions.
Having a healthy ego is not a bad thing. Problems arise when egos interfere with good judgment and limits are exceeded. Pilots understand their responsibility to passengers, family, people on the ground and the logistics necessary to complete each mission. Good pilots know the limits of their skills and the limits of their aircraft. Excellent pilots never exceed these limits. Politicians would be wise to do the same.
To be a politician a healthy ego seems necessary to endure the slings and arrows of daily public life as a candidate. If elected, the ego needs to be strong enough to withstand withering pressure from lobbyists attempting to force their perspectives and agendas on you. Good politicians need to remember they represent the people who elected them to office and not the people trying to buy their vote.
With Warfield’s late entry it begs the question, why? What does she hope to gain and does she genuinely hope to win or simply be a spoiler. What is her motive?
Whatever her motive might be, Carmela Warfield has perhaps let her ego affect her otherwise good judgment by entering the race for Anchorage Assembly seat 6. Warfield may have exceeded the limits of her aircraft. Her “aircraft type” is the Republican Party. By filing as a Republican candidate for Anchorage Assembly seat 6 at this late date, Warfield is flying the party into instrument flight conditions with VFR pilot skills. The results of this behavior are rarely positive. Splitting the Republican vote will likely result in disaster as she is risking uncontrolled flight into dangerous divided Republican terrain, as well as squashing the desires of the fine people in District 6 like a bug on the windshield.
Perhaps Warfield does not understand her responsibility to her potential constituents. If conservative values are what Warfield wants in seat 6, she should consider endorsing Rachel Ries who has been a declared Republican candidate since last May. If Warfield wants a continuation of the communist tyranny brought by our Assembly majority, then her late entry is precisely the sabotage needed and Democrat incumbent Suzanne LaFrance will likely win.
Perhaps Warfield is one who does not possess the ability to learn from history, very recent history. Alaska just elected a Democrat to our only U.S. congressional seat due to division of the Republican vote in November 2022. With Sarah Palin’s last minute entry into the race, Nick Begich was denied a head-to-head competition against the Democrat candidate. The results of Palin’s efforts were contrary to Republican goals of holding that office.
At least with Palin there was a built-in following. She was a known candidate, for better or worse, with an endorsement from Donald Trump. It could be argued by some, that she had skills and most certainly had the ego. But Palin forgot her responsibility to her passengers. Those that were onboard Palin Flight 2022 never made it to their destination because of Palin’s unregulated ego and clouded judgment. Now we all suffer the consequences and lasting reality of that predictable disaster, with no Republican holding that office.
Rachel Ries has made her desire to give back to the community known for a long time. Running for Anchorage School District Board member last year, she made her conservative and compassionate values know. Winning District 6 with 63% of the votes in that race, makes her the clear Republican choice. Rachel has won the endorsement of many prominent local Republicans including Mayor Dave Bronson, Assemblywoman Jamie Allard, Assemblyman Kevin Cross, Assemblyman Randy Sulte, State Representative Tom McKay and US Senate Candidate Nick Begich (The good Begich). Rachel is the balance that our current assembly requires.
The late-comer Carmela may have done good works in the community. This does not qualify her to be anything but a destabilizing force in the Republican Party if she chooses to remain as a candidate. To be honest, it is this kind of internal Republican division that contributes to doubt in the conservative mission of the party. Carmela’s late entry is probably a divergence of philosophy between candidates. It is certainly evidence of a disjointed and confused Republican operation.
The question remains, why is Warfield planning to run for Seat 6? With her husband being the Republican Party’s Finance chair, surely she understands the implications of splitting the Republican vote, and it’s not good. It’s not good for either Republican candidate. It’s not good for the Republican Party. It is certainly not good for the constituents of District 6 who clearly have a strong preference for Rachel Ries and her solid conservative character.
Rachel Ries proudly served our nation in Afghanistan as a combat MEDEVAC helicopter pilot. If elected, she will no doubt serve Anchorage with equal or greater distinction. Rachel wants to help make Anchorage an even better place to live than it already is.
