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Anchorage Assembly introduces path to remove mayor

Suzanne Downing
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26
Anchorage Assembly introduces path to remove mayor

An ordinance that would give the Anchorage Assembly the power to override the will of the voters and remove the mayor from office was introduced on Tuesday, over the objection of Eagle River Assemblywoman Jamie Allard, who attempted to have the ordinance tabled indefinitely.

Several members of the public spoke against the ordinance, accusing the Assembly majority of trying to thwart the will of the people and violate the separation of powers between the legislative and executive branches of government.

Assembly Chairwoman Suzanne LaFrance threatened the public on several occasions for their applause for the speakers objecting to the Assembly’s actions.

The liberal majority was unmoved by public testimony. The ordinance, introduced by Assemblyman Chris Constant, will be set for a public hearing for May 24.

Mayor Dave Bronson’s office issued a statement on Wednesday, calling on the public to come to his support and prevent the Assembly from setting up its coup:

“As evidenced by the outcry of residents to this ordinance at last night’s Assembly meeting, the Mayor firmly believes Assembly Member Constant has gone too far with his proposal. The Mayor fundamentally believes in the separation of powers doctrine that underpins our republican form of government. As the Chief Executive of this city, the Mayor has a duty and obligation to defend the powers of the executive branch and considers this ordinance an attack on the Office of the Mayor. The Mayor intends to use every tool at his disposal to protect the integrity of the office, and oppose Mr. Constant’s overreaching and draconian ordinance,” the Mayor’s Office said.

Read: Coup underway as Constant readies ordinance to remove mayor

“Removal of any elected official, especially when that removal is done by another branch of government, should be a last resort – a nuclear option – under our system of government. We have elections; we have referendums; we have recalls. All these options are preferred and are less divisive tools than impeaching and removing an elected official, which is what Mr. Constant’s ordinance allows.  Mr. Constant’s ordinance will do nothing but divide our community further, and give enormous power to the Assembly, enabling them to remove ANY mayor (not just Mayor Bronson, but all future Mayors) for any reason the Assembly deems to be a “breach of public trust.”

“In the nearly 50 years since Anchorage became a unified government, our community has never needed an ordinance like this. It’s clear this is a partisan and politically driven ordinance by a member of the Assembly seeking attention in their bid for Congress. 

“No Mayor should be subject to a coup by an Assembly that doesn’t agree with him politically. Mayor Bronson calls on the people of Anchorage to oppose AO 2022-60 and to let Assembly Member Constant know that he has gone too far,” Bronson said.

Coup under way? Anchorage Assembly creates pathway to remove the mayor the people elected

Voters say Alaska’s mail-in ballots have security flaws

Suzanne Downing
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Voters say Alaska’s mail-in ballots have security flaws

Alaska’s all-mail-in election was a hurry-up solution by the Division of Elections for the empty seat left vacant by the late Congressman Don Young. The ballots, including the instructions and the “secrecy sleeve,” that the voted ballots go into, went in the mail to Alaska voters on April 27.

With 30 days to go until the June 11 deadline, 25,000 ballots have been returned to the Division of Elections.

But one Alaskan wanted to see if the ballot and the secrecy sleeve really protected his vote. He assembled his ballot packet, sealed it, and then shined a mini flashlight to the opposite side of it. Indeed, it was easy to see the names on the ballot and exactly what bubble he had filled in. The same could be done with a light table or a car headlight.

This makes Alaska’s mail-in ballots especially vulnerable to ballot harvesters, who could collect ballots from communities, elders, or by going house to house, hold them up to a light, and toss or shred the ones they don’t like.

Another security flaw of the mail-in ballot is the instructions telling voters that if they make a mistake and fill in the wrong oval, they should put a line through that candidate’s name and write the word “No.” Then, they should fill in the bubble for the intended candidate. That method is insecure, critics say, as it allows someone else who has access to the voted ballot to re-vote that ballot by following that instruction.

