Category Archives: news

U.S. Senate candidate Kathleen Tonn sings in tongues in steam room

Republican U.S. Senate candidate Kathleen Tonn posted a rather unusual video on her Facebook page. The video shows Tonn, fully clothed in the steam room at the Alaska Club, singing in tongues in an attempt to convert another woman named Suzie, who is also in the steam room and “doesn’t know Jesus Christ.” In the video, Tonn says that “speaking in tongues or singing in tongues is very valuable because the message can’t be heard by Satan.”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e7en1A9x0EM#t=106

Tonn is a pro-life candidate. Her candidacy has received little attention so far compared to the three other frontrunners running in the Republican primary—Joe Miller, Dan Sullivan, and Mead Treadwell. That might change after the video gets around.

The gift of tongues is a considered by those who have the gift—including this writer’s mother– to be highly sacred and it is considered forbidden to be used as publicity. It’s unclear whether the video had any effect on Suzie, who appears briefly at the end, clad in a towel. “That was beautiful,” Suzie says.

Contact Amanda Coyne at amandamcoyne@yahoo.com

McGuire airing first radio ad in lieutenant governor’s race

Alaska state Sen. Lesil McGuire is airing her first radio ad—a $5000 buy—in her quest to be lieutenant governor. McGuire is running against Anchorage Mayor Dan Sullivan in the Republican primary, who, to my knowledge, has not yet begun running ads. While Sullivan will likely go after the more conservative primary voter, McGuire is positioning herself as a listener, a “visionary” and a “consensus builder,” one who would appeal to audiences tired of leaders displaying “too much arrogance and disregard for what matters.” Click on the hyperlink to listen to the spot.

Shocker Utah gay marriage poll

According to a Salt Lake Tribune Poll, Utah, the ruby-red state, is equally split on gay marriage: 48 to 48 percent. About 65 percent of those polled who identified themselves as Mormons were not in favor of gay marriage. However, nearly three-fourths, or 72 percent of residents said same-sex couples should be allowed to form civil unions or domestic partnerships, a view that was shared by 65 percent of Mormons. No word of any poll taken recently in Alaska on gay marriage.

Loose lips: Harmony for Veep. Miller’s peeps prep. Fleener likes apples? And more.

Alaska Young Republicans have elected new officers. Ryan McKee, formerly a staffer for Rep. Bill Stoltze and now a campaign operative for Stampede Consulting, was elected president. Harmony Shields, the once relatively reserved and modest staffer for Rep. Gabrielle LeDoux, now dons a Superwoman cape and was elected vice president.

Johnny Appleseed in Alaska? While most politicians tend to do all sorts of things to increase their name recognition, Craig Fleener, who has joined Bill Walker’s independent gubernatorial bid as his running mate, is doing things differently. He does have an official campaign Facebook page, but on his personal page, he uses the name “Johnny Appleseed.” Perhaps when he’s not campaigning, Fleener wanders the country dressed in rags, preaching the bible and handing out apples? Or maybe the resemblance lies in the voice? Appleseed’s was once described as “thrillin—strong and loud as the roar of wind and waves, then soft and soothing as the balmy airs that quivered the morning-glory leaves about his gray beard.” In any case, Fleener has to work on the beard part.

According to The Hill, former Alaskan Pete Rouse who has served in the White House as one of President Obama’s top advisers, is leaving the White House and is slated to join the D.C. law firm of Perkins Coie, which was Anchorage resident Brad Keithley’s former law firm.

Speaking of Brad Keithley: The buzz about him running for governor seems to have passed. At least I’m not hearing as much about it. If he does give it a shot, however, word is that the Libertarians would be open to having him on their ticket. Word also is that they would not be opposed to having Joe Miller on the ticket if he doesn’t win the Republican primary. Those who are working on his campaign, however, absolutely believe that it won’t come down to that.

