The Alaska Judicial Council has forwarded to Gov. Mike Dunleavy its four nominees for the vacancy coming up on the Alaska Supreme Court with the retirement of Chief Justice Daniel Winfree.
The lawyers selected by the council after an application and interview the previous day were Anchorage Superior Court Judge Dani Crosby, Department of Law attorney Kate Demarest, Fairbanks attorney Aimee Oravec, or Sitka Superior Court Judge Jude Pate.
Gov. Dunleavy has 45 days to choose one of them. By Alaska Constitution, he has no authority other than to choose one of the names the council advances.
The council did not advance Kotzebue Superior Court Judge Paul Roetman, Department of Law Assistant Attorney General Margaret Paton-Walsh, or Holly Wells, an Anchorage attorney in private practice.
Conservative Roetman would have been the only Hispanic and Arctic rural member of the Supreme Court, and for the second time he has been denied the Supreme Court position.
Paton-Walsh, who often must argue cases in front of the Supreme Court on behalf of the State, has also applied previously for a Supreme Court vacancy.
The council voted for:
Dani Crosby: An Alaska resident for more than 36 years who has practiced law for more than 26 years, she graduated from Gonzaga University School of Law in 1996 and is a Superior Court judge in Anchorage.
Kate Demarest: An Alaska resident for over 12 years who has practiced law for 14 years, she graduated from the University of Minnesota Law School in 2008 and is a senior assistant attorney general in the Opinions, Appeals, and Ethics section at the Department of Law in Anchorage.
Aimee A. Oravec: An Alaska resident for over 23 years who has practiced law for 24 years, she graduated from Washington University in St. Louis School of Law in 1998 and is currently general counsel for Doyon Utilities, LLC.
Jude Pate: An Alaska resident for over 29 years, he has practiced law for more than 28 years. Pate graduated from Lewis and Clark Northwestern School of Law in 1993 and is a superior court judge in Sitka.
The council voted unanimously for Oravec and Crosby. Pate and Demarest were advanced with a 5-1 vote, with member Kristie Babcock voting no on Demarest and member Geraldine Simon voting no on Pate.
The Alaska Judicial Council is a commission created by the Alaska Constitution composed of three Alaska Bar Association attorneys, three non-attomeys, and the Chief Justice of the Alaska Supreme Court.
The council completes an investigation and evaluation of judicial applicants, reviewing each applicant’s education, experience, bar discipline, and credit records, participation in community activities, and other records.
It asks members of the Alaska Bar Association cartel to evaluate the applicants, and encourages the public to submit comments, and interviews the applicants.
Gail Fenumiai, who heads up Alaska’s Division of Elections will be retiring at the end of this week, giving Lt. Gov. Nancy Dahlstrom the opportunity to choose a new director.
Fenumiai, who served as the division director during the Parnell Administration, was brought back in by former Lt. Gov. Kevin Meyer to lead the division as it adjusted to the new reality of Ballot Measure 2’s open primaries and ranked-choice voting general elections.
Fenumiai has two recounts to perform before her final day. Those are for the District 15 House race and for Senate Seat E.
In District 15, seven votes separate Rep. Tom McKay from second-place finisher Denny Wells. In Senate Seat E, third-place finisher Roselynn Cacy, a Democrat, asked for a recount after Republican Cathy Giessel won that race. That race has a 31-vote difference.
Fenumiai has been in the role since 2019, when she was appointed by former Lt. Gov. Kevin Meyer. She previously served as the state’s elections director between 2008 and 2015, and is a 20-year veteran of administering Alaska’s elections.
Sen. Raphael Warnock of Georgia has won over Trump-endorsed Herschel Walker for Senate in the runoff election that ended Tuesday. This gives Democrats an outright majority in the Senate, ensuring that Sen. Chuck Schumer can maintain his position as majority leader. It means Republicans have lost one seat in the Senate, and Democrats no longer need Vice President Kamala Harris to break a tie.
Warnock was leading Walker 50.4% to 49.6% when the race was called by the Associated Press, which determined not enough votes remained uncounted to change the outcome. This victory gives Warnock a full six-year term, after he won a two-year term when he beat Republican Sen. Kelly Loeffler. Loffler had been appointed to the seat by Gov. Brian Kemp after Sen. Johnny Isakson resigned in 2019 for health reasons.
The Warnock-Walker race was the most expensive in 2022 across the country, according to OpenSecrets.org, with spending by general election candidates and outside groups exceeding to $380.7 million as of Nov. 29. Warnock raised more money than any other federal candidate this election cycle, according to OpenSecrets data. He raised twice as much money as Walker raised.