“This seems sketchy,” said a voter who contacted Must Read Alaska about the technique for fixing the ballot. While it would be difficult for an election worker to change many ballots surreptitiously, on a ballot with 48 names on it, the top four will advance to the general election with fewer votes than what people would normally expect to see. The voting system that confuses many Alaskans is brought to them by Ballot Measure 2, which they passed narrowly in 2020. It established a jungle primary and a ranked choice voting general election.

Alaska is conducting the special primary election to finish out the term of Congressman Don Young, who died March 18. The special primary election has 48 names on the ballot. The top four vote-getters from the special primary will appear on a special general election ballot for this fill-in seat. That general election will be held the same day as the regularly scheduled primary election, Aug. 16, where many of the same names will appear on the ballot to serve a regular two-year term in Congress.

Over the top: Is Kurka torpedoing his campaign for governor by going against the full PFD?

Suzanne Downing
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36
Over the top: Is Kurka torpedoing his campaign for governor by going against the full PFD?

Alaska House Rep. Christopher Kurka made it fairly clear today he will be a “no” vote on the $5,500 dividend, and he called out the Senate majority for not having anti-abortion language in the operating budget that passed the Senate and is headed to the House for concurrence.

Kurka, attacking his fellow Republicans, said the removal of an amendment that zeroed out abortion funding from the State of Alaska’s budget, was done by the “Benedict Arnold’s of the pro-life movement.”

He continued, “Senate Republican Leadership’s alliance with the Left on State funding for abortion is outrageous. In both my years in this process I have introduced amendments to zero out funding for abortion in the budget, and both years it passed the Democrat-controlled House. Yet, Senate Republicans, who comprise about 65% of the Senate have not held the line and Senate Leadership is directly responsible.”

“Even with national attention on the right to life issue through the leaked Roe vs. Wade opinion reversal, Senator Josh Revak joined the Democrats and Judas Republicans to become the deciding vote to kill the amendment and keep it out of the final budget that was sent back to the House for concurrence,” he said, singling out Sen. Revak for his vote.

Kurka concluded, “This pattern of betrayal by Senate Leadership, and the latest defection by Senator Josh Revak should be an affront to every pro-life Alaskan. Republican voters should not reward the Benedict Arnold’s of the pro-life movement with reelection. Furthermore, if Senator Micciche fails to appoint pro-life Senators to the Conference Committee, he too should be shown the door. Throwing the weakest and most vulnerable among us under the bus for crass political purposes is not acceptable and should not be tolerated.”

Kurka represents a district in Wasilla that is strongly pro-full Permanent Fund dividend. In November, he filed to run for governor against Republican Gov. Mike Dunleavy, with the endorsement of Joe Miller, who has run for U.S. Senate in the past as a Republican and later as a Libertarian.

Breaking: Patricia Chesbro, top player in Mat-Su Democrats, files for U.S. Senate against Murkowski

Suzanne Downing
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27
Breaking: Patricia Chesbro, top player in Mat-Su Democrats, files for U.S. Senate against Murkowski

Patricia Chesbro has filed with the Federal Elections Commission to run as a Democrat for U.S. Senate. Already in the race are Sen. Lisa Murkowski, a Republican, and Kelly Tshibaka, also a Republican.

Chesbro is a long-time Democrat activist who chairs the MatSu Democrats and who ran for Alaska Senate in 2014, losing to Republican Bill Stoltze for District F.

Her campaign will be called Chesbro for Alaska, according to her filing with the FEC.

Chesbro was part of the Facebook group “Mat-Su Moms for Social Justice,” which led to the removal of three member of the Palmer City Council due to violations of the Open Meetings Act. She was an advocate for ending the Colony Days Festival and renaming it Braided River Festival, which failed, once it became public. She is a progressive liberal.