Speaking of Joe Miller supporters: true believers in the Valley, including those who now and formerly belonged to the Conservative Patriots Group, are getting organized for a rare Sen. Mark Begich showing. Begich will be visiting the Matsu Senior Center in Palmer on Jan. 22 at ~~12 p.m~~ 11:45 a.m. An email sent by one of the true believers to the others said, ”Oh yeah, let’s pack the place.” As one writer put it when describing George Wallace’s swell, “the galoots are loose.” At the senior center, no less.

Today, Jan. 16, is Rep. Lynn Gattis’ birthday. She was born in 1957 and turns 57, which likely means something significant in astrological circles. I tried getting in touch with my Auntie Starla to ask her, but she was likely busy stirring a cauldron somewhere. So I went on line, where I found this description of Gattis: “You are playful yet ambitious. While security is extremely important to you, so is personal freedom and you have a very determined, self-centered streak. Your year will start out with others who are also self-centered, and you will fight with them sometimes, but because you go for the guts instead of the hair, you will always win. You will also win because when you have such fights, you do not go crying to Mike Chenault, who can’t stand when others do.”

Mysterious disappearance of the day: What happened to the not-so-nice comments that AFL-CIO leader Vince Beltrami left on Mayor Dan’s personal Facebook page?

UPDATE: Mystery solved: The posts were on Vince Beltrami’s page!

Contact Amanda Coyne at amandamcoyne@yahoo.com

Letter from Egan administration demanding contributions shows changing views

By all accounts, Gov. Bill Egan was a fine public servant. Among other things, the first governor of the State of Alaska ushered in Alaska’s entry into statehood, the Prudhoe Bay discovery, and was the steady when the state was violently shaken in the 1964 earthquake. His reputation is stellar.

Times were different then. It was pre-Watergate, and the country wasn’t watching over its public officials with such cynical eyes. A 1966 letter circulating around various circles exemplifies that change. (Click on the image above to blow up). The letter is from Dale G. Williams, the deputy commissioner of Revenue, basically demanding a campaign contribution for Egan’s campaign from one of his departmental employees.

The letter says that all governor appointees have been “assessed approximately 2% of annual gross salary.” John Daugherty’s contribution was to be $250, payable in full.

“In the event that you cannot pay in full a check for not less than one-half should be forwarded to my attention prior to August 1, the balance by September 1,” the letter, written on state stationary, says.

A similar letter written today would be viewed as a serious criminal and ethical breach.

Not only does the letter show how far the public’s attitudes about campaign contributions have shifted, it provides a window into the state’s current campaign limits. The $250 assessment would have meant that Daugherty was making about $12,500 a year.

Currently, a division director makes about $100,000. If the same standards were imposed today, that person would be “assessed” a $2000 campaign contribution.

Since 1996, with a brief blip in the mid 2000s, state campaign contributions have been capped at $500 per person per calendar year.

Federal law dictates that the maximum contribution per candidate is $2600 in the primary and another $2600 in the general election.

Federal contribution limits are tied to cost of living increases.

Contact Amanda Coyne at amandamcoyne@yahoo.com

Mayor Dan responds to $214 payback

Below is comment left on this site by Anchorage Mayor Dan Sullivan in response to a story about a trip that he took to D.C., which included a fundraiser for his lieutenant governor’s race. He recently reimbursed the city $214 for the cost of travel to that event, as well as another event in the Kenai:

“Out of an 84 hour trip, 3 hours were spent at the fundraiser in D.C., including travel time to and from the event. Costs are allocated accordingly. This is the appropriate method for calculating personal time on government trips.”

R.I.P Pebble Mine?

The EPA’s final watershed report on the consequences that a large scale mine could have on Bristol Bay was released on Wednesday. As expected from earlier drafts of the report, its analysis is devastating for a project already on its last legs, as well as for other, potential, large-scale mining projects in the area.

Here’s the kicker:

Up to 94 miles of streams would be destroyed in just the build-out phase of the project, including losses of 5-22 miles of streams known to provide salmon spawning and rearing habitat; up to 5,350 acres of wetlands, ponds and lakes also would be lost due to the mine footprint.

That led the EPA to conclude that, “large-scale mining in the Bristol Bay watershed poses significant near- and long-term risk to salmon, wildlife and Native Alaska cultures.”

