Sitting Legislator Calls Opponent “A-hole”
The votes in the state’s two closest legislative races are in. Senator Hollis French will return to Juneau after winning his race against Bob Bell by 54 votes. And 24-year old Democratic candidate Jonathan Kreiss-Tomkins managed to eek out a victory in the District 34 House race by only 32 votes, meaning that his opponent Republican Bill Thomas can ask for a recount if he wants one. Kreiss-Tomkins whose mother is a beloved physician in the district, ran an assertive person-to-person campaign, visiting all the small islands that comprise most of the district, and really getting to know his constituents….
Votes Shift To Kreiss-Tomkins in Nailbiter Race
More absentee ballots were counted in the Alaska House District 34 race on Monday. When the day began, the race was a tie. At the end of the day, the 24-year old newcomer, Democrat Jonathan Kreiss-Tomkins, led the entrenched Republican incumbent Bill Thomas by 28 votes. Absentee ballots will be counted until Wednesday, the final day they will be accepted. Insiders say that there are only 26 possible ballots to come in. So, even if they all go to Thomas, Tomkins will retail a 2 vote lead. The number of votes separating the two will determine whether Thomas will be…
GOP Lineup Goes Byzantine
The shakeup in the Alaska GOP continues. Our three party system (Dems, Republicans, and Tea Partiers) is going “byzantine,” according to the Alaska Ear. Yes, it’s inside baseball, but that’s really the only baseball that counts. The powerful finance committee is where bills go to live or die, and it seems like a couple of entrenched GOPpers find themselves on the outside looking in – or potentially so. Bill Thomas (R) who was assumed to be a fixture in said committee, finds himself suddenly in a race for relevancy with the awesome, out-of-nowhere Democrat Jonathan Kreiss-Tompkins. Their race, as you…
Oyster Roundup!
~Thick and fast they came at last, and more, and more, and more! Here’s your news on the half-shell for this week. Belly up to the oyster bar! Busting a Move Elizabeth Warren, the new Democratic Senator from Massachusetts has been up front with her declaration that she’ll be a senator of consequence. To that end, she plans to start off her freshman year with a bang. Or a bust. She wants to bust the filibuster. Republicans in the senate have effectively rewritten the spirit of the Constitution which requires a simple majority to get things done – to a…
Anchorage Redistricted with No Public Input
It was a big night at Tuesday’s Anchorage Assembly Meeting. The Anchorage School District Budget was passed, as was both the Municipal Operating Budget and the Municipal Capital Budget. However, I was there for the item that was slipped in towards the end. It was the first, last and only public meeting dedicated to Municipal Reapportionment…another word for Redistricting. You may be surprised to hear that the Assembly has been working on Reapportionment at all. You are not alone. If you remember the gerrymandering farce known as the State Redistricting process, the public meetings went on for months before anything…
Jesus Gets Punked by Exxon
Election day may be over here in Alaska, but now is when the fun begins. The results of a couple close races are hinging on absentee and questioned ballots yet to be examined, and shiny new lawmakers are angling for committee assignments and chairmanships. Pundits, meanwhile, examine and expound upon the results of the Citizens United meets Big Oil meets Jesus campaign machine. Let me be one of them. During this time, it’s good to remember the lessons of the past. The genius of Ronald Reagan was his ability to unite two completely different groups of people—with completely different policy…
Alaska Bravely Leaps Backward!
As the rest of the nation boldly marches forward, embracing enlightened thinking, electing more women to the Senate than ever; the first immigrant and first Buddhist in the Senate; the first openly gay woman in the Senate; the defeat of every Republican who ever made comments about “legitimate” rape, “God-intended” rape, and “just a method of conception” rape; as they celebrate marriage equality, and expanded civil liberties; as they re-elect a historic President; as the country decided in a measured and sensible way to keep the faith, and continue the slow forward momentum, and to not believe lies that were…
Election Discussion Thread
The polls are closing and returns are beginning to come in. Have at it, Mudpups.
Contacts for Voting Problems
Throughout early voting, I have been receiving emails, Facebook messages and phone calls reporting problems folks have encountered. They have included: — A pollworker demanding to see a voter card in addition to the voter’s driver’s license. (Note: if you do have your voter card, provide that first. It makes things easier.) — A voter was required to vote a question ballot because their address listed on the register was one number off the correct one, which was listed on their voter card. — A voter was listed on their voter card in the wrong district (according to APRN, this…
Giessel Loses It
by Thomas Dewar …on television. Making this fact even more stunning is that she herself paid for the air time. Oh yes, gentle reader, in Cathy Giessel’s latest bizarre ad, she gives you a stern talking to. Because who doesn’t enjoy being yelled at by the politicians we employ? Even under the best of circumstances the senator’s demeanor is one of barely contained rage and contempt, and a race she feels slipping away is far from the best of circumstances. Even her own, high-profile supporters have publicly noted that the race is surprisingly close. In order to cope with the…