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Kenny Skaflestad files against Kreiss-Tomkins for House

Suzanne Downing
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Kenny Skaflestad files against Kreiss-Tomkins for House

The former mayor of Hoonah is going to make another run at the Legislature, taking on Sitka Democrat Rep. Jonathan Kreiss-Tomkins for House, for the third time.

Kenny Skaflestad, who is a Republican and Alaska Native, ran unsuccessfully in 2016 and 2020. He said today, “Every ounce of me wanted to run in the other direction, seeing the circus in Juneau. I just think I have something to offer to the district that we are not getting now. The pull to serve is on my heart and always I have always been a fool for punishment.”

Skaflestad finished his service as mayor of Hoonah in 2017. He said if the district doesn’t make a change, Kreiss-Tomkins will continue damaging the state.

The region is now known as District 2, per the new political boundary map from the Alaska Redistricting Board. Formerly known as District 35, it’s not drastically changed from the 2020 election. Major communities are Hydaburg, Kasaan and some of the East of Prince of Wales Island, Whale Pass, Coffman Cove, as well as Kake, Craig, Klawock, Petersburg, Pelican, Elfin Cove, Tenakee, Angoon, and the cities of Sitka and Hoonah. The district now stretches up to Yakutat.

Skaflestad said his website from his last campaign will get worked on over the weekend and be ready by Monday.

He is running on conservative values. He said elected officials should not keep governing contrary to statute, referring to the Permanent Fund dividend and the continuation of not paying a statutory amount to Alaska. If they don’t like the statute, legislators should change it, he said.

Kreiss-Tompkins is the hard Democrat from Sitka who is first took office in 2013. He has been reluctant to approve full dividends and opposes putting the Permanent Fund dividend calculation into the Alaska Constitution, so that it is no longer a political decision.

Controversial pick confirmed for FDA commissioner

Suzanne Downing
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Controversial pick confirmed for FDA commissioner

Dr. Robert Califf was confirmed as the head the Food and Drug Administration on Tuesday on a 50-46 vote, with liberals like Sen. Bernie Sanders voting against Califf, and six Republicans, including Sen. Lisa Murkowski, voting in favor of him.

Murkowski was joined by Republicans Sens. Roy Blunt, Richard Burr, Susan Collins, Mitt Romney and Patrick Toomey.

Voting against Califf was Joe Manchin (W.Va.), Ed Markey (Mass.), Richard Blumenthal (Conn.), Maggie Hassan (N.H.), and Sanders.

Califf is a Duke University cardiologist with ties to the pharmaceutical industry, who when he was head of the agency during the Obama Administration, expanded the use of chemical abortion medication.

The FDA has been without a permanent commissioner since President Joe Biden took the White House in 2021.

Sanders wrote his reasons for voting against Califf: “I am disappointed that Dr. Califf has been confirmed to be the new FDA commissioner. I opposed his nomination because I was not convinced that he would stand up to the greed of the pharmaceutical industry, one of the most powerful special interests in Washington. In my view, it is unacceptable that the American people pay, by far, the highest prices in the world for prescription drugs. At a time when one in five Americans cannot afford to pay for the medications that have been prescribed to them, we have got to do everything we can to lower the skyrocketing price of prescription drugs. A life-saving drug does no good if a sick patient cannot afford it.”

In 2015, Murkowski blocked Califf’s nomination because of the FDA’s approval of genetically modified salmon. I 2016, she lifted her hold after receiving assurances that the FDA took the matter seriously, she said. In 2015, the FDA had approved AquaBounty’s AquAdvantage salmon, the first-ever genetically modified animal to be approved for farming. It grows twice as fast as traditionally farmed salmon.

Dave Bronson: Let’s invest in Alaska with GO bonds

GUEST CONTRIBUTOR
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Dave Bronson: Let’s invest in Alaska with GO bonds

By MAYOR DAVE BRONSON

Alaska’s economy needs a reboot. Alaska and Anchorage, as the economic hub of the state, have struggled to regain the jobs lost due to the COVID-19 pandemic. While states like Texas, Idaho, Utah, and Arizona have regained the jobs they lost during the pandemic, we remain far behind the pack.