Mining giant Anglo American, perhaps anticipating this report, pulled out of the Pebble Partnership late last year. Now, that partnership only includes Northern Dynasty, whose stock closed on Wednesday afternoon hovered at about $1.37, down from a 52-week high of $4.14. Northern Dynasty’s sole asset is Pebble.

The proposed mining area was estimated to produce 80.6 billion pounds of copper, 107.4 million ounces of gold and 5.6 billion pounds of molybdenum.

In a statement, U.S. Sen. Mark Begich said that he’s reviewing the report. Begich walked a tightrope on Pebble. On one side was the environmental community, a group that he’s going to need support from in his upcoming reelection race. On the other side was the business community, a group that he couldn’t afford to alienate.

Contact Amanda Coyne at amandamcoyne@yahoo.com

Mayor Dan goes ‘extra mile’ by paying city $214 for fundraisers

The Anchorage Daily News is reporting that Anchorage Mayor Dan Sullivan “has paid the city $214 as reimbursement for time he spent at a pair of political fundraisers while on publicly funded trips.”

In early December, a firm that has a contract to lobby for the city held a fundraiser for Sullivan, who is running for lieutenant governor. Sullivan was in D.C. to meet with the congressional delegation. The fundraiser took place in the evening. Another fundraiser took place in the Kenai, after Sullivan addressed the chamber of commerce.

The fundraisers didn’t violate city code, but Sullivan said that APOC advised him to “go the extra mile.”

According to the ADN, the total costs of the trips are unknown. The airfare and the hotel for Sullivan and two aides to travel to D.C. was $3270, which was paid for by the city. The $214 comes out of a calculation that Sullivan devised based on how much time he spent at the events.

Contact Amanda Coyne at amandamcoyne@yahoo.com

Early Republican Senate race poll released

A recent poll conducted by Ivan Moore, an Anchorage-based political consultant, shows that among Republican Senate candidates, Lt. Gov. Mead Treadwell has 34.1 percent of the vote, former DNR commissioner Dan Sullivan has 28.5 percent and Joe Miller 19.4 percent. About 18 percent were undecided.

The poll was conducted between Dec. 15-22 and sampled 335 voters likely to vote in the 2014 Republican primary race. The respondents are comprised of 55 percent Republican and, 45 percent independents, or those who are registered as nonpartisans. Republican Party rules dictate that registered Democrats can’t vote in the Republican primary.

~~It’s unclear~~ Moore declined to say who paid for the poll, though he has often worked for Democratic candidates and for unions.

It’s a tough race to poll. Dan Sullivan the Senate candidate shares the same name as Anchorage’s mayor Dan Sullivan, who is running for lieutenant governor. In the poll, Moore referred to the Senate candidate as the former DNR commissioner. However, it’s likely that some, if not many, respondents sampled are getting the two confused.

What does appear to be clear, however, is that Joe Miller is doing better than many thought. His numbers don’t look good in Anchorage, but he’s doing well in the Mat-Su, Fairbanks and Kenai, where he was strong when he won the primary against U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski in 2010.

Senate candidate Dan Sullivan announced on Tuesday that he raised $1.25 million in the last quarter, a number that will likely catapult him to frontrunner status. He also has solid Republican credentials. However it’s not always the case that the biggest fundraiser wins races, particularly in primary races where voters tend to be more ideological and partisan.

Moore said that people don’t like Dan Sullivan much yet. “He can push his qualifications as much as he likes, it’s not going to make people like him,” Moore said. “And that’s what voting for someone is really about.”

Contact Amanda Coyne at amandamcoyne@yahoo.com

Senate candidate Dan Sullivan amasses big war chest

U.S. Senate candidate and former DNR commissioner Dan Sullivan announced on Tuesday morning that his campaign has raised just over $1.25 million since mid October, when he got into the Senate race.

That’s an impressive enough haul that it will likely catapult Sullivan from a relative unknown to a frontrunner in the three-way Republican primary race, which includes Lt. Gov. Mead Treadwell and former Senate candidate Joe Miller. Whoever wins that will take on Sen. Mark Begich in the general election.