Read: “Palmer erases ‘Colony Days’

Read: Palmer reverses itself on Braided River Festival

Palmer erases ‘Colony Days’ and replaces it with more politically correct Braided River Festival

The Alaska Democratic Party has been hinting for several days that it will try another candidate, after Alaska Sen. Elvi Gray-Jackson dropped out in late March after a brief stint as a candidate. Chesbro is a retired educator in the Mat-Su School District and has been involved with the Palmer Community Foundation.

Alaska Democrats have been excoriating Sen. Murkowski lately over her unwillingness to go along with Senate Democrats and open the abortion valve wide open through legislation that allows even late-term abortions without limits. Abortion, or “abortion care,” as the mainstream media is calling it, has become the Democrats’ rallying cry to try to regain ground lost to Republicans during this election cycle.

Read: Murkowski not ready to vote for abortion bill

Murkowski is all for putting abortion into law, but Women’s Health Protection Act is too extreme even for her

Assembly approves funding for mayor’s navigation center for Anchorage homeless

Suzanne Downing
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11
Assembly approves funding for mayor’s navigation center for Anchorage homeless

A navigation center to help steer Anchorage’s homeless population to the proper resources to meet their individual needs and to provide temporary shelter passed the Assembly after a long and contentious debate that began last summer, upon the swearing in of Mayor Dave Bronson.

The navigation center was part of a negotiation participated in by the Assembly and the Mayor’s Office, and the agreement included purchasing the Sockeye Inn to house medically fragile people, with the navigation center being a centerpiece as a place where homeless people could start their journey back to sobriety, stability, and functionality. The center staff will help them get the proper services.

The other parts of the plan, including purchase of the Sockeye Inn, had already been started when it appeared opposition members of the Assembly were ready to pull the rug out from under the Mayor’s Office on the one piece that he wanted — the navigation center. A bait-and-switch was under way during Tuesday night’s meeting.

In the end, the Assembly approved $6.2 million for constructing the navigation center, after Assemblyman Kameron Perez-Verdia changed his mind at the last minute and voted in favor of it.

Currently, the city is spending over $3 million a month to shelter people in the Sullivan Arena, which was converted to a shelter by the Berkowitz Administration. Taxpayers may be on the hook for the costs, since FEMA is unlikely to pay for it. The restoration of the Sullivan Arena to become a venue for arts, sports, and entertainment will cost the city millions of dollars, as the destruction has been extensive to that facility. It may be years before it can be used for its intended purpose.

From the mayor’s team, Larry Baker made a last-ditch appeal on Tuesday to the Assembly, which was balking at the cost and size of the center. It’s now been whittled down to a 150-bed shelter and navigation center.

Voting against the plan that had been negotiated and agreed to by its own members on the negotiating team were Assembly members Chris Constant, Forrest Dunbar, Pete Petersen, and Austin Quinn Davidson. Constant had been part of the negotiating team that forged the agreement that he ultimately voted against.

The entire plan to address homelessness comes with major commitments from the nonprofit community, including the Rasmuson Foundation.

Murkowski is all for putting abortion into law, but Women’s Health Protection Act is too extreme even for her

Suzanne Downing
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17
Murkowski is all for putting abortion into law, but Women’s Health Protection Act is too extreme even for her

U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski today reiterated her strong support for the putting abortion rights into law, as established by Roe v. Wade (1973) and affirmed by Planned Parenthood v. Casey (1992). But the law being considered in the Senate on Wednesday is a bridge too far for Murkowski.

“While urging the preservation of those important rights for women, Murkowski will vote against S. 4132, the Women’s Health Protection Act, which has been described as codifying Roe v. Wade, but in reality goes much further—nullifying state and religious freedom laws across the country in the process,” the senator’s office released in a statement.

“I strongly support women’s reproductive freedoms, including the right to abortion established by Roe and Casey. I also believe in limited government and an individual’s liberty to make choices about their own health,” Murkowski said.

“Consistent with Roe and Casey, I support reasonable limits on abortion services related to maternal health. I oppose late-term abortion, as long as there are clear and workable exceptions in the case of rape, incest or when a woman’s life is threatened. I also oppose the use of taxpayer dollars to pay for abortions, and oppose any requirement for individuals to provide these services against their religious beliefs.

