COURTS CANCEL CRIMINAL TRIALS, BUT RECALL CASE STILL SCHEDULED FOR ORAL ARGUMENTS
The Recall Dunleavy Committee put a pause on “static” and “pop-up event” signature gathering at Anchorage gatherings due to the pandemic COVID-19 virus.
The unstated reason is that there are no longer any public events that the committee can collect signatures at, with almost all events cancelled right now in Anchorage. This is a practical decision by the group.
But individual signature gatherers, most of whom are paid per signature, will still be allowed to collect signatures on their petition to recall the governor. Those people will still be found at the doors of stores and inside the aisles of Walmart, or wherever they determine they can meet up with possible signers.
Recall Dunleavy Committee says it is advising the staff to observe sanitary practices.
The sanitary practices described by health officials include avoiding contact with people and maintaining a six-foot distance from others, according to the Centers for Disease Control. It’s unclear how this will work for the Recall Dunleavy signature gatherers and the pens they offer people.
Brendan Spees, field manager at Recall Dunleavy Committee (and former field manager for the Alaska Center for the Environment), sent an email notice out about the Anchorage “pause,” but advised that all other locations in the state are still up and running, including signature stations in Juneau, Fairbanks, Bethel, and dozens of other locations around the state where the petitions are located.
On a sunny Saturday in Anchorage, the streets are nearly empty and the stores are seeing little foot traffic.
People in Anchorage have taken the coronavirus seriously and many are self-quarantining until it passes, which could take several weeks. Schools and universities are closed, and all public events have been cancelled.
This could have an effect on the signature gatherers, who need to get more than 71,000 signatures in order to take their recall to a general election or special election ballot. If nothing else, it will have an impact on their momentum, especially as the public begins to wonder if this is the best use of the public’s time right now.
The well-funded group also is preparing for a date at the Alaska Supreme Court, also coming during the middle of a national emergency.
Criminal jury trials that were to begin on March 16 in Palmer, Kenai, and Anchorage have now been suspended, according to the Alaska Court System.
[Read: New Jury Trials in Anchorage Suspended Week of March 16, 2020]
Chief Justice Bolger of the Alaska Supreme Court has not yet said if he will allow a purely political trial to take place during a national emergency, as is scheduled for March 25 in Anchorage.
That court date is when oral arguments will be made to determine if the claims made by the Recall Dunleavy Committee are legal reasons for a recall of a duly elected governor.
But this is the same Supreme Court that already decided that, even without the oral arguments and decision, the gathering of signatures could proceed.
Therefore, even if the court delays the oral arguments, the signature gatherers can continue their efforts and hope for a break in their luck, which has been hampered by public health concerns.