The devastating lockdowns imposed by the Assembly and my predecessors did not help small businesses overcome this once-in-a-generation pandemic. The anti-development policies coming out of D.C. via the President and his allies are not boosting oil production or creating new jobs. Policies that make it more difficult to start and run a business in Anchorage aren’t what we need. 

Thankfully there are solutions on the table to change this narrative. Gov. Mike Dunleavy has proposed a plan that I support, to responsibly invest in our state at a moment when we need it the most. The governor’s general obligation bond bill – known as GO bonds – represents a chance to complete critical projects and create high-paying jobs. 

The proposal totals about $325 million that would go towards roads, ports, airports, harbors, and other key infrastructure projects across our state. As a supporter of small government and fiscal restraint, I normally wouldn’t be in favor of such a proposal. 

However, a few key factors have led me to support the governor’s plan. First and foremost, the state can afford the bonds for these projects thanks to strong investment returns that exceed the cost of paying down its debt. Further, due to rising oil prices and revenues, the state has its first deficit-free budget in a decade. 

Additionally, since this proposal entails the issuance of general obligation bonds, both the legislature and people of Alaska must approve it prior to taking effect. I’m a strong believer in letting voters have a say in important matters like these. 

Though the bond proposal has a statewide reach, it contains two projects of supreme importance to the nearly three-hundred thousand Anchorage residents I represent: the Port of Alaska and Bragaw road extension.

I thank the governor for funding both projects in this bill. 

Securing state funding, specifically $600 million, to construct a seismically resilient cargo dock at the port is my top priority. The port serves ninety percent of the state, so it’s importance cannot be understated. Likewise, the Bragaw extension project is crucial for the health and safety of Anchorage residents. Studies have shown that extending Bragaw would enable first responders to reach our emergency rooms 5-7 minutes faster than current road conditions allow. 

Rebuilding the port will provide food security for Alaska, while extending Bragaw would enhance public safety operations in our city. Both projects would create high-paying, family supporting jobs. These are the type of jobs we need to rebuild our economy and get Alaska back on the right track. 

Some will say that we should rely on the federal government to solve all our infrastructure needs and problems. When did it become the Alaskan way to seek a handout, rather than striving on our own to accomplish what we believe in? The people of Anchorage and our state know what projects are truly needed, not some bureaucrat in Washington, D.C. We must not place our future in the hands of those who live thousands of miles away. 

We are at a critical moment in our state’s history. Are we still a people that believes in building great projects, like generations before? Do we still have it in us to unite for a common cause that transcends politics?

It is my belief that we are such a people and can create a bright future together for our children and grandchildren. The governor’s bond bill is a great first step toward jumpstarting our economy and building our state. 

I hope legislators can put partisanship aside and give Alaskans a chance to vote on this proposal. The people should have the right to vote on the economic future of our state. 

Dave Bronson is mayor of Anchorage.

Win Gruening: Juneau Assembly takes on food tax

SENIOR CONTRIBUTOR
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Win Gruening: Juneau Assembly takes on food tax

By WIN GRUENING

During the City and Borough of Juneau Finance Committee meeting on Feb. 3, Assembly members agreed to re-consider removing the city’s sales tax on food, a subject that has been discussed numerous times over the years. 

While the idea may enjoy popular support, including the endorsement of the Juneau Chamber of Commerce, the devil is in the details.  According to Jeff Rogers, Juneau Finance Director, the repeal of sales tax on food would blow a hole in the city budget amounting to $6 million annually.

How to plug that hole, up to now, created enough controversy and dissension to stymie three previous special committees or task forces formed to advance the idea.

One of the Assembly’s 2022 goals is “Continue to evaluate sales tax structure including equity and evaluate removing sales tax on food.”  Some Assembly members voiced the need to address inflation and the rising cost of living in the community.

