Monthly Archives: April 2014

The budget under Alaska’s ‘fiscally conservative’ Legislature

From Brad Keithley’s column:

The budget for FY 2014 — the first with the new Senate Majority — provided for$7.3 billion in spending (admitted lower than the previous year yet still the second highest in Alaska’s history), but against projected revenues which are now estimated to total only $5.3 billion, resulting in a deficit of roughly $2 billion, or more than double the level incurred by the previous “spendthrift” legislature that some current legislators ran against. And this year, unless something dramatic happens in the last, few remaining days of the session, the current legislature is likely to pass a FY 2015 budget providing for somewhere in the range of $6.5 billion in spending, against a current revenue forecast of $4.5 billion, again resulting in a deficit of roughly another $2 billion, and that’s assuming oil prices stay at or near $105/barrel, something the market currently is betting against.

Women in Begich’s office make 82 cents for every dollar a man makes

U.S. Sen. Mark Begich has been touting his support for the “Paycheck Fairness Act,” a bill blocked by Senate Republicans on Wednesday that would mandate that women get paid as much as men for the same work. However, a chart put together by the National Republican Senatorial Committee shows that Begich, who gets a set amount and decides how much each employee is paid out of it, might want to look at the disparity between the salaries of men and women in his own office.

The NRSC calculated the average pay for men and women in Begich’s office for the most recent six month period. Because some employees only worked a portion of the six month period, it calculated how much each person was paid per day. If found that the average daily pay for men on Begich’s staff is $201.64. The average daily pay for women is $165.00.

According to NRSC calculations, women in Begich’s office make 82 cents for every dollar that a man makes.

Begich has twice as many female workers as he does male workers, which likely skews the numbers. Also, his two highest paid staff are men. His chief of staff makes $411 a day and his legislative director makes $304 a day. But it appears that there’s disparity in pay for some of the jobs with the same titles. For instance, Begich has three female field reps, the highest paid making $153 a day. His sole male field rep makes $156.00 a day.

Max Croes, a spokesperson for Begich’s campaign, declined comment.

The NRSC also detailed the pay disparity in offices of other red-state Democratic senators, and found the following:

Mark Udall pays women 85 cents for every dollar that a man makes.
Mary Landrieu pays women 88 cents for every dollar that a man makes.
Mark Warner pays women 75 cents for every dollar that a man makes.
Gary Peters pays women 67 cents for every dollar that a man makes.

There are all sorts of reasons why a woman might make less than a man, including experience. Indeed, according to McClatchy newspapers, a pay disparity exists even in the White House, where overall, women make 91 cents for every dollar men make.

Contact Amanda Coyne at amandamcoyne@yahoo.com

GCI to sponsor Great Alaska Shootout

From the ADN:

The Great Alaska Shootout has a new title sponsor, one that hopes for a return to the glory days when top-ranked college basketball teams and huge crowds filled Sullivan Arena. GCI and UAA have entered into a multiyear deal that makes GCI the primary sponsor of the Thanksgiving-week college basketball tournament held every year since 1978.

The Shootout brings in college basketball teams each year from all across the country to compete. It’s an annual budget of $700,000 to $750,000. GCI will help with the cash and will promote it heavily in its 40 retail stores across the state, and likely on its cable network.

And unlike in the past, UAA doesn’t plan on asking the state for money, which should make Brad Keithley happy.

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Rumors of lobbying for minimum wage bill spurs AFL-CIO president into action

Below is an impassioned letter that AFL-CIO President Vince Beltrami sent to all 40 members of the Alaska state House about rumors of lobbying efforts to pass HB 384, a minimum wage increase, and urging a no vote on the bill. Beltrami said that he never thought he’d write a letter opposing wage increases, but he’s doing so because the bill in the Legislature being debated to increase those wages is a ruse and an “assault on our democratic process.”

An initiative increasing minimum wage is slated to appear on the ballot in August, along with a repeal of an oil tax bill that was passed last legislative session. The thinking is that those who support the oil tax reform and don’t want it repealed also don’t want the two issues to be on the same ballot. The minimum wage initiative has broad support, particularly among those who might be inclined to vote for repealing the tax bill. And it will likely draw those voters to the polls. However, if the Legislature passes a bill that’s substantially similar, it would take it off the ballot. Then, the thinking is, the Legislature can then come back and gut it, as it did in 2002-2003 in a similar maneuver.