An unusually large number of tankers changed ownership in recent months, according to international reports, leading to speculation that Russian oil is being smuggled by untracked aging oil tankers.
Oil analysts say Russia has joined Iran and Venezuela in using shadow oil tankers to ship large volumes of crude oil.
Russia has acquired about 100 of these old tankers in recent months leading up to Monday’s oil sanctions from the U.S. and European Union. Many of the “dark” oil tankers are old, and they turn off their GPS tracking systems while on the high seas so they can transfer oil onto tankers that have no links to Russia, thus laundering the source of the oil. This prevents the oil exports as being flagged by countries taking part in the sanctions against Russia over its invasion of Ukraine.
International vessel traffic can be seen at this vesselfinder.com website. Dark tankers will not necessarily show up on the vessel tracking system, which is satellite assisted.
Ahead of Monday’s European Union embargo on imports of Russian crude oil, which had been announced months in advance, hundreds of tankers that were aging out of service changed ownership to companies not part of the European Union or G7 countries.
Many of those old tankers, which have no insurance from Western companies such as Lloyds, have already shown up at Russian ports to load crude, according to the Houston Chronicle. It is an environmental disaster waiting to happen, OilPrice.com reports.
In March, news reports revealed that Russian oil tankers had averaged 12 “dark activities” per week since the country invaded Ukraine. That activity has now spiked again.
On Monday, European Union’s cap went into effect, limiting Russian oil to $60 a barrel, meaning companies in the EU, as well and United States, Canada, and Australia, are not buying from any entity that breaches the cap for oil originated in Russia.
“The cap on the price of Russian oil transported by sea is designed to affect the country’s exports worldwide, in addition to the EU-wide embargo on Russian crude oil, which comes into force on 5 December and which the UK is also adopting. Countries not party to the deal will only be able to access services such as insurance, shipping and brokerage if they trade Russian oil at or below the $60 cap. As the countries involved in the deal, such as the UK, are the world’s largest service providers, the belief is that most countries and businesses will be forced to comply,” The Guardian wrote last week.
The G7 nations – Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the UK and US – provide insurance services for 90% of the world’s cargo while Greece, an EU member state, is a major player in the shipping industry, the newspaper explained.
“The cap is aimed at maintaining the flow of oil to countries such as China, India, Turkey and the United Arab Emirates, which have not banned Russian oil imports, while maintaining economic pressure on the Kremlin,” according to the Guardian.
“The monthly average of both so-called dark activities and ship-to-ship operations in the south Atlantic doubled in the September to November period compared with the previous three months, according to an analysis of movements by the maritime intelligence company Windward. There were around 35 incidents of ‘dark activity’ in September, nearly 50 in October and numbers dipped to just over 40 in November,” Guardian reported.
Windward tracked one tanker that went dark and was sailing under a Cameroon flag, then changed its registration and call sign to a Seychelles-based company, and then was spotted in Cape Verde. From there, it moved to the north mid-Atlantic, where it stayed for three days before heading to the coast of Namibia. It was sending out false signals about its location the entire time. After that, it moved to the coast of Angola and stayed put for six days, which is unusual behavior for a tanker at sea. Windward was able to detect a change in the draft of the vessel on Nov. 20, suggesting that the tanker took on oil at that point, from an unknown source.
A traffic jam of oil tankers is reported to have built up in Turkish waters near the Bosporus Strait as Turkey’s government demands proof of insurance cover before allowing ships to pass.
Read more about how Russia is evading the oil embargo at qz.com.
The biggest question out of the Nov. 8, 2022 election here in Alaska concerns the drop in voters this time around compared with 2018. As election seasons go, this one was massive and should have attracted more interest from voters than recent non-presidential years.
Look at what we had on the ballot. We had a very expensive race for US Senate, a Democrat in the US House for the first time in 50 years, a gubernatorial race, nearly 60 legislators up for election following redistricting, a constitutional convention, and as always, 20 or so judges up for retention.
Yet Alaskans didn’t turn out to vote this time around. Why?
Before delving into the why, a review of basic numbers is in order.
Compare the numbers and roughly 18,000 fewer Alaskans voted this year out of a pool 30,000 larger than 2018.
Who stayed home?
Republican turnout was down 3,200 voters, 2.2%, though they had the best turnout of all registered groups in November, at 55.2%.
Democrats were next, down 3,200, 4.1%. Their turnout was not bad, at 52.5% of their registered voters.
Non-Partisans were down 4,500 voters, 5.4%. Their turnout was 48.3%
Worst were the Undeclareds, down 6,900 voters, 2.6%, with a miserable 34% turnout.
