Anchorage Muni Voter Guide
The editors of The Mudflats don’t always agree, but this time we’re unanimous. What we agree upon most of all is that everyone must get out to vote tomorrow, Tuesday, April 1. Local elections are the most important, and least well attended. This one is particularly critical, so no excuses. Here’s your down and dirty voter guide. Anchorage Assembly Races East Side Adam Trombley vs. Pete Petersen vs. Mao Tosi Trombley has rallied the troops at the Anchorage Tea Party “Day of Resistance,” spent most of his time trying to distance himself from an increasingly unpopular Mayor who hand-selected him…
Bird of the Week – Great Grey Owl
The largest, but not the heaviest, owl in North America is the Great Grey, an owl of the boreal forest. Even more than other owls, a Great Grey is mostly feathers. This particular bird is an educational bird some of you may recognize. Earl – that’s right, Earl Grey – lives with WC and Mrs. WC. You mean you don’t have mice thawing in your refrigerator? At 27 inches tall, with the distinct “bow tie” around the neck, this is one of the easiest birds to identify if you are lucky enough to see one in the field. Or in…
Christie is the New Palin
In Alaska, there have lately been many comparisons of Governor Chris Christie to Alaska ex-half-governor Sarah Palin. To wit: a close circle of micromanaged advisors from whom utter loyalty is demanded; an open abhorrence of the press when they pull outrageous stunts like asking questions; a certain tone deaf quality and tendency to double down when bad behavior is called out; wielding the power of the office in full force political payback; and a complete lack of hesitation to throw anyone and everyone under the bus to save one’s own very thin skin. And come on – the Bridges and…
DC Dan’s Embryonic Memory
US Senate hopeful Dan Sullivan (R-OH–>DC–>AK) has decided to boost his nonexistent Alaska cred by campaign-branding the most traumatic event in Anchorage history. In addition to slapping his logo on the Good Friday Quake, Dan pours on the “we remember.” Given that the quake hit our city roughly 8 months before Sullivan’s birth in Ohio, his precocious, in-utero grasp of geological phenomena like the shifting of tectonic plates must have been impressive. The actual Alaskan in the Senate race shows our visitor from Ohio/DC how it’s done: Translation: “There’s no need to explicitly remind you I was born and raised here….
Racist Rant & School Board Voter Guide!
Anchorage School Board Seat D Before we horrify you senseless, we’ll start off with the good news. This one is going to be really easy for you when you stand in the voting booth. The things you read below might even GET you to the voting booth if you were thinking about sitting out the Municipal election on April 1. We give you incumbent Kameron Perez-Verdia vs. Don Smith. Kameron Perez-Verdia has an extensive resume of working in education, especially with high-risk children. He was appointed in a contentious process last year that was documented on The Mudflats. His pragmatism….
Social Media Wins & Fails of AK Politicos
ANCHORAGE, AK— There are two types of Facebook stati: those providing the reader with value of some sort—informational, cautionary, or even just escapist entertainment value—and those benefitting only the writer: appeals for sympathy or money, self-congratulatory piety, boastful one-upsmanship, you know all the flavors. The second type is never in short supply, but here are three examples of effective social media use by public officials which—while of benefit to constituents and the public, indeed for that very reason—will also pay dividends when the candidate makes an ask around campaign time. The Feedback Loop Fairbanks Rep. Scott Kawasaki’s approach highlights an…
Blast from 2013: Why Don Smith Lost
This post originally appeared on Mudflats April 2, 2013 just before last year’s Municipal election that gave us our current, improved Anchorage School Board…one that does not include Don Smith and DOES include Kameron Perez-Verdia. It came about as the result of a tainted appointment process (to replace a Board member who resigned). The man they originally chose was known personally by members of the Board, who did not reveal their conflict. He was also a former VECO executive who personally paid bribes to the “Corrupt Bastards” group. Some quotes: . — “In his application for consideration for the empty…
NOT Made in Alaska – DC Dan Buys from New Zealand
Earlier this week Jeanne Devon documented the hilariously unfortunate copy and paste job of Dan Sullivan’s website. “Carpetbagging Republican Senate candidate Dan Sullivan (OH->DC->AK) is running against incumbent Senator Mark Begich (D-AK) this fall. When serious and professional candidates run for office, they usually hire someone to develop a website for their candidacy.” The Mudflats has now uncovered some new issues on his site. This time they’re not just from out of state, they’re from the other side of the planet. New Zealand, in fact. Most Alaskan politicos have their own stock of photography from their years in Alaska –…
Walking With the Ghosts of Exxon
It’s 5 a.m. on the 4th of July, and the alarm goes off. I open one eye and think surely I must have set it for the wrong time, but then I remember. Today I’m heading to Prince William Sound with Shannyn Moore and Zach Roberts. Our goal is to document the lingering effects of oil, still present in the Sound after the Exxon Valdez ran aground on Bligh Reef in the spring of 1989. It’s 2010, and a child born then would be 21 years old now. It’s hard to believe. I was not in Alaska back then. I,…