Several comprehensive memos provided at the Finance Committee meeting capture the complexity and difficulty of the task at hand.  Defining which food items would qualify as exempt, then crafting a proposed ordinance by August in time for a public vote in October 2022, are the first steps. 

However, that is only half the battle, and the easiest half at that.

Without a long-term strategy for replacing the missing revenue, it’s doubtful that a majority of Juneau voters would be willing to sign on. Nor would they be willing to accept general tax increases without a rigorous review of CBJ expenditures anticipated in the FY2023 budget.

Ideas for revenue replacement considered in 2020 included raising the overall sales tax rate to 6% (either seasonally or year-round) and repealing selected sales tax exemptions for non-profits and federally recognized Indian tribes.  (A proposal to also tax on-board cruise ship sales was recently implemented.)

In past columns, I’ve laid out the rationale for requiring non-profits and tribal organizations to collect sales taxes on their retail sales.  Remember, in this case, it’s the customer who pays the tax. Consider the following examples:

  • When Tlingit & Haida Central Council sells a cup of coffee at their Sacred Grounds café or fireworks for July 4th celebrations, they don’t collect sales tax;
  • A cruise ship passenger purchasing items at the non-profit Discovery Southeast gift shop at Mendenhall Glacier doesn’t pay sales tax on similar items sold (and taxed) in Juneau stores;
  • When a visitor pays $5,000 for a carving at the non-profit Sealaska Heritage Foundation gallery, no sales tax is charged.

This exemption is rarely seen anywhere in the country and is hard to justify.  Cities and states have carved out exceptions for sales by organizations like the Salvation Army, Girl Scouts, and community sports leagues.

Kudos to the Assembly for their willingness to address that specific issue. 

Inexplicably, however, Assembly members opted not to pursue repeal of exemptions on sales to non-profits – only sales by non-profits.  However, continuing to allow non-profits to avoid paying sales taxes on their own purchases forecloses another significant option to help close the revenue gap.

Many 501(c) organizations and tribal entities already enjoy substantial benefits through income tax exemptions, avoidance of Juneau real estate taxes on qualified exempt property, and eligibility for generous private, local, state, or federal government grants.

The easiest and perhaps the most tempting solution would be to raise the year-round sales tax rate to 6% from its current level of 5% – thereby totally offsetting the revenue loss.  But would it be fair?  This would shift the primary burden of the change to residents and visitors and other organizations that already pay the most in sales taxes.  

Arguably, the brunt of impacts from the slump in Juneau’s economy has landed on property owners, storekeepers, and employees of small businesses – businesses that don’t qualify for special low-income programs or exemptions and are struggling with higher property taxes.

If the Juneau Assembly is serious about gaining support for a repeal of sales tax on food, then all options should be on the table that result in a solution involving all the various ideas being considered. Only this way, will the entire community share the benefits as well as some of the cost.

By spreading the impacts somewhat equally, the Assembly will avoid the pitfalls that have forestalled action in the past.

After retiring as the senior vice president in charge of business banking for Key Bank in Alaska, Win Gruening became a regular opinion page columnist for the Juneau Empire. He was born and raised in Juneau and graduated from the U.S. Air Force Academy in 1970. He is involved in various local and statewide organizations.

F-22s at Ted Stevens — weather-related or sign of global tensions?

Suzanne Downing
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F-22s at Ted Stevens — weather-related or sign of global tensions?

The appearance of a dozen F-22s at the Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport tarmac could be due to snow removal at Joint Base Elmendorf Richardson. Or it could be a sign that tensions between Russia and the United States are ramping up, with the impending invasion of Ukraine by Russia.

The F-22s were parked overnight at the Anchorage airport, spotted after 1 am by several passengers on commercial flights.

Earlier this week, Biden spoke with Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, and reaffirmed the commitment of the United States to Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.  

“President Biden made clear that the United States would respond swiftly and decisively, together with its Allies and partners, to any further Russian aggression against Ukraine.  The two leaders agreed on the importance of continuing to pursue diplomacy and deterrence in response to Russia’s military build-up on Ukraine’s borders,” the White House said.

