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
Mayor Dan: It’s a tough job, but someone has to do it.
Perhaps you should listen to most any legislative floor debate.
Let’s all pray that Joe Miller doesn’t get any significant traction in 2014.
you guys deserve each other. this name calling does not solve a single thing and you are doing it as much as he is.
that is the dumbest thing i have heard.
But the real question is – do you really track Beltrami’s posts on my personal Facebook page? You have to get out more! Haha
Amanda, love the Johnny Appelseed part of the article. I got more involved in using Facebook a few years back when my kids started having kids – to make it easier to see pics of my grandkids. I have two beautiful grandsons with two on the way. My intent was to be a little harder to find. Doesn’t really work though, especially in Alaska. Although I have had some friend requests rejected because they wonder who this Johnny character is. I have had a lot of fun with Johnny Appelseed as my title though. I have life long friends who now only call me Johnny. I am very interested in healthy and abundant Fish & Game populations though. So, I guess you could say I’m an Arctic Johnny Appleseed for moose, caribou, and salmon.
Mystery solved! See update.
Oops – didn’t mean to double post but forgot to add my name the first time.
I am not sure what you are referring to regarding Vince Beltrami’s rude and crude posts – I just checked Facebook and found two immediately. I leave them up so people can see what kind of person he is.
Great column. Where and how do you come up with this stuff? Really makes me feel like an insider.