In a letter to supporters Wednesday morning, the Recall Dunleavy Committee admitted defeat, saying it would not be able to get the signatures in time to stage a recall election for Gov. Mike Dunleavy. The primary election for governor is less than a year away and the group has failed in its three-year-long mission.
The group said it had accomplished much but fell short. The group also did not say how much money it has or what it would do with its remaining funds.
“As of today, Wednesday August 25th 2021, the Recall Dunleavy effort is officially drawing to a close. We are proud to have run one of the most successful, bipartisan, and overwhelming grassroots efforts in the history of Alaska. The movement to recall Michael J. Dunleavy from the governor’s office was driven by Alaskans who care about the future of this great state and who are courageous enough to take a stand against the imminent threats to our communities,” the group wrote, saying that a court decision proved that Dunleavy had repeatedly broken the law.
“The decision to wind down the Recall was made thoughtfully by the steering committee. Strategically speaking, the Recall has done what it was intended to do, to protect Alaska and Alaskans from Dunleavy’s complete ineptitude and failure of moral character,” the group wrote. The group realized that once Dunleavy filed for reelection they would have to treat their data differently and reveal their donors.
The group also said anyone who signed the second recall petition risks retaliation, so they don’t want to release the names to the Division of Elections, after which they become public record. They also said that “Dunleavy has been crying and panhandling in Florida and all over the Lower 48 to funnel money through his anti-recall group.”
“Timing is everything, unfortunately last spring, the pandemic broke our stride. With a heavy heart the tough decision was made to pull back our signature gathering efforts for the safety of hundreds of our volunteers. The transition to COVID 19 conscious signature gathering by signing at home was another historical first, but was a slow and arduous climb. Today, 15 months before the next election with 62,373 signatures in hand, we have decided it is time to look to the future,” they wrote.
The politicos said the group always knew it would not succeed but intends to use the signatures as the data-mining it needs to back a candidate against Dunleavy. It will turn those names over to the candidate it believes in, and most likely that is former Gov. Bill Walker, since his former chief of staff, Scott Kendall, is one of the prime movers behind the recall effort.