Warfield Flight 2023 is parked at the gate but still has time to cancel allowing constituents to board another more capable plane. That alternate flight has a much more qualified pilot named Rachel Ries.
Ries understands the mission. The late entry candidate does not.
Dan Smith is a lifelong Alaskan and Anchorage residentwho writes for Must Read Alaska.
My days of driving my enemies before me are behind me, but I do still enjoy hearing the lamentations of their bubble-headed bleach blondes and pencil-necked weenies in the presstitute corps. My goodness what an uproar the presstitutes made about the election of a Republican Speaker of the House. It was a ”clown show,” chaos, pandemonium, and of course, their standby, a threat to “our” democracy.
Sorry, I don’t share their “democracy” and what I saw was my democracy, a republican democracy, in action.
One of the little-noted features of Rep. Newt Gingrich’s “Contract With America” congressional reforms was a significant democratization of the workings of the House of Representatives. Gingrich’s reforms gave Republicans control of the House for the first time in 40 years in 1994 but did not enamor him with the “old boys” of the House, even on the Republican side of the aisle, and he was dogged by controversy and ultimately forced out of leadership in 1998 and out of the House altogether in 1999. Those who have power and position really don’t like anyone disturbing their situation.
Gingrich’s successors lost power to the Democrats and found it easy to go along with Speaker Pelosi’s increasingly dictatorial control of the House. The regular order of the House hasn’t been seen in twenty years. Once upon a time, each department of the federal government sent its budget request to the House, where all appropriations are supposed to originate, and hearings were held first by the cognizant committee for that department and then by the Appropriations Committee.
So-called reconciliation bills were unheard of. Only after full House hearings was an appropriation bill for that department sent to the full House. That hasn’t happened in 20 years.
Appropriation bills are bundled into either continuing resolutions under threat of a government shutdown or bundled into “omnibus” appropriation bills written by leadership, staffers, and lobbyists and thrown on the floor with 24 hours or less notice before a vote on a 4,000-page bill.
What you saw over last weekend was a revolt by 20 brave members of the Republican conference to stop the abuse of power by House leadership. The seemingly anointed Speaker Kevin McCarthy, had pretty good “get along, go along” credentials; he was a pretty solid “old boy” that the House establishment and Mitch McConnell’s Senate could “do business with.” McCarthy’s election as Speaker should have been pro forma. It wasn’t.
McCarthy may have wanted the speakership too much. He had to withdraw himself from consideration in 2015 for lack of a handful of votes. In the recent election he was as many as 21 votes short and made the necessary deals to get himself down to what seemed an insurmountable 4 votes after 14 ballots.
Tempers were short in the House after midnight on a Saturday, not normal working hours for the House, and voices were loud and fisticuffs threatened. Despite the representations of some writers, it didn’t nearly approach the drama of Preston Brooks breaking his cane over Sen. Sumner’s head, but it was far more dramatic than the usual fare in the U.S. House.
Sometime between the 14th and 15th ballots something changed. Some say President Trump intervened, some say McCarthy gave the holdouts what they wanted. McCarthy never actually got the votes of the insurmountable four, but they were somehow induced to vote “present” rather than to name a candidate, which changed the math and allowed McCarthy a majority making him the Speaker on the 15th ballot.
What caused the consternation and rage was that the holdouts were not playing by the rules. In academia, diplomacy, government generally, at least in the West, bargaining is supposed to be based on interests. In the world of interest-based bargaining it would have been in the interest of the holdouts to take some plum committee assignment and give McCarthy their vote.
They didn’t play by the rules; their goals were positional, not interest based. They wanted policies not perks and would not relent unless they got them.
They forced McCarthy to bargain interest, and his interest was becoming Speaker. He gave them the positions they wanted so he could meet his interest of becoming Speaker. He gave them everything they asked for.
