Election Good News!
Yes.
Election. Good. News.
Let’s just sit with that for a moment.
As always, there are the last ballots to be counted, and write-in votes to be scrutinized, but here’s where we stand so far:
Bettye Davis for School Board handed Don Smith his walking papers (and his rear end) with a decisive 54-45 victory for the seat Smith currently occupies.
Bettye is amazing in her own right, but Don Smith’s latest shenanigans and nastiness didn’t help his cause. Davis recently lost her established State Senate seat after Republican redistricting sliced up her former district. It’s good to have her back serving the public.
Nick Moe, who launched a write-in campaign mere weeks ago to unseat Assembly Chair Ernie Hall did phenomenally well. The write-in votes trail Hall’s by only 93 at the end of the night, but all the particulars have yet to be examined, so technically we don’t have a result, and won’t for a little while. Even if Moe doesn’t actually win, he’s positioned himself extremely well for a future bid for office, and Hall and the other anti-union Mayor Sullivan puppets had better sit up and take notice. Moe ran an outstanding campaign, and made many friends and supporters in West Anchorage.
And as far as Ernie Hall goes, people don’t like a candidate who promises one thing and does another, nor do the people like being told they can no longer speak to an issue when they want to.
Asked why his race was so close, Hall said
“I have no idea.”
“Prior to AO-37 (the labor ordinance), nobody even wanted to contest me,” he said.
Assembly candidate Nick Moe congratulating former State Senator Bettye Davis on her School Board win.
Former legislator, and mayoral candidate Eric Croft whomped the competition taking more than 60% of the vote for School Board. It’s great to have him back in the arena, and affecting policy. This is a real win for the good guys.
New School Board member Eric Croft and Assemblyman Dick Traini discuss the results coming in on the board.
Dick Traini, recent Republican legislative candidate, and one of the stalwart votes against Ordinance 37 landed a decisive victory over Andy Clary, and will serve another term on the Assembly. Score one for reasonable Republicans!
Tim Steele emerged victorious by 20 points in a rousing defeat of Cheryl Frasca, former Sullivan budget advisor and the Mayor’s hand-picked temporary appointment to new legislator Harriet Drummond’s vacant seat. Had he been there instead of Frasca last week, Ordinance 37 would not have gone through. Hence the urgency to cut-off testimony and vote it in before this election.
Paul Honeman was running unopposed for his East side Assembly seat, and came to celebrate.
A victorious crew – Eric Croft and Bettye Davis, School Board, and Assemblyman Paul Honeman.
Between his sock puppet Frasca going down in flames, Traini’s re-election, and Nick Moe standing on the edge of ousting Chair Ernie Hall, the Mayor had a bad night. After fleeing Linda Kellen Biegel, he stood to the side giving brief interviews before leaving.
The mayor’s favorite Eagle River candidate, Amy Demboski won, and Jennifer Johnston of South Anchorage ran unopposed. “Three of the five people I endorsed are winning,” Sullivan said. “That’s 60 percent. In baseball that makes you the greatest hitter of all time.”
Former Deputy Clerk Jacqueline Duke (R).
Just to give us a not-so-nice flashback, infamous election debacler, and ballot box mangler Jacqueline “Don’t Mind the Broken Seals” Duke showed up. Being ousted from her former job in disgrace didn’t keep her away from this year’s election fun. Under new management, we actually didn’t run out of ballots anywhere this time. Imagine that.
And, of course, it just wouldn’t be an event without the Party Planner using the opportunity to network.
And we’d be remiss not to welcome home the Mudflats’ former NY Bureau Chief, Zach Roberts, who is back in our fair state and now the official Mudflats Investigations/Photo Editor. Hey, Zach. I think there’s something on your shoulder. Let’s get rid of that, shall we?
Watching this from my tiny-but-mighty island off the coast of the other side of the continent. Waiting for updates on Moe’s race.
Personally, I hope they keep sleeping and wake up one day out of office…
Congratulations ANC!
ADT!
Sullivan and Hall’s poor leadership and arrogance succeeded in one thing: uniting the unions as never before!
We should all do a happy dance in front of the assembly at the next meeting!
