Not to be outdone by the local alternative press, the Anchorage Daily News found Sunday a slow-enough news day that the social media comments of the governor’s outreach director, Dave Stieren, became front-and-center political fodder.
The newspaper wanted to know why Stieren, who is known for his outspoken ways, had encouraged people in Anchorage to live it up on Monday, the last day before Anchorage Acting Mayor Austin Quinn-Davidson put the city back into an economic deep freeze.
As of Tuesday, restaurants, bars, bingo halls, and theaters are closed again, and capacity at other establishments has been drastically curtailed by order of the acting mayor. Schools in Anchorage have been closed for over 260 days since the coronavirus panic took hold.
“Monday night, go to your favorite bar and party like it’s New Year’s Eve,” Stieren wrote on his personal Facebook page, which caught the attention of the alternative press. “Dress up. Uber. Whatever. Do it.”
In other words, do what’s legal until Tuesday, Stieren was saying. Help restaurants use up their inventory so it doesn’t all have to be thrown out, along with their livelihoods.
Stieren is not a spokesman for the Administration, but he does interface with the public and at times facilitates town hall meetings with the governor.
The ADN wanted to know if Stieren’s personal views are the official position of the Dunleavy Administration and asked a litany of questions of Stieren, including comments Stieren once made about the coronavirus being a “beer virus,” on social media.
– Does the governor agree with the above statements you made?
– Do you speak for the Office of the Governor when making political statements on your social media pages?
– If not, why should the public view your statements as separate from the state’s public health advice?
– Has the governor talked with you about these posts?
– If so, what was said?
– Does your encouragement run counter to the state’s advice on COVID-19?
– What were you trying to accomplish with those posts?
– This is not the first time you have downplayed the coronavirus or suggested that governments are overreacting by enacting mandates. You in March, the same month the state declared a COVID emergency, referred to the coronavirus as the “beer virus” on social media, stating “this is why I yawn over the beer virus.” Was the governor aware of that statement?
– Did the governor agree with that statement at the time?
– Does he agree with it now?
– More recently on Twitter, you have suggested that mask mandates don’t work because of the prevalence of COVID cases in Anchorage. Is this also the governor’s view?
– Is that Dr. Zink’s view?
– Have you advised the governor to resist enacting a statewide mask mandate?
– Has Chief Medical Officer Anne Zink advised the governor on whether to enact a mask mandate? If so, what was her recommendation?
– Does the state, or the governor’s office, have a written social media policy that applies to posts made on employee’s personal accounts? If so, can you please share that policy?
The ADN has never published a story about former Mayor Ethan Berkowitz’ appointee of the Anchorage parking authority, Andrew Halcro, who is on Twitter on a daily basis with political commentary aimed at Gov. Mike Dunleavy.
Stieren joined the Dunleavy Administration after years of hosting a popular talk show in Anchorage, where he was well known for throwing sharp elbows at liberal politicians.
For now, Stieren says he has deleted his Facebook page due to the level of vitriol and threats he was receiving on the page from shutdown supporters and Dunleavy haters, language that he felt his family didn’t need to be exposed to over the holidays.
At least one restaurant in Anchorage took the idea about New Years Eve and ran with it, which got the media’s attention, too. AlaskasNewsSource did a story on it. Altura Bistro held its New Years Eve dinner on Monday night.
That’s the state of journalism in 2020.