Beltrami said that he heard that representatives of the oil and gas industry were lobbying for the bill, and that such lobbying efforts came as a “shock” to him that industry was trying to “toy with what should be a sacred election process and help them rig the game against Alaska’s voting public.”

The letter appears to have originated from a conversation on Monday in the halls of the Capitol Building between lobbyists and Doug Smith, president of the oil field services company Little Red Services, and Rebecca Logan, the manager of the Alaska Support Industry Alliance, a pro-oil industry group. In an interview, Smith said that he was discussing his support generally for raising the minimum wage, but he was there to give a presentation to the Senate Finance Committee, not to lobby for the bill.

Likewise, Logan said that she was “absolutely not” lobbying for the bill and that the Alliance has stayed neutral.

The Alaska Oil and Gas Association, which represents many energy companies in the state, has also remained neutral.

Political maneuvering aside, Smith said that because of the broad public support for the issue, and because we elect lawmakers to mirror the public’s view, he thinks that the bill belongs in the Legislature.

If the Legislature isn’t willing to vote fairly on the issue, then “maybe have the wrong legislators,” he said.

The bill is currently being debated in the House.

Here’s Beltrami’s letter in full:

I am writing to you to address a concern I’ve heard from some well-intentioned House members. Right up front I have to say I’ve never had to write a letter like this in my life. I suppose sometimes extreme actions draw extreme reactions.

As you are all too well aware, HB 384 is up for consideration in the House. The Alaska AFL-CIO and hundreds of Alaskans were heavily involved in gathering signatures for Ballot Initiative #3 so that Alaskans can exercise their right to vote to bring the minimum wage back up to where it belonged, as it would currently be $9.53 an hour had the Legislature not acted in bad faith in 2002-2003.

HB 384 is an obvious attempt to circumvent the election and undermine the ability of Alaska voters to vote on it at the ballot box.

Recently, much has been in the news about what happened with this identical issue in 2002-2003, when the Legislature kept the ballot initiative off the ballot by passing their own bill, and came back the next year and gutted it, in an act of utter cynicism and disrespect to Alaska voters.

It is a well founded and justifiable fear the Legislature would do the same thing again, given the opportunity. Another suspected motive for keeping it off the ballot is that backers of last year’s oil rewrite (SB21) don’t want the minimum wage initiative on the same ballot as the referendum on SB21, fearing those who would come out to vote for a minimum wage increase would also vote to repeal SB21. But at best it’s been a whisper campaign.

So it came as somewhat of a shock to hear that a couple representatives of the oil and gas industry were down in Juneau lobbying for the minimum wage bill, HB384, and specifically saying that the reason is because they do not want it on the ballot with the SB21 referendum.

This is an assault on our democratic process. Folks who advocate for the richest industry on the planet, that gained even greater wealth from the Legislature through significant tax relief last year, are back again to convince you to toy with what should be a sacred election process and help them rig the game against Alaska’s voting public. To my knowledge industry has never advocated for increased wages for low-wage workers in the history of the United States. This is brazen. They are, in no uncertain terms, asking you to clear the deck and silence any opposition to them, and to abuse the legislative process to do so.

So here is the part I referred to in my opening paragraph. The Alaska AFL-CIO is the largest labor organization and biggest advocate on the rights of workers in this state. We do not make a profit or answer to shareholders or corporate board members. We answer to our worker members only, and we advocate for all workers whether they belong to a union or not. We are advocating a NO vote on increasing the minimum wage in this legislature, in this year. I never thought I would ever say those words. But the legislature’s record, and now murmurs of industry advocacy, as well as the rights of people to vote to determine their own destinies all seem crystal clear in this moment.

If you vote NO on HB 384 you will be making the vote supported by the voices of working people and thereby allowing Alaskans to exercise their right and vote on the subject at the ballot box as they petitioned their government to do with more than 43,000 signatures.

I have heard it said by some legislators that they don’t know how they can vote against an increase in the minimum wage when they support such a raise. It is a reasonable question, and I feel compelled to explain what we think our position means.