Treadwell announced his run in June. As of the end of September, he had only raised $327,000.He hasn’t yet released fundraising numbers for the most recent reporting period. Meanwhile, Miller seems more interested in organizing his base than in raising big money. He raised $32,000 through September and had $288,000 cash on hand.

“I am honored and thankful for the support that I have received from Alaskans and people across the country who believe that America’s best days are ahead,” Sullivan said. “This is a clear sign that our message on the need to roll back the President Obama-Harry Reid-Mark Begich agenda is resonating.”

Because official FEC reports aren’t due until Jan. 31, it’s unclear who donated to Sullivan. When they are officially released, the reports will likely be combed over by his opponents, who have at various times accused him of being a consummate D.C. insider and a carpetbagger from Ohio.

Sullivan was born and raised in Ohio. He moved to Alaska in 1997 after getting a Georgetown law degree to clerk for various judges. He left in 2002 to work under President George W. Bush. He returned to the state in 2009 to be Alaska’s attorney general and then the commissioner of the Department of Natural Resources. Sullivan has also served in the Marine Corps since 1993, both on active duty and in the reserves. In July he was called to active duty to work on a counterterrorism mission in Afghanistan.

Contact Amanda Coyne at amandamcoyne@yahoo.com

Murkowski delivers for tribal health centers across the state

On Monday evening, U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski’s office announced that after year-long negotiations with the administration and Congress, the Interior Department’s budget includes full funding for six new tribal health facilities across Alaska and $66.2 million to staff these facilities.

“Murkowski is the top Republican on the Interior Appropriations Subcommittee, and was able to leverage her position to assure the government will fulfill the Nation’s trust responsibility with its first peoples in the delivery of health care,” a press release said.

Murkowski is one of the few Republicans in the Senate who is open to negotiate and to occasionally compromise with her Democratic colleagues and with the Obama administration. Although she gets criticized for doing so, it can also lead to results.

Here’s a list of who got what:

Southcentral Foundation, $11.2
Norton Sound, $8.4M
Tanana Chiefs, $20.1M
Barrow, $12.5M
Copper River, $3.5M
Kenaitze, $10.6M

Contact Amanda Coyne at amandamcoyne@yahoo.com

Weekly roundup: Aloha moderate malarkey flu

It’s still very early in the election season. The sun is still low and coy, objects hidden under the snow haven’t even begun to think of stirring, and most Alaskans haven’t even begun to think about who they’re going to vote for in the upcoming elections.

It feels a lot like Joe Miller time.

I know that many of you common-sense conservatives have written Miller off. But common-sense conservatives have never been accused of being commonly sensitive enough to feel the fury of that small group of primary voters, the ones that Sarah Palin awoke from their long slumber and the ones that are now gathering during these long winter nights to plan for a Miller win, much like they did in the early days of 2010.

Word is that the meetings are happening with increasing frequency, particularly in the Mat-Su Valley, where there’s something in the water which makes everyone feel dispossessed. The meetings are revivalesque, I’m told. In other words: those people vote.

In the meantime, Lt. Gov. Mead Treadwell , who also tries really hard to act like he’s dispossessed, is plugging along, sending out press releases accusing Begich of being soft on energy and not “enthusiastically” supporting Murkowski’s bid to end exports on oil. I say be careful of what you wish for. Any more enthusiasm from Begich and he’ll be knocking at your door, using that soon-to-be-grating, folksy voice to try and convince you that he’s as “independent as Alaska.”

And he’ll keep going until you agree.

Speaking of Begich. How’s this for his new moniker, a la Art Hackney: “Malarkey Mark.” And isn’t it interesting that the national Republicans are bashing him giving a speech in Hawaii rather than being in D.C., voting to extend unemployment benefits? Maybe they’ve been employed for so long that those same Republicans forgot they don’t like the bill?