On Friday, President Joe Biden said that he believes an invasion of Ukraine will come soon.

“We have reason to believe the Russian forces are planning and intend to attack Ukraine in the coming week, the coming days,” Biden said.

Several of the fighter jets departed one at a time from Ted Steven midday on Friday, and were heard widely around West Anchorage.

Also in Anchorage, C-17s were spotted leaving the Anchorage airspace.

While military planes are commonly seen in Southcentral Alaska, observers say it’s rare to see F-22s at TSIA at any time, especially the middle of winter.

Dinner with Trump: Tshibaka spills the details

Suzanne Downing
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31
Dinner with Trump: Tshibaka spills the details

At the close of last weekend’s fundraiser for U.S. Sen. candidate Kelly Tshibaka in Mar-a-Lago, former President Donald Trump invited Tshibaka and her husband, Niki Tshibaka, to join him for a private dinner in the dining room upstairs at the six-star resort in Florida. It was just the three of them, with Donald Trump Jr. and his fiancé Kimberly Guilfoyle joining them briefly. And the dinner was somewhat of a strategy meeting.

Kelly said they talked extensively about the new ranked choice voting system that Alaskans will use this November, and she was struck by not only how familiar Trump is with the novel voting scheme, but how it may work strategically for candidates. Trump was pleased to learn that other Republicans had not jumped into the race, which now features main candidate Tshibaka, a Republican, going up against Sen. Lisa Murkowski, and Democrat Elvi Gray-Jackson.

This was Tshibaka’s second time meeting with Trump, whom she describes as keenly interested in business, in outcomes, and in strategy.

“Whenever you talk to Trump, you’ve got to be on your toes. You’ve got to know your facts. He’s very astute. He is a corporate businessman, and he is interested in results. You have to be ready,” Tshibaka said. “My background involves a lot of strategic planning, and I’m target driven.” In other words, Tshibaka can speak Trump’s business language, even over prime rib at his fancy resort.

As they dined on the massive outdoor balcony with its iconic tropical plants and polished pebble floors, Trump agreed that Republicans can be their own worst enemies, and that he hoped Alaska Republicans would commit to a winning strategy, even with ranked choice voting.

Tshibaka ran through the data, the past turnout numbers, and the details of ranked choice voting with Trump, and the two of them noodled through the various potential scenarios that will have Tshibaka, Murkowski, Gray-Jackson, and likely a fourth name on the November ballot. Voters in Alaska will rank candidates from their first to last preference. The person with the least amount of votes drops off and the second-place votes are distributed to the remaining candidates. The redistributing of votes continues until a candidate reaches 51 percent.

Trump was fascinated with the math of it all. He has a burning desire to get Murkowski out of office due to many reasons, including her trying to get a Jan. 6 investigation going in the Senate against him, and her rubber stamping Biden’s plan to withdraw from Afghanistan. Murkowski has always been in opposition to Trump, and during his presidency, her dislike for him was more than obvious to Alaskans, 53.5 percent of whom voted for his re-election. He blames Murkowski for ruining Alaska’s economic recovery because she secretly supported Joe Biden, and she confirmed Biden’s nominee to the Department of Interior, which has since shut down Alaska’s oil potential.

Tshibaka said opening up the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge’s coastal plain was important to Trump from the beginning of his presidency, when he realized that no one had been able to accomplish it over decades. The Biden-Murkowski outcome has disappointed him, because he cares about Alaskans.

“When I heard nobody else could do it, I said we have to get this done,” Tshibaka recalled Trump saying over dinner. Then, when Murkowski enabled Biden and Sec. of Interior Deb Haaland, ANWR’s “10-02” development area went back into the vault, a blow to America’s energy security.

Tshibaka also told Trump about her plan to focus on rural Alaska during her campaign. She has spent time in over 40 rural communities, sometimes sleeping on floors, because “nothing replaces that eye-to-eye contact,” she said. Rural Alaskans told her that Murkowski only visits them once every six years. Tshibaka said the people of King Cove understand that the reason they don’t have a road is because of Murkowski — she voted to confirm Judge Sharon Gleason, voted to confirm former Interior Secretary Sally Jewell, and voted to confirm current Interior Secretary Haaland. She is not willing to give up on votes in rural Alaska, just because those votes historically go for the Democrat or Murkowski.