We, as an organization, will recognize positively those who vote NO on HB 384 as legislators who truly supported an increase to the minimum wage, who didn’t support passing legislation just to keep it off the ballot, and who respected the rights of voters to make the choice on whether to increase the minimum wage or not.

Please respect the ballot initiative process. Let Alaska voters decide this issue. Please vote NO on HB 384.

Contact Amanda Coyne at amandamcoyne@yahoo.com

Tweet of the day: Wishing them the best

State suspends grant money that includes funding for tennis courts

Scott Ruby, a director at the Department of Commerce, sent a letter to Anchorage Mayor Dan Sullivan telling him that disbursements for the $37 million grant which includes funding for Anchorage tennis courts has been suspended pending “resolution” of issues surrounding the grant: namely the use of the grant money to build new tennis courts.

Ruby wrote that the department is “taking this action in response to a legal concern raised by the Legislature’s Legal Services Division.” Ruby said that the action was “unfortunate,” and he hoped for a speedy resolution.

Alaska state Sen. Lesil McGuire alerted the division to the legal services opinion in a letter she wrote to the department and to Gov. Sean Parnell.

Last year lawmakers added the funding for the courts to a larger package in the state capital budget earmarked, “Project 80s Deferred and Critical Maintenance.” The money was originally intended to support renovations to aging facilities like the Dempsey-Anderson Arena, Sullivan Arena and the Ben Boeke Ice Arena.

Sullivan and Rep. Lindsey Holmes pushed for the tennis court money to be part of the appropriation, a push that has since captured the public’s attention and has turned into a symbol of murky government process.

Hilary Martin, the legislative lawyer Ruby is referring to, wrote on April 2 that the law says that a condition of a grant is that the grantee will “spend the grant for the purposes specified in the appropriation or allocation.” New tennis courts “would not likely fit with the purpose of the appropriation,” Martin wrote. Nor would they fit the definition of deferred and critical maintenance of buildings built in the 1980s, she said.

McGuire is running against Sullivan in the lieutenant governor’s race. She recently asked the Senate Finance Committee to re-appropriate the tennis court money and put it into the library instead.

The Committee voted against doing do.

McGuire denies that she’s pushing the issue for her campaign, and welcomes a rewrite of the grant to fit the stated purposes. One of her main goals, she said, is for the public to be aware of the fact that the Legislature didn’t authorize tennis courts when they allocated the money.

“This is precedent setting,” McGuire said. “When you’re asking for public money, you should be clear what you’re asking for.”

Contact Amanda Coyne at amandamcoyne@yahoo.com

Begich raises $1.05 million in first quarter of year

Sen. Mark Begich announced that he raised more than $1.05 million in the first quarter of 2014, leaving him with more than $2.818 million cash on hand. It was one of his biggest ~~his biggest~~ fundraising hauls ever. From his press release:

“Mark Begich is proud to have the support of Alaskans who know his record of successfully fighting to keep the F-16’s in Fairbanks and fighting to drill in the National Petroleum Reserve, the false attack ads from Outside groups supporting Mark’s opponents can’t change that,” said Max Croes, Alaskans for Begich Communications Director.

More than 1,500 Alaskans donated to Begich.

The GOP candidates for his seat – Mead Treadwell, Dan Sullivan, and Joe Miller — have yet to release fundraising totals. However, people have told me Sullivan will out-raise Begich in the quarter.