Besides, in addition to attending fundraisers and giving a speech, Begich likely spent the rest of his waking hours in Hawaii convincing Alaskans that he’s as independent as they are. Indeed, you can’t throw a stone this time of year in Hawaii without hitting an Alaskan. Former Mayor Tom Fink is reportedly there, giving lectures to anyone who will listen on laissez faire economics and school choice. Rep. Les Gara is riding a girl’s 10 speed bike around Oahu. It was the affordable one available, he said.

From each according to his abilities, to each according to his needs.

Speaking of throwing stones, neither of the two Republican candidates running for lieutenant governor showed at the first state-wide candidate forum in Anchorage on Tuesday night. Mayor Dan Sullivan had other plans, so he declined immediately. Sen. Lesil McGuire called in sick right before it started. Malarkey? Who can blame her? I’d be sick too if I were a moderate Republican in that crowd, in this state, where to win statewide office, you have to get at least a handful of those Valley folks to cast their vote for you. Maybe the remedy is in the Valley water.

Anyway, because no Republican showed, the show was left to Democrats Sen. Hollis French and Palmer teacher Bob Williams, and independent Craig Fleener. As expected, Gov. Sean Parnell took a beating.

Sen. Hollis French, as usual, was like, “au contraire Parnell!” He was like, “Oil companies j’en peux plus!”

I don’t know Craig Fleener well enough to poke fun at him. He seems really nice, smart. Besides, he’s a former Marine.

But the line of the night belonged to Bob Williams.

Bob Williams? I hadn’t heard of him either, and yet he has blue eyes and even comes with props! On Tuesday night, there was a red cup, yellow cup and green cup, and some sort of piece of cloth all of which represented something important enough to warrant them. I can’t remember what it was, however. (My dog ate my notes, and then I suddenly came down with the moderate malarkey Republican flu.)

What I do remember, perhaps the only thing I remember, is when Blue Eyes called Parnell a wimp.

That got the requisite, snide, liberal chuckle. But Williams wasn’t done. Because it’s so uncool in school to call anybody a name, he went on to explain what he meant was that Parnell is “Wildly Inaccurate, Misleading, and Partisan.” It doesn’t quite work as an acrostic, but nobody, least of all Parnell, is going to challenge him.

What else is going on out there? Mayor Dan hired his buddy, high school friend and chief-of-staff Dan Kendall to run ML&P. His qualifications for running one of the state’s largest electrical utilities? For 30 years he was a corrosion technician for ENSTAR. For 30 years, he did nothing but drive around in his truck, getting a big union paycheck to check for cronyism. Oops! I mean corrosion.

Whispers of Eagle River Rep. Lora Reinbold, and Valley Rep. Wes Keller organizing what’s being called a “conservative caucus” in the House to push out the moderates. Because, you know, Alaska’s Republican dominated House is so full of moderates. Must be something in the water.

And there’s lots of talk about the good bureaucrats at Revenue and DNR, who could probably use a chug or two of Valley water, trying to untangle the state from the very last vestige of the Palin regime. Next session, the Alaska Gasline Inducement Act, or AGIA, will be likely be a goner, taking its hundreds of millions with it, and one of the countless big dreams of a big natural gasline. Aloha AGIA.

As William’s might put it: “Alaska Gets It in the….Abdomen again.”

Contact Amanda Coyne at amandamcoyne@yahoo.com

Begich skips unemployment benefits vote for Hawaii

As the Hill first reported, Democratic U.S. Sen. Mark Begich skipped a procedural vote on unemployment benefits to give a speech on Wednesday morning to the American Association of Airport Executives. The vote was tight and he was the only Democrat to miss it. Even so, skipping the vote might not have provided fodder to those seeking to unseat him, had not the speech been in Hawaii.

Cue conservative outrage.

According to Begich aides, plans were made for the speech long before the vote was scheduled. While in Hawaii, he attended two fundraisers and met with Hawaiian governor Neil Abercrombie.

