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…
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…
Meet Pete Kelly. Whoa.
One of the races to watch in this cycle involves the stalwart, awesome Joe Paskvan, whom you may remember sitting at the end of the table in the Resources Committee meeting last session taking no guff from the administration, and helping to keep Alaska from hemorrhaging $2 billion dollars a year from our coffers to Texas and London. He’s running a close race with Pete Kelly (R) up in Fairbanks. This is not what Pete Kelly looks like when you see him on the street right now. This is what Pete Kelly would look like on the inside, if you…
Senate Fundraising Report
We all know that the Citizens United ruling means an unprecedented amount of cash will be flowing from the coffers of well-funded special interest groups into our eyes and ears via political advertising this year. But those well-honed messages don’t always coincide with a candidate’s actual level of support from constituents, or the voting and donating public. Worthy of note is an article in today’s Anchorage Daily News that talks about the actual campaigns and their fundraising ability so far. Those examined are the competitive Alaska State Senate races which will determine the makeup of that body for the next…
Oyster Roundup Deluxe Election Smorgasbord!
This is really more like a bag of Halloween goodies than an oyster platter. Enjoy! Quote of the Week: “Please, I’m begging you. Go vote for this guy. He’s awesome!” ~Bob Lester of the Bob & Mark Show on KWHL about State Senate candidate Ron Devon. Party’s Over! Remember the breathless complaint that was filed against Senator Hollis French, and Putting Alaskans First? The Party Planner was all in a tizzy because they used the same APOC savvy bookkeeper, and the same production company to do their commercials. Ergo, they must be in cahoots and illegally coordinating the two campaigns,…
First Ladies Endorse Alaska
“As our husbands were known for putting Alaska first, we, too, are dedicated to this guiding principle. Now, multinational corporations are attacking those Alaska legislators running for re-election who stood together in the past session to protect Alaska’s interests. “We thank and endorse Senators Hollis French and Bill Wielechowski and their colleagues in the Senate Bi-Partisan Working Group for their courage and leadership, and urge our fellow Alaskans to support them in the upcoming election.” —Ermalee Hickel & Bella Hammond • Oct. 30, 2012 In Alaska’s relatively short history as a state, “Hammond” and “Hickel” are as legendary as names…
Spouse for Senate!
Spouse is running for Senate. I know, right? It’s been pretty exciting around here I can tell you. He’s running for State Senate in “District N” a giant and beautiful swath of Alaska that stretches from South Anchorage, down Turnagain Arm to include Girdwood, and Hope, and then over to Seward, and on to Sterling and Nikiski, with all points in between. Every race is important but, I’m going to tell you why this one is the most important to me. When Ron was a little kid, living in Anderson in the Territory of Alaska – back in the days…
Alaska Primary Wrap Up
Another election, another night at Election Central. This party was subdued overall, with only one or two over-eager campaigns doing the march with signs, balloons, and volunteers. Lora Reinbold, and Shelley Hughes had teams of people. Hughes also had a guy in some kind of unitard that covered his face completely in blue spandex. Not sure what was going on there, but I realized later that I’d been a bit disturbed and fled the scene before snapping a picture of him. There were quite a few candidates there, even those who had not faced a primary challenger. TV stations were…
Bob Bell is Oh So Super Special
You know those politicians whom nobody can stand – the ones that think the rules apply to absolutely everyone? No exceptions. Except for them. I got one for you. Remember that scandal that had Director of the Alaska Division of Wildlife Conservation, Corey Rossi, in the headlines for weeks? Rossi and his croneys from the Board of Game got busted flying into rural Alaska and pretending to subsistence hunt muskoxen for food. You see, there’s a really really expensive way of hunting muskoxen, and there’s a much less expensive way. One way, you have to enter a lottery for a permit…
IMPORTANT: TODAY — Redistricting Plan Public Testimony in Anchorage!
Redistricting is going on across the country as a result of the 2010 Census. It is the single most important political event happening this year because these are the districts we’ll all be voting in for the next 10 years. Lucky us…the way that Alaska’s Board selection is set up gave us 4 Republicans out of 5 members this time! So, you can imagine how some of the proposed districts look. Example: in Board Option 2, Sen. Wielechowski’s District J moves from Muldoon, Mountain View and Wonder Park (traditionally more Progressive areas) farther north to the military base and Eagle…