PROMETHEUS. REALLY?
Alaska’s biggest union bosses have called an emergency meeting in Anchorage today to discuss the mess they have with the governor’s race.
They’ve spent hundreds of thousands of dollars attacking gubernatorial candidate Mike Dunleavy and supporting Gov. Bill Walker, only to find Walker’s campaign in a complete tailspin.
Lt. Gov. Byron Mallott set off the crisis by resigning in disgrace on Tuesday.
[Read: Plot thickens on Mallott resignation]
The Walker-Mallott ticket was the one unions created in 2014, when AFL-CIO boss Vince Beltrami told Bill Walker and Byron Mallott that unions wouldn’t support either of them, but only support them if they combined their tickets.
The two did as they were told and went on to victory against the incumbent governor, Sean Parnell.
Now, in 2018, Unite Alaska for Walker-Mallott’s top contributors include Robin Brena, the Sealaska Corporation (where Byron Mallott’s son is CEO), and labor unions.
With Mark Begich ascending and Walker in crisis, what do the unions do?
Do they stick with Walker and his new Acting Lieutenant Governor Val Davidson? Or do they jump to Begich?
“The unions are going to stab Walker in the back,” said Tuckerman Babcock, chairman of the Alaska Republican Party. “Vince Beltrami is a fair-weather friend and in his lust for power he’ll sacrifice just about anything or anyone.”
At this point, Walker has a tough time pulling out of the race, since the ballots are printed. Even if he pulls out, he’ll get 15 percent of the vote, simply because his name is on the ballot.
But the union-backed Unite Alaska for Walker-Mallott has been working on a huge smear campaign on Dunleavy. The unions have to decide now if they want to smear Dunleavy on behalf of Walker or pull their support and do so on behalf of Begich.
The union’s smear campaign is looking like it is on increasingly shaky grounds, something Beltrami cooked up months ago. The details of their smear campaign have been leaked along with the word “Prometheus,” which is the apparent code name he has devised.
Meanwhile, the Walker-Davidson campaign has cancelled its booth at the Alaska Federation of Natives and has refocused a major fundraiser planned for tonight. It is now just a reception.
“Join the Walker team at the Downtown Anchorage Historic Hotel for a Walker informational reception. We have taken down the fundraising component for this event, but the Governor and Lt. Gov. Val Davidson, and our team, will be here to answer questions and listen. We will continue to show up and be here for Alaska,” his campaign wrote.
Polling shows Begich and Walker about even with each taking 25 percent of the vote as of last week.