Think the state is going to start moving ‘blue’? Many voters are tired of the many arrogant Republicans currently holding offices on the state and local levels. They truly think their s— doesn’t stink! This is going to be fun to watch in the upcoming elections and I can hardly wait to continue casting my vote!
Politics and baseball are different games. Why would the mayor trivialize this so much? He has people’s livelihoods and homes in his hands. People are vested in the community and he thinks of himself like a baseball player? Well, were he an OB, 60% would be pretty bad. We can play with numbers all day. The voters are telling him something. Let’s hope he keeps showing us what a jerk he is– he is reflecting on his party.
Oh, how I wish that would happen. Realistically though, it is unlikely. Things might even be drifting in the opposite direction. Look how brazen and outspoken many of these conservatives are nowadays. Almost like they acted up until Bill Allen and cronies fell from grace. Today they have complete control of the governor’s office and the legislature. In addition, many city governments up here lean Red.
I don’t believe we will get back to reality until we either wean ourselves off oil or manage to convince the average Joe that Big Oil is up here at our invite and the ensuing financial wealth is solely due to the courtesy of Alaskans managing their resource honestly. As it stands now, the oil industry has manipulated and propagandized voters into believing they, big oil, are the ones responsible for the state’s fiscal surplus as well as most of the wages benefiting Alaskans, thus enabling the “good life” many enjoy.
If one thinks about it a bit, it is only human nature for many to react this way. Middle aged workers who have satisfactory employment, benefits and income naturally gravitate to the political posture their company subscribes to. And this resonates all the way up and down the food chain. If you are in business here and openly espouse progressive ideology and voice support for public programs which contradict programs favored by oil, their affiliates, and their investors and shareholders, you will soon find yourself on the outside looking in. Look at the IBEW, they did the correct thing and established a radio station wherein progressive programs were aired. Very little business advertising was forthcoming, meaning the rank and file had to support operational expenses in that endeavor. In a short time the union shut the station down and turned close to 100% of the airways over to radical right wing fringe nut talking heads. As a result, the words, “organized labor”, publicly began to take on a negative connotation and we see today the beginnings of a movement to dismantle labor unions.
Once in a while I too am heartened that the drift may be turning back toward blue. But then I hear things like the CEOs of the top 14 native corporations are GOP, or, I witness the downfall of a rare and honest coalition in the State Senate which probably ends responsible government for all Alaska into the foreseeable future.
Many Assembly races are still showing unreported precincts. For example, in the Ernie Hall-Nick Moe contest on only 24 of 26 precincts have been reported.
http://results.muni.org/seats….
Why?
Swooooooon… Bettye!
“LANDSLIDE DON”
Trouble for Don, he’s been on the wrong end of two landslides in the last five months. After getting buried in a State Senate race last November one would have thought he might just adopt a little more conciliation in his mannerisms. But no, like Sullivan and a number of other Alaskan right wing leaders demonstrate, he simply becomes more brazen, arrogant and boisterous.
No big surprise though; just recall his infamous periods of public servitude as a state representative back in the 60s or on the ANC assembly in the early 80s. Each time the voters kicked him out and he responded with increased spitefulness and dogmaticalness.
This election gives me hope. When things get bad enough we, more reasonable voters, seem to get moving. Hope this, times 10, happens in the next statewide election.
Great work and many thanks to all those who helped this happen!!
Always nice to see the Party Planner!
Though it would be even so much nicer were she to wear one of her cute little cocktail dresses!
Slipstream is nothing if not a fashionista.
I know what you wear at work, slip…don’t know if that would qual you as a fashionista !
Lordy, it is SUCH a good day to see worthy, educated, intelligent people elected to ANYTHING in Alaska!
Congratulations to the decent, responsible folks now empowered to vote FOR the people and AGAINST arrogant conservative nasties.
Good news — and, what a great day for Alaska, hmm? YAY :o)
oh and buh bye Mr Smith, you will not be missed, and learn some manners.
I am on the other side of the US and I am highly entertained by your writing, though not by your political situation. *That* is not funny anywhere!
Great news, I truly hope this is a wake up call.