Trump recommitted to traveling to Alaska this summer to rally for Tshibaka’s campaign, and the two talked about timing — should he visit before the primary or after? They left it undecided — again, looking at it as a strategic decision.

“I also remember that he also said he always made it a point to stop in Alaska when he was flying because he loves our state and loves Alaskans,” Tshibaka said.

Trump was also very impressed with Niki Tshibaka, and as he shook his hand at the end of the dinner, he told Niki that he now understood why Niki is “so popular.”

“He really likes Niki,” Kelly Tshibaka said.

Hers was one of the biggest fundraisers held at Mar-a-Lago that didn’t involve the super-wealthy donors of Florida. The attendees were mostly Alaskans and she thinks the fundraiser brought in about $450,000 for her campaign, give or take a few.

“One of the biggest fundraisers was for Hershel Walker, but that was a Palm Beach crowd,” she said. “For our fundraiser, it was Alaskans who made it happen.”

The unseen puppeteer in Alaska Redistricting Board was Sen. Tom Begich, controlling two from behind the scenes

Suzanne Downing
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The unseen puppeteer in Alaska Redistricting Board was Sen. Tom Begich, controlling two from behind the scenes

At the most critical juncture of Alaska’s redistricting process in November, an unknown, non-appointed shadow on the Alaska Redistricting Board was working from behind the curtains. It turns out it was Anchorage Democrat Sen. Tom Begich.

Tom Begich was texting in real time with board member Nicole Borromeo for several days as the board approached its Nov. 10 decision deadline. Her drawings of the House districts in Anchorage were ultimately the ones chosen by the board.

The texts between the two show that Tom Begich greatly helped her draw those maps.

The board has five appointed members — Budd Simpson and Bethany Marcum, appointed by Gov. Mike Dunleavy; John Binkley, appointed by former Sen. President Cathy Giessel; Nicole Borromeo, appointed by former House Speaker Bryce Edgmon; and Melanie Bahnke, appointed by former Alaska Supreme Court Chief Justice Joel Bolger.

Borromeo and Behnke, who align with Democrats, were taking direction from Tom Begich, who was watching the proceedings online and telling Borromeo what to do, how to try to manipulate the other members of the board, and especially how to defeat Republican Bethany Marcum.

The text messages, shown below, were obtained in a public records request after they came to light during last week’s Superior Court trial over the final maps approved by the board.

Tom Begich also testified multiple times over several months before the board, and he even had proposed one of the plans, called the Senate Minority Plan, which was one of four third-party draft maps adopted by the board and taken around the state to be shown to the public in the 20 public hearings that took place before final political boundaries were drawn.

At one point, Tom Begich wrote to Borromeo, “Try agreeing with Bud,” to see if Borromeo could manipulate Budd Simpson, the Juneau member of the board appointed by Gov. Mike Dunleavy.

At another point he sent her a map, and he directed her and Bahnke to ask the board, “what do you object to in Nicole’s Anchorage map” referring to a map he just sent. The purple lines on the map are the House district pairings for Senate district he apparently wanted.

Using his advice, that is exactly what Borromeo and Bahnke did that day, repeatedly asking the other board members what they objected to in Borromeo’s Anchorage map.

Begich wrote to Borromeo of the Eagle River pairings, “It’s a disaster.” He was meaning that it was a political disaster, since he went on to say that there appear to be no grounds for a lawsuit.

Borromeo responded, “How long will it take DOJ to sue? Are the[y] fast?”

“No,” Tom Begich replied. “And they may not. VRA [Voting Rights Act] is weak. Others might not have grounds.”

Then he said he would work on a map and get it to her the next day, “But it’s hard. Senate pairings always political.”

At another point, he encouraged her to use a racial argument, just to get it on the record.