“Congress should codify the important protections from Roe and Casey into law as they currently exist. That’s why, in February, Senator Collins and I introduced our Reproductive Choice Act, which would prevent women’s reproductive choices from being weakened or eliminated. Our bill would reassure women that the rights they have relied on for almost 50 years will continue to be the law of the land.”

But the legislation in the Senate on Wednesday goes far beyond the precedent established in Roe and Casey, Murkowski said. It doesn’t include the Hyde Amendment, which prohibits taxpayer dollars from being spent on abortions, which has been law almost as long as Roe. It does not include the conscience protections for healthcare workers, so they may refused to perform abortions if it violates their religious beliefs. And it overrides the Religious Freedom Restoration Act for the first time. It also allows late-term abortions without notable restrictions.

“Instead of taking yet another failed vote on a wholly partisan measure, I urge Democrats and Republicans alike to recognize that what Senator Collins and I have offered is in line with the views of a strong majority of Americans—who support a woman’s right to choose but believe that legal abortion should include reasonable limitations,”  Murkowski said.

In Alaska, courts have interpreted abortion rights as protected under the State Constitution, so the repeal of Roe v. Wade will have no immediate effect in Alaska. 

Details About S. 3713, the Reproductive Choice Act:

  • Would prohibit states from imposing an “undue burden” on the ability of a woman to choose whether or not to terminate a pregnancy prior to fetal viability;
  • Would continue to allow states to enact regulations to further the health or safety of a woman seeking to terminate a pregnancy, while clarifying that unnecessary health regulations that have the purpose or effect of presenting a “substantial obstacle” to a woman seeking to terminate a pregnancy constitute an “undue burden”;
  • Would continue to permit states to restrict the ability to terminate a pregnancy after fetal viability, except when necessary to preserve the life or health of the woman as consistent with Roe and Casey; and
  • Would not have any effect on laws regarding conscience protections, including laws that protect health care providers who refuse to provide abortions for moral or religious reasons.

Notes from the campaign trail III: Abortion’s love language in the media, Democrats queuing up someone to take on Murkowski

Suzanne Downing
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10
Notes from the campaign trail III: Abortion’s love language in the media, Democrats queuing up someone to take on Murkowski

No Bull Wool: Adam Wool, pictured above, has filed for the regular primary election for U.S. House. He’s already in the special election primary, which is now underway, and he is polling at about 2 percent, but there’s time. It’s 31 days until June 11.

Deadlines: The deadline to register to vote in the Special Primary Election is May 12. Register or update your info here: https://voterregistration.alaska.gov

Revak gets another hall pass: Josh Revak, running for Congress to replace Don Young, has asked for another excused absence from Senate work that lasts through Sunday. He has been about a 50 percenter in the Senate since declaring his run for Congress. Full paycheck and per diem, though, so there’s that.

“WordPress AF” guy on Revak: Commentary on Josh Revak’s rant about Santa Claus being a “commie” and a “fraud” caught the attention of a commentator on Twitter, who thought going after Santa with a stick was by far the craziest thing yet.

Changing language: Abortion is the big issue for the 2022 election cycle, with the pending Supreme Court decision to overturn Roe v. Wade. The Anchorage Daily News, which is the newspaper of record for the state, is no longer calling it “abortion” in its news stories. Now it’s called “access to abortion care.” In the way Planned Parenthood calls it “removing pregnancy tissue.”

Palin gets dissed by lamestream bloggers: While critics in Alaska merely remark about the competence of Sarah Palin when she was governor, former John McCain campaign strategist Steve Schmidt has written a savage take-down of Palin, and he also plows under the McCain family a few times in his shocking essay on his Substack account. Clearly, he has Palin Derangement Syndrome. Read it here.

It’s worth noting that neither Steve Schmidt nor Sarah Palin, who hate each other, were invited to John McCain’s funeral.

