Walker/Wielechowski – Right for Alaska
We like Sen. Hollis French, and respect him. He’s been an outstanding legislator. We think he’d make a good governor, and have donated to and voted for him in the past. Our issue with the senator’s contemplation of another gubernatorial run is not the candidate, but the fact that the candidate cannot and will not be elected governor. The problem is math. Sen. French retained his own state senate seat in his newly drawn district by the skin of his teeth. The statewide political terrain is far less friendly to him than West Anchorage. The far right made French the…
Sarah Palin Top Choice for Senate?!
Stay calm. Just sit for a minute. If you’re an Alaskan, do not start loading up the motorhome for your political asylum road trip to Canada. If you are from the Lower 48, do not stop reading here and put a big red Sharpied ‘X’ over Alaska on your desktop globe. Let me explain. A few weeks ago, the ex-half-governor unhinged her maw, and some words fell out. Seemingly, she is considering a run for the U.S. Senate against incumbent Democrat Mark Begich. Pollsters tilted their heads to the side like a dog who hears a whistle. Then they got…
Parnell Signs SB21 While Protesters Gather
Inside, former ConocoPhillips lobbyist and current Gov. Sean Parnell was signing away billions of dollars of Alaska’s oil wealth to BP, Exxon, and ConocoPhillips. He was handing them new roads and road improvements, he handed them schools, he handed them public safety officers, and bridges. And in return, we get nothing. Outside, a crowd gathered during their lunch hour to protest the action. The Republicans who backed the Governor’s giveaway either tried to rush through the crowd without making eye contact , or they entered the lobby of the Dena’ina Center from the other side. It was a parade –…
Alaska vs. Outside Corporations, the Choice is Ours
By Sen. Hollis French Two recent news items out of Norway caught my attention. The first happened April 30 when Gov. Parnell went there to discuss tax policy. The second was the announcement on May 6 that Norway had decided to make a change to its oil tax laws. Now, I don’t know whether the governor was responsible for the May 6 tax change. But I like to imagine that the Norwegians listened very carefully to the governor’s reasons for lowering taxes here. Being the sober and meticulous people they are, they ran a complex cost-benefit economic analysis on his…
Senate Votes to Give Big Oil Billions
Here’s your highlight reel from the Senate oil tax debate. Late Wednesday night the Alaska State Senate voted 11-9 to give billions from the state treasury to the oil industry. A 10-10 vote would have killed the bill. Amendments and debate took all day, and went well into the night. The bottom line is that the senate voted to give away the farm, in exchange for nothing. No increased promise of production, exploration, or jobs. It might incentivize them to do something though. Magically. If we’re lucky. That’s the argument of the 11 Senators who voted for this historically bad…
What are they up to?
Let’s do a quick check-in, and see what people are up to during the lull at the holiday season between the election, and the beginning of the next legislative session Mark Begich – Mark Begich is busy getting gold stars. The latest is for voting for the Feinstein Amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act, which takes steps to end allowing the indefinite detention of American’s in the United States. Lisa Murkowski Lisa Murkowski is “outraged” about the Benghazi incident. And “she has no patience for the constantly changing stories coming out of the White House and even less for…
Recounting the Vote
Just when you thought it was over, it looks like two close races will be counted again. Ah. Ah. Ah. Senate candidate Bob Bell from Anchorage has requested a recount of his race with Hollis French. Bell lagged by 54 votes, and Senator French wasn’t surprised by the request, saying he’d probably do the same thing if the situation was reversed. [Side Note: I finally figured out why the name Bob Bell rings a … well, you know. Bob Bell was also the name of the actor who played Bozo the Clown from 1960 to 1984. I’m not necessarily saying…
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,…
The Revenge of the Party Planner
11 days until the election, and the hilarious drama is flying. The mayor’s (errr) “Party Planner” has been a busy bee this campaign season. She’s been seen at the event coordinating the merger of church and state that gloated about data mining Alaskans’ private information, she showed up clad in classy faux leopard with “too crazy even for the Republicans” Judy Eledge as her date for a candidate forum, staffed Cathy Giessel at the Running debate, and now this… Petulantly clicking on her 7 inch heels, she stomped up to Senator Hollis French at a recent candidate forum, stuck out…