In fact, there were several lawsuits and the Eagle River House pairings into a Senate district is one of the two parts of the redistricting map that the judge wanted the board to reconsider.

“Please don’t put Muldoon in Eagle River, as Bethany is suggesting,” he wrote.

“You should see her new version,” Borromeo responded, while in the middle of the meeting.

“I did. That’s why I texted,” Tom Begich wrote back.

Then Borromeo asked him for help on the Mat-Su and Valdez pairings, and he provided her with case law to support that grouping. Although that particular part of the map was also challenged by a lawsuit by the city of Valdez and from the Mat-Su Borough, Anchorage Superior Court Judge Thomas Matthews ignored the conservative lawsuits regarding the new political boundaries, and only ruled in favor of the liberal litigants who didn’t like the Muldoon-Eagle River and the Skagway-Juneau lines.

Read: Judge says redistricting map needs do-over for Eagle River area and Skagway-Juneau

While Judge Matthews said in his ruling on the new political maps that there were too many executive sessions during the proceedings, he made no mention of the secretive side conversations between Tom and Nicole, even though he knew about them, since they were entered into the record. View some of the text messages in the slide show below:

Bill Walker names a campaign manager and guess what? He was the deputy director of 2021 redistricting board

Bill Walker names a campaign manager and guess what? He was the deputy director of 2021 redistricting board

Suzanne Downing
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Bill Walker names a campaign manager and guess what? He was the deputy director of 2021 redistricting board

With a significant pile of cash in his campaign account, Bill Walker has announced his campaign team. T.J. Presley left his job as the deputy director of the Alaska Redistricting Board, the group overseeing the new political boundaries in Alaska.

Presley will be campaign manager. Austin Mahan will handle compliance with campaign laws as the Walker campaign treasurer. Moira Gallagher is finance director. Austin Baird is a senior advisor focused on external communications, outreach, and public engagement. Paxson Woelber will be the graphic and web designer, and Carolyn Hall will manage campaign operations.

Mahan runs a compliance business and does campaign compliance for Anchorage Assemblyman Chris Constant, who just announced his campaign for U.S. House.

Gallagher ran Anchorage Economic Development Corporation’s grassroots effort for its “Live. Work. Play.” initiative to make Anchorage the No. 1 city in America in which to live, work, and play. She was deputy treasurer for Anchorage Assemblyman Constant’s effort to add a second Assembly district to downtown Anchorage.

Baird was in the news business before becoming press secretary for former Gov. Walker, who left office in disgrace. He then became the communications director for the Democrat-led House majority in the Legislature.

Woelber is part owner of the Alaska Landmine blog, and has worked on numerous campaigns. He designed the iconic look for the Mike Dunleavy political action committee in 2020. Woelber is writing and photographing for the blog.

Hall is co-founder of Jensen Hall Creative, an Anchorage-based media production company that partners with liberal causes. She was the communications director for Anchorage Mayor Ethan Berkowitz, and was communications manager for Walker during his one term in office. She also led the Municipality of Anchorage’s Vote by Mail public relations campaign.

Financial reports show Bill Walker with the cash

Chris Constant makes it official: Running for Congress

Suzanne Downing
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Chris Constant makes it official: Running for Congress

As rumored for weeks, Anchorage Assemblyman Chris Constant says he is a candidate for United States Congress. He will run as a Democrat in a race that already has big names — 25-term U.S. Congressman Don Young and Republican challenger Nick Begich III.

Constant, who represents downtown Anchorage, revealed his plans on social media and scrubbed his past, somewhat problematic social media accounts of some of their more unpleasant content.

The last Democrat who ran against Young was Alyse Galvin, who ran in 2018 and again in 2020. She is now running for an Anchorage seat in the Alaska House of Representatives.

Although he announced he would do a Facebook live event of his announcement, no one seemed to see it, and it appeared that the livestream either failed or was ditched by his campaign. However, moments after he made his Facebook announcement, he posted on Facebook a story about his announcement from the Anchorage Daily News.

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