Based on analysis of this year, it was missed opportunity, a big one. Had Republicans turned out in larger numbers, we could have elected Kelly Tshibaka, defeated Congresswoman Mary Peltola, picked up at least two seats in the state Senate (Sen. Mia Costello, who lost by 597; and Jim Matherly, who lost by 692), and at least three in the state House (David Nelson, who lost by 77; Forrest Wolfe, who lost by 150; and Jeremy Bynum, who lost by 343).
The low turnout protected Sen. Lisa Murkowski, and Rep. Peltola, and gave us coalitions in the Senate (maybe also the House) rather than majorities.
While a 55% turnout for Republicans was the best this year, it is far smaller than other historic elections. For example, the 2020 presidential year Republican turnout was 73%. A 63% Republican turnout this year was quite possible and would have run the table, bringing another 10,000 Republicans to the ballot box.
A great question to Alaska Republican Party Chair Ann Brown and National Committeeman Craig Campbell would be why did they fail to prioritize turning out Republicans to vote this year? A follow-up would be: Did they even try?
Why else would Republicans stay home?
One problem is that those purportedly on “our side” have for years railed against absentee voting, by mail voting, and early voting as vectors all but ensuring corruption in elections at the state and local levels. And when conservative / Republican voters believe their voting or participation is no longer relevant, they stay home. When we stay home, we don’t win. And we shouldn’t.
One of the worst offenders pushing this narrative has been Dan Fagan on his morning KENI radio show. He incessantly complains about how Alaskan elections are rife with fraud.
When our side believes this stuff some of them stay home, the very definition of voting suppression. Nice work, Dan. Congratulations.
I do take exception with the charge of dirty elections in Alaska. We have three voting systems in Alaska. First is the absentee voting system. These ballots require some effort to obtain. Most importantly, they are closely tracked, and have been for 30 years. The other two are by-mail voting (Muni only) and election day voting.
The biggest problem that I can see for both by-mail and election day voting is that Alaskan Republicans have chosen not to strongly play in early voting. Nationally, this approach cost Republicans at least three Senate seats in Nov (Arizona, Pennsylvania, and Nevada). It probably cost us Assembly and School Board seats here in Anchorage, contributing to Democrat majorities in both bodies. On the other hand, Republicans used it to sweep elections in FL. Regardless of what any of us think about the new rules, we must play by them in order to win. And we will never change those new rules unless we win elections, which once again means simply showing up.
Observations on Nov 8
It is beyond ironic that the ranked-choice voting system specifically designed to reduce the importance of political parties in Alaska was an abject failure, as the political parties did the very best job of all groups turning their people out to vote.
The people in the middle, the undeclared and non-partisans, who make this system work, simply didn’t turn out, yet nobody, especially the Scott Kendalls of the world who pushed the election reform initiative two years ago, are publicly asking why. Perhaps because their preferred candidate won, and collateral damage down ballot due to the new system simply doesn’t matter to them.
Turnout for all identified groups was down in the first complete year of ranked-choice voting, meaning it worked just as poorly increasing participation as it did controlling dark money into elections in Alaska — it worked not at all, yet another reason to repeal it.
Conclusions
Words have meaning. When we have a significant part of the electorate on our side that is under the impression that elections in this state are corrupt, and some on our side are doing their level best to confirm that impression every single day, our voters won’t turn out. And we will never win an election unless our side turns out.
If and when we get actual election fraud, get on it like white on rice. Identify what happened, who did it, where it was done, and how it was done.
Finally, and most importantly, come up with a solution to make sure it doesn’t happen again. These days, I hear a lot of complaining and precious few solutions.
My solution? Go vote. Do it early. Do it often. Get your friends, neighbors and family to vote. But vote, even if we have to embrace early voting completely. Never, ever stay home.
Alex Gimarc lives in Anchorage since retiring from the military in 1997. His interests include science and technology, environment, energy, economics, military affairs, fishing and disabilities policies. His weekly column “Interesting Items” is a summary of news stories with substantive Alaska-themed topics. He was a small business owner and Information Technology professional.
A Manhattan jury on Tuesday found former President Donald Trump’s real estate and development business, Trump Organization, guilty of all 17 counts of tax fraud and related financial crimes the state Attorney General had brought against the company.
The verdicts were read just one day after the jury deliberated in New York Supreme Court in Manhattan. The jury said that the Trump Organization had a business practice of paying people under the table, thus avoiding taxes, by giving them luxury incentives such as apartments, cars, and private school tuition for their children.
Trump Organization was founded in 1927 by Donald Trump’s grandmother, Elizabeth Christ Trump, and his father, Fred Trump. It was originally known as E. Trump & Sons. Today it is a group of close to 500 businesses of which Donald J. Trump is either the sole owner or principal of companies that have multiple investments in hotels, golf resorts, and other real estate across the world. The company’s website gives visitors a peek into the luxury world of the Trump Organization.