Loose Lips: The Tuesday morning odds and ends edition

The joint session of the Legislature to confirm executive appointments was originally scheduled for this week; however, it has now been delayed, without explanation, until April 18th. It’s said that the delay is to give House Speaker Mike Chenault time to pass his legislation that would allow Richard Rabinow to serve on the Alaska Gas Development Corp. even though he is from Texas and not a resident of Alaska.
Republican Senate hopeful Mead Treadwell is traveling east this week looking for campaign cash. Rumor has it that he’s traveling to his home state of Connecticut and then to Massachusetts where he’s holding fund raising events.
While Dan Sullivan, also a Republican Senate hopeful, has done his share of fund raising in the Lower 48, this week he’s running around Alaska with plans to attend the Alaska Miners Conference in Fairbanks on Wednesday, Arctic Man on Thursday and then will be the feature speaker on Saturday at the Sitka Republican Women’s Lincoln Day Dinner.
Sen. Mark Begich’s office wants you to know that the White House will send congratulatory cards to high school and college graduates. If you’re interested in having your favorite graduate receive one, please provide your name, address and date of graduation along with the name of the high school or college. Information should be forwarded to leslie_ridle@begich.senate.gov.
The kickoff for “Alaska Natives for Begich” is on April 12 at CIRI’s corporate headquarters. Pamyua will be providing the entertainment.
Spring has sprung and Bill Walker for Governor signs are sprouting up in my neighborhood and folks tell me there are a fair number of 4 x 8 signs up the Parks Highway. These are the only gubernatorial campaign signs I’ve seen this election cycle so far.
The group “We are Alaska,” formed by Rebecca Logan from the Alaska Support Industry Alliance, filed with APOC on Monday. Here’s the description of the group: “We Are Alaska intends to promote responsible development of Alaska’s oil, gas and mining resources by providing the public with relevant information regarding referendums, initiatives and candidates for state office.” The filing says that it’s a “Ballot Proposition Group.” The group was active in the 2012 state races. Much of the money it raised, about $100,000 of it, went to PS Strategies, a firm owned by talk show host Dave Stieren and Mary Ann Pruitt, wife of Alaska state Majority Leader Lance Pruitt.

Begich goes after Sullivan for Club for Growth endorsement

On the heels of a Politico story about the Club for Growth, Sen. Mark Begich’s reelection campaign is once again questioning the fiscally conservative group’s March endorsement of GOP candidate Dan Sullivan. The endorsement is coveted by many Republican candidates, not the least because it come with lots of money.

“Sullivan hasn’t shared any details with Alaskans about how he acquired the endorsement or how much cash it will produce, but he is ‘honored’ to have the nod from a group that aims to privatize Social Security and voucherize Medicare,” Begich spokesman Max Croes wrote in a release.

The Politico story details the powerful group’s endorsement process, which one candidate who received the endorsement described as “baptism by fire,” and others who didn’t get the endorsement in less polite terms.

Sullivan’s spokesman Mike Anderson said that Sullivan had an interview with the Club prior to the endorsement, but he didn’t know what was talked about and Sullivan wasn’t immediately available to comment. “I wasn’t in the room, but I’m sure Dan said he would open ANWR, get a road from King Cove to Cold Bay, fully develop the NPR-A, grow the economy and repeal ObamaCare,” Anderson said.

Many groups endorse, and an interview process often is involved. According to the article, however, getting the Club for Growth’s endorsement is particularly arduous and appears to demand that its candidates be ideologically pure by committing to low taxes, and reducing the kind of federal spending on which Alaska depends.The Club for Growth endorsed Joe Miller over Lisa Murkowski in 2010. It also picked Sean Parnell over Rep. Don Young in 2008, when Young called the group “one of the most extreme groups in Washington D.C.”

Contact Amanda Coyne at amandamcoyne@yahoo.com

Single women could decide the makeup of U.S. Senate

A Washington D.C. nonprofit teamed up with pollster Celinda Lake, who is also Sen. Mark Begich’s pollster, to study voter behavior in Alaska. A report released Monday suggests that Alaska’s unmarried women, people of color and voters aged 18-29 could determine who wins the U.S. Senate race in Alaska. However, these voters are less likely than others to vote, and it’s going to take work to get them to the polls in November.

According to the Voter Participation Center, about 23,000 of these voters could stay home this election year, as compared to 2012. The total voting block, combined with other Alaskans who are likely to stay home, could be as many as 25,000 votes in the 2014 election. Given Alaska’s history of close elections, this could easily be the voting block that could decide the race.

According to the Washington Post, the national Democrats are paying particular close attention to unmarried women who are eligible to vote, a pool that’s increased by 19 percent since 2000. By contrast, the pool of married women only grew 7 percent during that time. The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee is building a national computer model to find and hopefully sway single women.

Neither the Alaska Democratic Party nor the Begich campaign knew about a similar effort by any Democratic group in Alaska. However, Begich has been busy reaching out to both women and minority voters in the state.