Then Newsweek and New York Times writer Seth Abrahmson then piled on with more alleged Russia plot tied to Palin during the Trump campaign. Lunatic fringe stuff from leftist writers who have nothing to write about now that Trump isn’t in the White House.

Patience, Grasshopper: Alaska Democrats are strongly hinting they have someone from their party who is about to step up and challenge Sen. Lisa Murkowski, the moderate Republican. Their last candidate, State Sen. Elvi Gray-Jackson, quit after just a few weeks. The Democrats are telling people to “stay tuned,” and “there is another.”

TV ads running: Nick Begich, Mary Peltola, and Tara Sweeney, all running for Congress, have television ads that began running this week. Here are the ads, as they appear on YouTube:

Santa Claus endorsed by Ray Metcalfe: The Democrat at times known as Disco Ray has endorsed Santa Claus for U.S. House because he’s a Sen. Bernie Sanders guy. Metcalfe served in the Alaska House of Representatives as a Republican from 1979-1983, and he later ran for U.S. Senate as a Democrat, but lost.

In a note to his email list, Metcalfe wrote:

“Don’t laugh, it’s not a joke. Years ago, North Pole Alaska resident Thomas O’Connor officially changed his name to Santa Claus.  He is on your ballot and he is committed to supporting Bernie Sanders agenda. He has been twice elected to North Pole’s City Council, has has a background in law enforcement, and he is committed to Bernie’s agenda. Open-up that ballot and vote for just one candidate; Santa Clause. And forward this note to your Bernie supporting friends.”

More from Alaska Survey Research Poll:

Sarah Palin (R) 19%

Nick Begich (R) 16%

Al Gross (I) 13%

Santa Claus (I) 6%

Christopher Constant (D) 5%

Mary Sattler Peltola (D) 5%

Josh Revak (R) 4%

Tara Sweeney (R) 4%

Jeff Lowenfels (I) 3%

John Coghill (R) 2%

Andrew Halcro (I) 2%

Adam Wool (D) 2%

Local politics, Anchorage style: Daniel Volland, running for Anchorage Assembly for the new downtown 12th seat, is worried that so many others have signed up for that race. He said, “Now that North Anchorage finally has equal representation, we need an Assemblymember who will advocate for the priorities of District 1 and not simply be a rubber stamp for the Bronson administration.” He is, of course, referring to Stephanie Taylor, who just announced she’s running for the 12th seat.

Read: Notes from the campaign trail II: Palin a no-show in Bethel

Notes from the campaign trail II: Palin a no show in Bethel

Read: Notes from the campaign trail 1: Ballots coming in

Notes from the campaign trail: 5,000 ballots are in already

Senate passes operating budget with money for Nome, Anchorage, Mat-Su ports, and $5,500 for Alaskans

Suzanne Downing
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21
Senate passes operating budget with money for Nome, Anchorage, Mat-Su ports, and $5,500 for Alaskans

On a vote of 12-7, the Alaska Senate passed the largest Permanent Fund dividend in history today in the operating budget. The budget, which started in the House, has $400 million in amendments, a full statutory Permanent Fund dividend, and an energy assistance check for Alaskans. Between those two checks, it’s a life-transforming $5,500 in payments to eligible Alaskans — if the House of Representatives agrees.

Read the budget summary here.

The House will now take a look at the additions to the budget and either accept it or reject it. If rejected, it would go to a conference committee to negotiate a middle ground.

But it all may come down to abortion. The $5,500 PFD-energy payment hinges on a few key house votes in the House. Members like Rep. David Eastman and Rep. Chris Kurka of Wasilla may not vote to concur with the budget due to a minor Medicaid abortion provision.

A majority vote to not concur would bounce the entire budget into conference committee, where the $5,500 PFD would be pared down significantly.