Now let’s see if he can lead.
Art Chance is a retired Director of Labor Relations for the State of Alaska, formerly of Juneau and now living in Anchorage. He is the author of the book, “Red on Blue, Establishing a Republican Governance,” available at Amazon.
Lisa Levang, a frequent observer of the Anchorage Assembly meetings who became an activist during the Covid lockdowns of 2020 and 2021, died on Tuesday night at about 9:30 pm, after falling ill during the Assembly meeting and being taken to Alaska Regional Hospital by ambulance.
Assemblywoman Jamie Allard heard about it from members of the audience that Levang was having a medical issue, and asked if the Assembly could take a moment to pray for her. Assembly chairwoman Suzanne LaFrance turned to Assemblyman Chris Constant, who shook his head. LaFrance allowed a short recess.
Levang’s husband, John Yurman, later wrote on Facebook: “At around 9:30 Tuesday night Lisa Levang my lovely wife, the most wonderful person I have ever known went home to our Wonderful Savior. All I can say now is that she was with friends and it was peaceful. I will be in touch…..”
Levang started attending meetings of the Assembly after watching the degeneration of local government under Mayor Ethan Berkowitz. She was also a frequent commenter here at Must Read Alaska. She was always cheerful and upbeat, maintaining a good sense of humor, even when things were going in a disagreeable direction on the Assembly.
The Federal Aviation Administration issued an advisory at 4:18 am Eastern Time, saying the Notice to Air Missions (NOTAM) system had failed. All flight departures were temporarily halted. By 9 am, flights were slowly getting back on track, the agency said later this morning.
“Normal air traffic operations are resuming gradually across the United States following an overnight outage to the FAA’s Notice to Air Missions (NOTAM) system that provides safety information to flight crews. The ground stop has been lifted. The agency continues to look into the cause of the initial problem.”
This was the first time all domestic flights were grounded since Sept. 11, 2001, after the terrorist attack on the United States. Critics are laying the blame at the feet of Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg.
“Biden’s FAA set ‘racial equity,’ ‘inclusion,’ and ‘environmental justice’ as its top priorities. Now, it can’t keep our planes in the air. Wokeness is always a weapon for making everyone’s lives worse,” wrote conservative Charlie Kirk, referencing the FAA’s new top priorities, which are inclusiveness.
The group of citizens in District 16, West Anchorage, have chosen to appeal a Superior Court judge ruling that says Rep.-elect Jennifer Armstrong met the residency requirements when she filed for office in June of 2022.
Anchorage Superior Court Judge Herman Walker issued his ruling Monday, which gives the plaintiffs little time to get a ruling from the Alaska Supreme Court on the matter before legislators are sworn on Jan. 17 in Juneau.
Armstrong has given various accounts of when her actual residency in Alaska started, and Judge Walker appeared to be moved by her young-and-restless story of falling in love online with a man from Anchorage, and hooking up with him on a whirlwind trip, then eventually, after coming and going for a while, settled down, married, and had children with him. The question is: Did she move to Anchorage in May of 2019 or in June? Or was it July?
Briefs from the parties are due at midnight Wednesday. A schedule for hearing has not yet been published by the court.
Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin has, under pressure from Congress, finally rescinded his Aug. 24, 2021 memorandum mandating that members of the Armed Forces under Department of Defense authority be vaccinated against COVID-19. He also rescinded the memorandum of Nov. 30, 2021, which attempted to force the vaccination of National Guard and Reserve personnel. That matter is in litigation as Republican governors have pushed back on Austin’s authority over National Guard and Reserves.
Austin is acting due to the requirement established by the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2023, signed by President Joe Biden on Dec. 23.
“The health and readiness of the Force are crucial to the Department’s ability to defend our nation. Secretary Austin continues to encourage all Service members, civilian employees, and contractor personnel to get vaccinated and boosted against COVID-19 to ensure Total Force readiness,” his press release said.