“Women for Begich” groups across the state have been meeting. Begich is the only pro-choice candidate running for Senate. The three Republican challengers, Dan Sullivan, Mead Treadwell, and Joe Miller have all claimed the pro-life mantle. And all three of them have said at one time or the other that the abortion issue would factor into a decision to confirm a candidate for the U.S. Supreme Court.

Too, in a radio interview with conservative talk show host Glen Biegel, Sullivan appears to support allowing corporations to decide if they will provide contraceptives as part of their health care policies, characterizing a mandate to do so under the Affordable Care Act as an “attack on religious liberty.” That mandate is currently being challenged in the Supreme Court.

Begich has also been reaching out to minority groups in Alaska. Last weekend alone, he met with groups from the Chinese, Hmong, Hispanic, Filipino, Korean, Polynesian, and Cambodian communities.

Contact Amanda Coyne at amandamcoyne@yahoo.com

Parnell administration files notice of intent to sue over King Cove to Cold Bay road

The State of Alaska informed the federal government that it intends to sue over access to a potentially life-saving road between King Cove and Cold Bay, villages in Alaska’s Aleutian Chain. Until now, the road has been a federal, rather than state issue.

In December, the Secretary of the Interior Sally Jewell denied the road, 11 miles of which would cut through the Izembek National Wildlife Refuge. All three members of Alaska’s congressional delegation cried foul. Sen. Lisa Murkowski has been fighting the most diligently to allow residents to build the road. Environmentalists have been pushing back.

Cold Bay has an all-weather airport. King Cove does not. When residents need to be evacuated to Anchorage or Outside for medical care, the Coast Guard sends a helicopter, which is often dangerous and costly. Already this year there have been five such evacuations. According to Murkowski’s office, each Coast Guard transport costs as much as $210,000.

Read background here and here. Here’s the full press release from the governor’s office:

Governor Sean Parnell today announced that the State of Alaska has filed a notice of intent to sue the federal government over access through the Izembek National Wildlife Refuge, based on a historic right of way. A strong advocate for the life-saving road between King Cove and Cold Bay, the governor has called the Department of the Interior’s failure to approve a road that would provide emergency medical access for residents of King Cove “unconscionable.”

“In just the last several weeks, serious health-related evacuations have shown just how critical a road for medical evacuations is for residents,” Governor Parnell said. “The State continues to explore all potential avenues to help the people of King Cove. The notice of intent to sue relates to one option the State is evaluating, but the fastest and surest way to provide emergency medical access for King Cove residents is for Secretary Jewell to reconsider her decision placing the possible temporary disturbance of birds above the health and safety of Alaskans. The State will pursue all options to help Alaska residents.”

The notice is required to be submitted at least 180 days prior to the State being allowed to bring suit against the federal government asserting a right of way based on historic use under Revised Statute 2477, a section of the Mining Act of 1866. A copy of the notice is available at:
http://gov.alaska.gov/parnell_media/resources_files/jewell_040714.pdf

Contact Amanda Coyne at amandamcoyne@yahoo.com

State Ferry Workers Fail To Reach Agreement With State

By statute, union agreements with monetary terms are due to the legislature by the 60th day (March 21) of session. To date, three unions representing the state’s ferry workers have failed to come to terms with the state: Master, Mates and Pilots; Marine Engineers Beneficial Association; and the Inland Boatman Union.

This impasse, in essence, guarantees the first year of a new contract will have a zero percent increase. Some in the know are saying that the parties are as much as 10 – 15 percent apart in terms of wages being requested.
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Alaska could use a brain scan machine to search for political courage

This is being written from San Diego, where I’m attending the American Association of Political Consultants annual meeting and awards ceremony. Let me say up front that I have no intention of ever becoming a political consultant. And though I knew they were around, and I’ve even met a few, including Art Hackney, who’s the president of the association, I didn’t know they existed in quite this number and that their jobs were so, well, complicated.

One academic here is even working on brain-scanning models to predict political behavior. If that doesn’t work, there’s always gerrymandering.

Even the most jaded consultants at the gathering may have been impressed with Mayor Dan Sullivan’s spin on why conservative darling Assemblyman Adam Trombley appears to have lost to union darling Pete Petersen.

According to Sullivan, Trombley lost because he wasn’t hard enough on the unions. Tell that to others who have tried being hard on them.

