Shades of 2016, when the alt-left in Anchorage declared political holy war on Chugiak-Eagle River Assemblywoman Amy Demboski for a comment she had made on her radio talk show.
Back then, the mainstream media and leftwing bloggers explained to the public that Demboski, a conservative, had linked a Muslim family to a terrorist group.
Nothing of the sort had happened, but then-Assembly Chair Elvi Gray-Jackson publicly and tearfully apologized to the family anyway. The narrative had left the barn before the truth ever found its shoes.
Now, it’s Eagle River Assemblywoman Jamie Allard’s turn at the liberal’s burning stake. Allard, who is Hispanic, is the subject of a “whereas” complaint by fellow Assemblywoman Meg Zaletel, who doesn’t like the way Allard conducts her social media page on Facebook. The “Cancel Culture” war on Allard has begun in earnest.
Zaletel, who is an attorney, has a resolution drafted that lists a litany of grievances that Zaletel has against Allard, and then concludes by saying there is nothing the Assembly can do about it.
Zaletel posted screenshots of Allard’s comments on her own Facebook page, taking the war on Allard to her social media accounts.
Read the Zalatel resolution at this link:
In the complaint, Zaletel says Allard defended Nazis, when she pondered whether license plates with the words FUHRER and 3REICH could have alternate meanings.
Zaletel says that Allard deleted people from her Facebook page, and that her page was so offensive that Facebook took it down altogether, and the governor himself removed her from the Human Rights Commission.
(Leftist writers say that Allard deleted her own page, and no one seems to have the definitive answer on what happened to Allard’s Facebook page — did she accidentally delete it herself? The only evidence of that is an anonymous note attributed to Facebook but unverifiable. Did Facebook take action? A request to Facebook from this author went unanswered.)
Zaletel has served on the Assembly since 2019, representing District 4 Seat F. Her term ends in 2022.
Allard was elected in 2020 and came in like a lion last spring when she took office on April 21. Her term ends in 2023.
Both Assemblywomen, who in some ways represent opposite political viewpoints, are now under pressure by opposing forces who want them to be recalled.
The recall effort against Zaletel failed after the municipal clerk refused to issue a petition booklet and the recall proponents didn’t pursue the case in court. Whether they will pursue Zaletel’s recall just one year before the election for that seat is unclear.
Also now subject to recall on the Assembly is Chairman Felix Rivera, who will stand for recall on the April 6 ballot, and Forrest Dunbar, who had an “application for recall petition” filed against him last week.
Dunbar is running for mayor but will also face a motivated recall movement in his East Anchorage district. They have an uphill battle, however: Dunbar was unopposed during his last election for Assembly. Some 8,780 votes were cast in that district, so 2,195 valid signatures are needed to place Dunbar’s name on a recall ballot.
The Tuesday Assembly meeting begins at 5 pm. The agenda and particulars are at this link.