Voting against the Senate version of the budget were Senate Democrats Tom Begich, Lyman Hoffman, and Jesse Kiehl, along with Republicans Josh Revak and Natasha Von Imhof, who was livid about the large payout to Alaskans

The Senate budget has $280 million for big projects, including $100 million for repairs to the Port of Alaska in Anchorage, and $150 million for the expansion of the Port of Nome. Another $30 million was budgeted for finishing access to Port MacKenzie in the Mat-Su Borough. There is no “forward funding” for education in this budget.

“For once this budget prioritizes the people over the government,” said Sen. Mike Shower, who introduced several amendments and who advocated for the statutory PFD. “We also prioritized infrastructure we are a decade behind in, turning money into concrete and steel. Everything is fully funded. Don’t believe the lies — all agencies are fully funded. We actually still have money available in the SBR (Statutory Budget Reserve).”

Also today, Sen. Bert Stedman and Sen. Click Bishop voted with the majority of the Senate to roll Sen. Josh Revak, who chairs the Natural Resources Committee. On a vote of 12-8, the majority bounced a top Democrat’s bill out of Revak’s committee — a bill that Revak had been sitting on for without having a hearing in more than a year. SB 207, sponsored by Sen. Bill Wielechowski, would reduce oil and gas tax credits; it has now reached its last committee of referral: Finance.

Earlier this month, Revak led a coup against a Committee Chair Mia Costello to pull a bill from her committee, where she had taken no action on HB 55, a bill to increase union pension costs in Alaska. But today, Costello took the high road and voted against rolling Revak in the way he had rolled her as chair of Senate Labor and Commerce just days prior.

Cost of government: Revak rolls Senate committee leadership to get lavish state pension plan reinstated

Read the details of SB 107 here.

Will it pass? Senate OKs $5,500 payment for qualifying Alaskans, including full statutory Permanent Fund dividend

Al Gross flip flops: After being beaten up by Alaska Democratic Party, he says he will caucus with Democrats

Suzanne Downing
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13
Al Gross flip flops: After being beaten up by Alaska Democratic Party, he says he will caucus with Democrats

Al Gross, running for Congress as a pretend independent, has been trying to stay away from the toxic aspects of his past alliance with the Alaska Democratic Party, which may have contributed to his more than 12.7 percent loss to Sen. Dan Sullivan in 2020. During this campaign for Congress, he’s been walking the line between the two major parties.

But after being excoriated by the Alaska Democratic Party on Monday, he has now flip-flopped. He will, he says, caucus with the Democrats if he is elected to Congress. Gross is running, along with 47 other Alaskans, to replace Congressman Don Young, who died on March 18.

Gross told the Anchorage Daily News of his change of heart in an email explaining his decision … or indecision, as it were.

The Democratic Party on Monday had called him a “proven loser” in an attempt to knock him out of the top four vote getters in the special election primary. They specifically told their voters not to cast a ballot for Gross.

Recent polling by pollster Ivan Moore shows that if Gross is bumped out of the final four who will appear on the Aug. 16 ballot, Chris Constant, a favorite of the Democrats, will have a better chance of getting into the finals.

According to that Alaska Survey Research poll, Gross has a well-known name, but is not particularly well liked. Poll respondents rated him 35%-positive, 46%-negative, 14%-no opinion, and 5%-never heard of him. He’s underwater with no room to grow voters.

As for Chris Constant, who would hope for that Number Four spot on the ballot, poll respondents rated him 21%-positive, 21%-negative, 15%-no opinion, and 44%-never heard of him. With 59 percent having no opinion or clueless about Constant, he would need a lot of money to get his name in front of voters and to sanitize his reputation.

The special election is underway, with ballots due June 11 in what is an all-mail-in special primary for the person who will finish out Congressman Young’s term through mid-January. Polling from Alaska Survey Research and Must Read Alaska show that Sarah Palin and Nick Begich are the frontrunners.

The general election for Congress is a separate race and those choosing to be on that ballot have until June 1 to do so. Congressional seats are in play every two years.

Dems on the warpath: Al Gross is a ‘proven loser,’ the party says, trying to bump him from final four ballot

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