But it’s not over till it’s over. We’ll know next week when write-in votes are counted. Supposedly, Randy Ruedrich, the once and always chairman of the Republican Party, remains optimistic about the absentees. After all, the Republican National Committee actually sent the elusive operative Michael Shirley to Alaska to help get out the vote in East Anchorage. Or that’s what they say. Supposedly he’s been here since October.

But I’ve never laid eyes on him, nor do I know anybody who has.

It’s kind of like that mysterious group of diverse kids supposedly representing “family values,” who the other Dan Sullivan, the former DNR commissioner running for the U.S. Senate, is using on his website. Jeannie Devon from the blog Mudflats has written extensively about this.

We don’t know where the kids are from, but the photographer is from Thailand. That nice group of diverse-looking medical professionals? Alaskans? Nope.

Doesn’t Sullivan already have a political problem in Alaska with authenticity? It might seem like a small thing, but had he ever run for anything before, ever, he might know that it’s the little things that get you, as any political consultant at the conference would attest. One of the recipients of an award at the gathering, Joe Slade White, is credited for helping get the first white mayor of Detroit elected in more than 40 years over a parking space.

(Interesting factoid: White won the first-ever AAPC award in 1983 for an ad he made for former Gov. Bill Sheffield fishing with Sen. Mark Begich’s nephew.)

If GOP challenger Mead Treadwell doesn’t nail him for it, then Joe Miller, who’s rumored to be officially announcing his campaign this month, will.

Back to Mayor Dan and the little things: The issue of the tennis courts is not going away if Sen. Lesil McGuire has anything to say about it. McGuire, who’s running against Sullivan in the lite gov race, shaping up to be the liveliest of the political season, is asking the Senate Finance Committee to reappropriate money slated for the courts to Loussac Library. Considering that the money was meant for buildings built in the 1980s, that’s probably where it belongs. So says me and a legislative lawyer.

It would be up to one of the Anchorage senators on the Finance Committee to make it happen. Don’t hold your breath. Our current crop of lawmakers isn’t setting records for profiles in courage.

If there was a brain scan to predict cowardice among politicians in Juneau, Judy Eledge, queen of the Anchorage Republican Women’s Club, would have the results. Eledge, who’s never been accused of anything resembling cowardice (or holding her breath, for that matter), was spotted in Juneau last week pacing the halls, muttering about education, legislators and baseball bats.

And speaking of cowardice, to say nothing of stupid political moves: Which member of, or staff to, the “majority” phoned in an anonymous tip to the Alaska Public Offices Commission about Anchorage resident Alison Arians not registering as a “lobbyist.”

Arians, a mother and a small-businesswoman, has been spending time in Juneau trying to get more money for schools. She and a group of other mothers are paying for it out of their own pockets, pooling Alaska Airline miles and double-bunking in rented rooms. She shut down her bakery. She’s a private citizen petitioning her government, and that government responded by trying to discourage her from exercising that right.

The call from APOC “freaked me out,” she said, but now she’s even more committed to the cause.

Gov. Sean Parnell might even use the word “immoral” to describe it, as he did when he talked to AP reporter Becky Bohrer about what House Finance is doing to the teacher pension plan.

That was strong brew coming from Parnell. Or, as Hollis French might say, c’est incroyable! Finally, he’s going to fight for something other than giving money away to corporations and to pet projects! Maybe he’s even hired a consultant!

But then I heard that he visited the House Majority Caucus, apologized and took it back.

Finally: Political cowardice is not partisan and can come in all forms, including risking hurting the state for political gain, as many Dems appear to be doing with the nomination of Richard Rabinow to the Alaska Gasline Development Corp. The rub with the Dems, even though he’s the most qualified member of the board, is that he’s not an Alaskan.

Notice they’re not questioning the nomination of former Alaska state Sen. Drue Pearce to the board. She might be an Alaskan, but she’s also an energy lobbyist for D.C. firm Crowell & Moring. Clients including a whole slate of oil and gas companies, Exxon and BP, among them.

No brain scan required to figure out why she, who was once a member of the club, gets a pass.

***

This piece was originally published in the Anchorage Daily News.