Attorney General Letitia James of New York wrote, “Today’s guilty verdict against the Trump Organization shows that we will hold individuals and organizations accountable when they violate our laws to line their pockets. I commend @ManhattanDA for this big victory, and I am proud of the role that my office played in securing it.” James filed the lawsuit against the company in September.
In exchange for his testimony, former chief financial officer for the organization Allen Weisselberg made a deal that means he will serve only about five months in jail. He did not implicate Donald Trump or Trump’s adult children in his testimony, although prosecutors made the argument that Trump knew what was going on in the tax fraud scheme.
Weisselberg said the whole scheme was his fault and was due to his own greed. He pleaded guilty earlier this year to taking in $1.7 million in benefits that he did not report to state and federal taxing authorities.
The company could be liable for a $1.6 million fine and will be sentenced in January.
The traditional open house at the Alaska Governor’s Mansion will take place from 2-6 pm on Dec. 13 in Juneau. On hand to greet visitors in the fully decorated house will be Gov. Mike and First Lady Rose Dunleavy and Lt. Gov. Nancy Dahlstrom.
The first open house was held by Territorial Governor Walter Eli Clark and his family on New Year’s Day of 1913. The annual tradition has been held every year since, except for two years during World War II and in 2020 due to the Covid-19 pandemic. The event features cookies from local bakers, and often has musical performances from Juneau youth ensembles. The line to get into the mansion will often stretch down Calhoun Ave., which will be closed to automobile traffic throughout the event for safety.
Those lining the sidewalk to enter the historic house are often served cookies and hot cider by commissioners and deputy commissioners while they wait to pass through the mansion.
Democrat Denny Wells had five days after the 2022 election was certified to ask for a recount of the House District 15 race, and he met that deadline with the Division of Elections on Monday. With over 7,000 votes cast in that South Anchorage House race, and just a seven-vote difference, he’ll get his recount at 10 am on Thursday in Juneau.
Observing the recount on behalf of Wells will be the architect of Ballot Measure 2 (open primaries, ranked-choice generals) Scott Kendall, who is an election lawyer who generally represents Democrats and no-party candidates. He practices with Cashion, Gilmore and Lindemuth. Also observing for Wells will be Holly Wells, (no relation.) She practices law at Birch, Horton, Bittner and Cherot.
McKay will also have two legal observers at the recount in Juneau to audit the procedure, which should go quickly. Depending on the outcome, Kendall may sue on behalf of Wells for some procedural variation.
In 2018, the race of Republican Bart LeBon vs. Kathryn Dodge in Fairbanks (then District 1) went to a recount, and LeBon won by just one vote.
Must Read Alaska was on the scene for that recount and reported its unusual twist, which pertained to automatic voter registration via Permanent Fund dividend application:
“The vote that decided the matter came from a felon, whose vote was challenged by the Democrats who were observing the process today. They thought he didn’t have his voting rights restored. Then the ballot was also challenged by Republicans for the same reason.
“The felon was automatically registered when he filed for his Permanent Fund dividend.
“The Division of Elections looked into it and said the felon had had his voting rights restored. They decided to count the ballot.
The deadline for Americans to get a Real ID was first set for 2008, but has been repeatedly delayed.
On Monday, the Department of Homeland Security moved the deadline again. It’s now May 7, 2025. The department said that the Covid-19 pandemic has slowed down the adoption of the higher-security ID requirements that travelers will need to have to enter some federal facilities, and to fly on large commercial planes.
Homeland Security said motor vehicle agencies need more time to work through the backlog of applications created when state agencies curtailed services as a precaution during the Covid pandemic.
“This extension will give states needed time to ensure their residents can obtain a Real ID-compliant license or identification card,” Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas said Monday. “DHS will also use this time to implement innovations to make the process more efficient and accessible. We will continue to ensure that the American public can travel safely.”
The Real ID Act passed Congress in 2005. It creates federal security standards for drivers licenses, state identifications, and other identification cards issued by the states and was a response to the increase of terrorist attacks on American facilities, including the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attack by Al Qaeda terrorists who boarded commercial planes, hijacked them, and used them as missiles to destroy the two towers of the World Trade Center in New York, and crashed a jet into the Pentagon itself.
Real IDs have a star in the right-hand corner of a driver’s license or identification card. U.S. passports or green card qualify as Real IDs for those who don’t have a Real ID-compliant drivers license or state identification card. Alaska’s Real ID information page is located here. It has not been updated to reflect the new deadline, as of this writing.
As of May, 2022, some 137 million Real IDs had been issued across the states, about 49% of all IDs in circulation.