The memo gives commanders discretion about whether to deploy military personnel who are not vaccinated for Covid.
Mandates for other vaccines are unchanged, he said, as is “the ability of commanders to consider, as appropriate, the individual immunization status of personnel in making deployment, assignment, and other operational decisions, including when vaccination is required for travel to, or entry into, a foreign nation.”
Already, the military has lost more than 8,400 men and women who refused the Covid vaccination since Austin gave the order in August of 2021 to require all under his command to take the experimental vaccine. Many were separated for refusing to obey his order.
Those who were released have reportedly received honorable discharges or general discharges under honorable conditions.
Austin wrote that those who were discharged can petition their military service branch to ask for a change in the “characterization of their discharge” in their records, but he didn’t indicate what changes would be made.
Austin is the 28th secretary of Defense and serves on the National Security Council.
Chugiak-Eagle River Assemblywoman Jamie Allard was greeted at the Assembly Chambers on Tuesday with a vase of yellow roses, some red, white, and blue bunting, and people holding laminated signs with photo of her on them. It would be her last full Assembly meeting since she was elected to the body in in 2020.
Her supporters were there by the dozens to wish her well, and she took a moment of personal privilege to say goodbye to the Assembly as she launches into being a State representative for her conservative district in the Alaska Legislature. She noted that while she has disagreed with the Assembly liberal majority on many occasions, her work on the Assembly has helped her gain a better understanding of opposing points of view. And she expressed her love and appreciation to the community that has shown her such strong support during the numerous attacks on her by the Left over the past three years.
Allard read her resignation letter aloud:
“Thank you for being here this evening.
“As I begin serving my community in the Alaska Legislature in my upcoming role as a state representative for Eagle River, I must tender my resignation to this body, effective Jan. 17, 2023.
“It has been a great honor and privilege to serve the people of our community and to be the voice of Chugiak-Eagle River on the Assembly. I have learned much about the public process, and have grown as a lawmaker. Being a minority voice on the Assembly has been challenging, yet has expanded my ability to understand opposing points of view. This has been a wonderful honor and experience.
“I especially want to thank the community of Eagle River, Anchorage for their participation at Assembly meetings during the past many years. The public comment has been productive, informative, and earnest.
“Anchorage can be proud that the public cares so much about the future of this community that so many have given hundreds of hours of their time either attending meetings in person or watching them online. I understand it can be discouraging, especially when people’s opinions are unfairly cut short, called out as irrelevant, or when the clock runs out before they have had allotted time.
“I was proud to have stood for the values of individual liberty and responsibility, and to support the U.S. Constitution, even through the criticism I received at times for defending people’s constitutional rights, regardless of their political views.
“I have not always agreed with the direction the Assembly has taken, but I will continue to pray the Assembly becomes a more balanced body. I hope the Assembly will hear and listen to the residents of our great communities. The Assembly needs to get back to being a body in which we are respected and not disappointed in by so many.
“Most of all, I want to thank the people of Chugiak-Eagle River for their confidence in me, their support for me during tough debates or when I’ve been attacked, and how deeply they care about this community, all the way from Girdwood to the Knik River Bridge. I am devoted to listening to their concerns and making the best decisions that represent the people of my district.
“As I leave to take the oath of office in Juneau, I hope to continue to work with the Assembly to further what is good, what is responsible, and what is productive for our community and our great state. To my Assembly colleagues who will continue on, I wish for the wisdom, compassion, and common sense, in all the right portions to do this very difficult job.
“And to my beloved community, I want to say this: Government is where the disputes in our republic get sorted out so we can all live in peace and freedom, under the rule of law. We must remain engaged and informed. We must insist on transparency and limits on government.
“For in the words of Thomas Jefferson in his letter to Richard Price on Jan. 8, 1789: “‘Whenever the people are well informed, they can be trusted with their own government; that whenever things get so far wrong as to attract their notice, they may be relied on to set them to rights.'”