Contact Amanda Coyne at amandamcoyne@yahoo.com

Loose Lips: Sunday after skits edition

Loose Lips

Birthdays: Democrats are singing Happy Birthday today to their gubernatorial candidate Byron Mallott. He was born three score, one decade and a year ago. In other words, he’s a very young 71. Today is also the birthday of former legislator Jay Kerttula. He is the only Alaska legislator who has served as both the Speaker of the House and as President of the Senate. He’s celebrating his 86th birthday.
Days until the general election: 212.
Sen. Mark Begich had a fundraising brunch this morning at the home of Frank and Deena Mitchell on Westchester Circle in Anchorage. One of the co-hosts, former Begich staffer and now at BP, Julie Hasquet, appears to have skipped the event for the sun of LA. She was spotted yesterday at a Dodgers game eating ballpark Dodger dogs.
Deputy Commissioner of Commerce, JoEllen Hanrahan, has announced her retirement effective May 1st. This will be the second time this position has been open in the past 6 months.
Mary Streett joins BP as Vice President and Head of U.S. Government Affairs. In that role, Streett will oversee federal, state and local government relations, and will likely make a few trips to Alaska. Streett also worked in the Clinton Administration at the White House and the U.S. Department of Commerce.
Last night was the annual legislative skits, the staffer-produced roast of all things worth roasting in the state capital. Number one victim? Rep. Lora Reinbold and her comment last session about students grinding on dance floors. Or something. Word is, however, she was a good sport. Best party treats? Fred Dyson condoms and Pete Kelly pee sticks, which were on every table. I’m told that all in all, it was a relatively mild skits, but that might have had to do with the fact that staffers for Senate leadership were told they couldn’t partake.
The real drama supposedly happened after the skits, when the beer flowed and a certain legislator began crying over romance going wrong. Take your best guess.
The Republican National Committee is opening a field office to help elect Republicans in the Mat-Su Valley. The office will be manned by political operative Paul Cason who will serve as the RNC Mat-Su Field Director. There will be an open house in the new offices located in the Regan Building in Wasilla on April 12th from 10:00 am – 4:00 pm.
A political committee supporting Ballot Measure #1, Vote Yes! Repeal the Giveaway, was filed with APOC on April 2nd. Former senator Vic Fischer is the Chair and Roselyn Cacy will be the Treasurer. The filing also shows that Rep. Scott Kawasaki, Sean McGuire, David Matheny and Patrick Levin will serve as deputy treasurers.
What I’m looking into this week: SB 211 – HB 317: A mouthful of a bill: “ An Act providing for the Department of Transportation and Public Facilities to hold the surface estate of certain state land; relating to the transfer of certain state land and materials; relating to the lease, sale, or disposal by the Department of Transportation and Public Facilities of rights-of-way, property interests, or improvements; relating to the grant of certain easements over submerged state land to the federal government; relating to the conveyance of land for right-of-way purposes from the Alaska Railroad Corporation to the Department of Transportation and Public Facilities; and providing for an effective date.” What does it do? Lots. From a citizen’s letter: (The bill) creates a new and unprecedented approach for determining land ownership and management in Alaska.

Contact Amanda Coyne at amandamcoyne@yahoo.com

Mayor Dan defends tennis court appropriation

Give Anchorage Mayor Dan Sullivan credit for responding to stories about his administration. Below is his response to the Friday story on this site about Sen. Lesil McGuire’s attempt to re-appropriate money slated for Anchorage tennis courts:

The indoor public courts were requested by the Alaska Tennis Association so that all kids could have an opportunity to play the lifetime sport of tennis without having to be rich enough to afford the Alaska Club. All the high schools will use the facility for their regular season and regional tournament, as well as teams from around the state for the state competitions. The need became essential with the pending sale of the Alaska Club North, which has 5 of the 9 private indoor courts in town.

The first location considered was in south Anchorage (in Lesil’s district) but because of poor soils the current site was proposed. It does not matter to me where the location is, because I will continue to be a member of the Alaska Club, as I have been for nearly thirty years, because there is a wider variety of exercise options and amenities.

As for investing in our public facilities before building new ones, my administration has invested over $650 million in our parks, trails, public facilities, etc., over the past five years, the largest amount ever invested in our public infrastructure in Anchorage history.