Three Dans Too Many
An invitation! We got an invitation! And it’s pink and blue and calligraphied all fancy-like! Are Mayor Dan Sullivan and Bill and Michelle Bittner going to have a baby? Are Dan Coffey and his wife Pauline going to get married again? No, wait. It’s an “announcement of great importance to the future of Anchorage.” Wow. Hold on just a second… We’re getting a Red Lobster? Alas, no to all of the above. Instead, Dan Coffey, the former Assemblyman and Sullivan minion/mancrush, has decided to run for Mayor. Not really that surprising. You may recall Dan Coffey is the…
Assemblyman Admits Back Room Shenanigans
Tuesday’s Anchorage Assembly meeting promised to be more interesting than usual, but no one was expecting the jaw-dropping admission of blatant politicking by a supporter of the Mayor on the Assembly, and that the peoples’ referendum to repeal a draconian labor ordinance was being set up as a casualty of electoral manipulation. The Anchorage Assembly passed its anti-union, anti-public-employee Ordinance 37 back in March of 2013 despite hours and hours of testimony against it. In fact, Chair Ernie Hall even cut off testimony with many still waiting for an opportunity to speak. That led to the filing of a petition to…
The Mudflats Calls Senate District I
There’s an alphabet soup of newly drawn Senate districts out there, but with 84 days until the polls close, and 0% of precincts reporting in, The Mudflats is prepared to call the election in Senate District I, for the beloved and awesome Democratic candidate Johnny Ellis. His opponent, Republican Paul Kendall (also known by his talk radio call-in alias “Will Free”) believes in Hydrogen energy, and women not working outside the home. It’s a devastating political duo of philosophies, which puts Mr. Kendall simultaneously in both the 22nd and 17th centuries. But for some reason, it doesn’t seem to be…
Muni Played Favorites With Ballots (*Update*)
In last week’s installment of the Municipality of Anchorage’s continuing 2012 Election debacle, new Municipal Clerk Barbara Jones made a disturbing find while attempting to (quite literally) clean up the old Municipal Clerk’s mess…141 unaccounted-for ballots. This has led the trusty Election Commission to meet this coming Thursday and review the ballots they missed the first two times around. While all of that has been going on, members of our Recount Observation Team have continued to research and slowly pursue the auditing process the Municipality has refused to provide. …and it’s been free of charge… The latest bombshell was discovered…
Uncounted Ballots: A New Can Of Worms
I’ll admit it…I’m tired of the Anchorage Municipal Election of 2012. It’s a kind of migraine-inducing, bone-aching, paralysis-producing exhaustion that I’ve rarely experienced. I know that’s how I felt after our team of 10 qualified voters and fabulous volunteer observers worked their butts off on the hand recount. The team “observed” and went above and beyond to report the issues and the craziness that happened during this hand recount. However, they did not stop there. The Team also poured (and continues to pour) time and energy into further investigation of the election issues in general, going way-beyond their “job description”…
Sully Goes Viral!
Well, look at that. Mayor Dan Sullivan’s decision to skip town and take his oath of office in Hawaii has, apparently, gone viral. None other than First Lady Lynette Sullivan has sprung to his defense. She piped up in the comment section of the Anchorage Daily News to quell the rumblings of Anchorage citizens who thought that the Mayor actually ought to put his official duties first, and his tropical vacation second. It’s worth reading, just to see if you can manage to keep your lunch down. My comments (as always) are in red. ********************* Hello Anchorage! This is First Lady…
Recount Team Meets with the Anchorage Assembly
(Tonight at the Anchorage Assembly Meeting, the Members will hear and vote upon a Resolution (9.B.7), submitted by Assemblywoman Gray-Jackson and co-sponsored by Harriet Drummond and Patrick Flynn, that is intended to refund the $1,500.00 the Recount Application Group submitted to the Municipality. The money was required by Title 28 in order to request and generate the hand count of 15 precincts. The Resolution was a result of the report and meeting described in the post below. It will be interesting to see who, if anyone, votes against it.) The Election Board Counts Precinct 840, Service High On Friday, June…
Election Recount Worksession With Assembly — Join Us!
The April 3rd Anchorage Municipal Election Recount Group will be meeting with the Anchorage Assembly in a Worksession this Friday to share our findings and recommendations with them. Per the website: ***************************************** Worksession – Election Recount Issues From 06/15/12 1:00 PM To 06/15/12 2:00 PM City Hall 632 W 6th Ave Anchorage Alaska Conference Room 830 ***************************************** This is a public meeting, as are all Assembly Meetings and Worksessions. WE HIGHLY ENCOURAGE ALL WHO ARE INTERESTED IN THE FUTURE OF ELECTIONS IN ANCHORAGE TO SHOW UP IF YOU CAN! Our Recount Group now includes the 10 original signers plus some…
Open Thread – Linda Kellen Biegel at the Bartlett Club!
Yes, our very own Linda Kellen Biegel will be the featured speaker at the Bartlett Democratic Club luncheon Thursday, May 31. Come to the Denny’s on DeBarr in Anchorage at noon. Have some lunch, and hear Linda’s wrap up of the Municipal election circus. She’s been bulldogging this issue from the beginning to the end, and will share her insights about what went wrong, and what we need to do. Election integrity is a non-partisan issue, and is the foundation of our democracy. Thanks to all who stand up for the thing that truly makes America exceptional – our right…
Election Recertified, Muni Clerk Resigns
I know I’ve been silent regarding my participation one of the “Ten Qualified Voters” who triggered the Election (Hand) Recount of 15 precincts. I hope all of you understand that I was writing constantly “for the cause” and wasn’t able to write it on Mudflats. AKM has been doing a magnificent job. My commentary on this post will be short but you can read the letter that we (through Hal Gazaway) submitted to Chairman Hall and the Assembly before yesterday’s meeting. The letter regards our findings as we went through days of the hand count process. When you read it, you will find it unsurprising that the…