Bringing in the Vote – Boxes of Democracy
Last night while everyone was grabbing drinks at Election Central – Anchorage’s hard-working poll workers were finishing their 16-hour long day. Carts piled with boxes, voting machines and ballots were dragged into City Hall to be processed. The City Hall parking lot was packed, so much so that some of the workers had to pay for parking in neighboring lots (one charging $15). Water bottles and chocolates were handed out by volunteers and election officials who were waiting in a line that spiraled throughout the bottom floor of City Hall.
Zach’s Election Central Photos
It was a smaller Election Central than usual on the second floor of the Dena’ina Center but by the end of the night it was packed. It was a night of blow outs with several candidates running unopposed and at least one seat changing hands. The Nick Moe write in campaign was surprisingly successful and at last word was under 100 votes from the incumbent Ernie Hall. I guess it’s not an election in Alaska without at least one recount.
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…
Begich Supports Same-Sex Marriage
Alaska Senator Mark Begich has come out with a definitive statement in support of same-sex marriage. Monday night, the Senator’s office sent the following statement to BuzzFeed: “I believe that same sex couples should be able to marry and should have the same rights, privileges and responsibilities as any other married couple. “Government should keep out of individuals’ personal lives—if someone wants to marry someone they love, they should be able to. Alaskans are fed up with government intrusion into our private lives, our daily business, and in the way we manage our resources and economy.” The comment comes after…
Palin Fiddles While Alaska Burns
Former half-term governor Sarah Palin marches ever-onward toward becoming the Don Rickles of the conservative right. It’s a lofty goal with plenty of competition. Alaskans will remember that even back when Palin was governor, she was never happier than when she was mocking and deriding the Republican establishment. In her home town of Wasilla, it was then Senate President Lyda Green. Later she graduated to throwing tomatoes at Governor Frank Murkowski. Several of those tomatoes were direct hits, resulting in her ascension to the Governor’s Mansion. She was also the presence behind the scenes of an attempted but failed Republican…
What You Can Do About SB21
The Republican-dominated Senate just voted to give Alaska’s future away. So, what are you going to do now? Disneyland? Wrong answer. The savings that Alaska has accrued from it’s oil tax revenue will now go straight into the pockets of the most profitable corporations in the history of the world. We have no guarantees of any increased oil production, jobs, or exploration. History tells us we won’t get any of it. For a summary of what happened, with quotes and video clips of important moments, click HERE. Nine senators (7 Democrats and 2 Republicans) stood up for you, and withstood…
Murkowski Excludes Native Women from Protection
President Obama signed the Violence Against Women Act this week. Finally, something bipartisan passed! American women are better protected from coast to coast — but all the way up north? Left out in the cold. First, you should know a few facts. Native American and Alaska Native women are 2.5 times more likely to be raped or sexually assaulted than other American women. The vastness of Alaska works against victims here. We have about 140 villages with no state law enforcement. Gov. Sean Parnell believes he can get some help to them in the next 10 years. In the meantime,…
Greg Palast asks, ‘How Do You Steal a Dream?’
How Do You Steal a Dream? Supreme Court hears suit to kill Voting Rights Act For Care2.com By Greg Palast, author, “Billionaires and Ballot Bandits: How to Steal an Election in 9 Easy Steps” Video Produced by The Mudflats’ own, Zach D Roberts. Sign the petition to Defend Martin Luther King’s Dream Act – here. Read Shannyn Moore’s piece on how Alaska plays into all this – at the Anchorage Daily News Jim Crow is alive and well — and he has mounted a new attack on the law Martin Luther King dreamed of: the Voting Rights Act. February 27, the…
Recall Lindsey Holmes Meeting Sunday
They say elephants never forget. Donkeys apparently don’t either. This Sunday will be an organizing event for the effort to recall Rep. Lindsey Holmes. She’s the one who ran as a Democrat, raised money from Democrats, joined in on fundraisers with other Democratic candidates, garnered campaign workers from a thinly stretched pool of Democratic volunteers during a busy election cycle, and then decided to become a Republican before she was even sworn into office. The price of her political soul? A seat on the finance committee. Not a co-chairmanship, a SEAT. While there are Democratic legislators who choose to caucus…