Senate candidate Lt. Gov. Mead Treadwell’s campaign sent out the following:

“While Mark Begich was off in Hawaii, raising money for his campaign, the Senate was voting on extending unemployment benefits and considering job creating amendments. But unfortunately for Alaska, Begich was the only democrat to skip that vote and his boss Harry Reid has blocked any amendments that would create jobs. It was reported today that only 62% of adults are participating in the workforce – the lowest number since 1968. It is abundantly clear to everyone but Harry Reid that our country needs more jobs today. Now that Begich is refreshed from his trip to Hawaii, maybe he could leverage all the support he has provided Harry Reid over the last five years to support creating jobs for Alaska.”

Contact Amanda Coyne at amandamcoyne@yahoo.com

Alaska-based super-PAC hits Begich

The Alaska based super-PAC supporting former DNR Commissioner Dan Sullivan for U.S. Senate has released the first of three radio ads attacking Sen. Mark Begich, which will run in Anchorage and the Mat-Su. The super-PAC, Alaska’s Energy/America’s Values, is run by Art Hackney, who has worked on many Republican campaigns throughout the years and who does work for Karl Rove.

In various ways, the three ads, which you can click on below, go after Begich for, among other things, his vote on ObamaCare, his vote to confirm Secretary of the Interior Sally Jewell, and his time serving as mayor of Anchorage. One ad questioning Begich’s self-proclaimed independent streak, dubs him “Malarkey Mark,” a moniker that could very well stick. Another says he’s trying to “duck and hide” over “the biggest jobs issue” facing the state. The ad is referring to SB 21, the oil tax bill break passed last legislative session and facing a repeal initiative, which Democrats in the state generally support.

All of the ads tie Begich to President Obama, which is likely going to be Begich’s biggest vulnerability as he runs for reelection.

In response to his stance on the repeal of SB 21, Begich’s campaign said that “Alaskans will vote and Sen. Begich will respect their decision.”

According to Hackney, Alaska’s Energy/America’s Values is spending $12,000 on radio placement. “This is just the start,” he said. Listen to them by clicking on them here:

Contact Amanda Coyne at amandamcoyne@yahoo.com

Treadwell goes after Begich for lack of enthusiasm to end oil export ban

U.S. Senate candidate Lt. Gov. Mead Treadwell’s campaign has been churning out the press releases in the past few days, most of them attacking Sen. Mark Begich for being both soft on energy and for taking money from the national Democratic Party, which is taking money from former New York City Mayor Mike Bloomberg, who is fighting for stricter gun control.

Both charges are a stretch, but the last one is particularly elastic. Begich was one of a handful of Democratic senators who broke with the party to vote against gun control, incurring the wrath of gun control groups everywhere, including one funded by Bloomberg.

On energy, Treadwell accused Begich of failing to lend his enthusiastic support for Sen. Lisa Murkowski’s fight to end the 1970-era oil export ban.

Murkowski is leading the charge to do away with ban, with the support of the American Petroleum Institute, and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. The ban was issued in 1975, following the Arab oil embargo, and was meant to protect American consumers from an unstable market and widely vacillating gasoline prices.

It does not apply to all oil produced in Alaska. However, demand has been high enough that no Alaska oil has been exported since 2004, according to the Energy Information Administration.

As more domestic oil is produced, it’s likely to be one of the biggest energy issues in the coming years.

Although Begich considers a higher priority making sure that Alaska can sell its natural gas to Asia, he does support lifting the ban.

“Alaskans know Mark Begich’s strong record of supporting Alaska’s energy industry and his work to create quality energy jobs for middle class families including his support of exporting Alaska crude oil and natural gas,” a Begich campaign press spokesperson said.

But some top Democrats say that because oil companies will try to sell oil more expensively to other countries, lifting the ban will translate into higher prices for consumers at the pump. Refiners, such as Valero Energy Corp., the largest U.S. refiner by capacity, also opposes lifting the ban, according to Bloomberg News.

“Yesterday, Mark Begich had the opportunity to enthusiastically support Alaskan energy by supporting Lisa Murkowski’s bid to end the oil export ban but he failed to do so. Mark Begich and the Obama Administration cannot claim to support free trade in energy on one hand without reversing policies to produce Alaska energy on the other,” Treadwell said.

U.S. Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz is willing to consider lifting the ban.

Contact Amanda Coyne at amandamcoyne@yahoo.com