APOC Files Its Own Complaint Against Rep. Bill Thomas (Update)
Many of you know about the APOC complaint I filed against Rep. William Thomas, Jr. (R-Haines) because he claimed ads like this were “thank you ads,” not “campaign ads”: The status of that complaint is basically where we left it in my last post on the subject. The APOC staff re-opened the investigation, as the Commissioners tasked them to do in the Adminstrative Order. I know because they contacted me for more information. The new staff report should be out any day now, as I believe the investigation ended the last week of December. However, THAT complaint really isn’t the topic…
More on the Shooting in Arizona **UPDATE**
— As most of you know, this morning, Rep. Gabrielle Giffords of Arizona was shot in the head during a meeting with constituents at a grocery store. The gunman killed at least six people and injured (from what we know at present) at least 13 others with a nine millimeter handgun. These pictures are exclusive to Mudflats and depict the scene at Rep. Giffords’ office in Tucson several hours after the shooting at the Safeway. People began to gather at the office, using it as a place for shared mourning. (A big “thank you” to Jay and Kathy Cross for…
Last-Minute Holiday Gifts That Truly Show You Care
by Linda Kellen Biegel I received a secretive email from a friend of mine yesterday, telling me to search my “spam email filter” because she thinks that’s where a “special gift from Santa” may have ended up. So, I perused through the array of offers in my 97 unread “spam emails” to try and determine which gift Santa was bringing me. As it turns out, my friend gave me probably the coolest Christmas gift I’ve ever recieved. It was an e-gift card for a website called DonorsChoose.org where the card recipients can choose which education project(s) at schools across the…
Commissioners to APOC Staff: Try Again.
Some of you have been following the saga here on Mudflats about my APOC complaint against Alaska House District 5 Representative William Thomas, Jr. (R-Haines) and his re-election campaign. The complaint (plus amendment) deals with 17 ads placed and designed by campaign Deputy Treasurer James Studley and charged to various Haines businesses. My complaint asserts that they should be considered illegal campaign ads in total, either illegal in-kind contributions because some of them were paid for by corporations, or illegal independent expenditures because they were coordinated with Studley as well as others campaign staff. We left the story at the…
Lisa Murkowski: She’s changed, we haven’t.
The Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee (DSCC) released their latest commercial for the benefit of Scott McAdams, describing Lisa Murkowski’s mischaracterization of her political stances: The video is great and the message is spot-on. This gives me the opportunity to talk about a piece of Senator Frank Murkowski’s history where we can see Lisa following in her dad’s footsteps. During the Rachel Maddow Show’s visit to Alaska, Lisa Murkowski discussed the time (back in the 80’s) that the Moral Majority took over the Republican Party (5:20 on the video): What she does NOT discuss is how her father, then Senator Frank…
McAdams Full-Page Ad: “I’m Twice the Man Joe Miller Is…”
As a large girl myself, I’m infuriated but not surprised by the ignorant Conservatives, (or DINOs, or folks with mental health issues) who can find nothing to use against Sitka Mayor and US Senate Candidate Scott McAdams except his size: –ADN “AK-Voices” right-winger, Brian Sweeney forgoes credibility in lieu of insulting size-references to Mayor McAdams in at least two of his “articles.” (I have no doubt his sneering commentary is a throwback to some kind of High School trauma involving a football player and his head in a swirling toilet.) –Facebook fans obsessed with Lisa or Joe have become desperate now that…
APOC Complaint Against Rep. Bill Thomas Campaign (R-Haines)–The response(s).
Back on October 13th, I posted about the APOC Complaint I had filed against the re-election campaign of Representative Bill Thomas, Jr. (above, on the left, with Sen. Al Kookesh, who appears in several of the ads.) The complaint is in response to a newspaper advertising campaign consisting of 12 ads which ran in the Chilkat Valley News during the weeks leading up to the primary election: …Upon further research, it was impossible to determine exactly what category of legal contributions these ads were attempting to fit, if any: James Studley was the one who coordinated the entire ad buy….
Making History: Murkowski Candidacy Unites the AK Democratic Party & the GOP
Monday morning, I received an email press release that the Alaska Democratic Party was announcing that they would be joining the AK GOP in a lawsuit against the State of Alaska Division of Elections. The suit alleges that the Division of Elections is violating its own regulations (specifically 6 AAC 25.070(b)) by allowing voters to look at a list of write-in candidates with their names and political party affiliations: The DOE’s unprecedented listing and posting of Murkowski’s name violates Alaska law. The ADP filed the lawsuit seeking to prevent the State from illegally providing information about write-in candidates, to ensure that…
Election 2010: There’s Only One Road to Transparency in Alaska…
In June of 2009 I embarked on an idealistic journey. Thanks to many Alaskans and folks across the country, I was able to raise enough money so that the State of Alaska would release the Records Request they had been sitting on for months. When the emails arrived and the only “good stuff” was redacted or witheld due to bogus-sounding claims of “privilege,” I was not worried. I was sure that as soon as the email lawsuits brought by Andree McLeod and Don Mitchell against Palin were resolved (in McLeod/Mitchell’s favor…no one thought otherwise), I would then be able…