GOP Senate candidate Dan Sullivan released another ad on Wednesday. This one features Richard Faulkner, president of Anchorage-based Steelfab, and Peter Macksey, head of customer relations at Steelfab, the steel plant that U.S. Sen. Mark Begich featured in one of his own recent ads. In that ad, Begich boasts that he got Steelfab “more business because I got the administration to allow more drilling.” When reached on the phone, however, Faulker called Begich’s claim “totally false” and was “upset,” to put it politely, when he saw it.
The Sullivan ad says that as DNR commissioner, Sullivan got results, “1200 jobs worth of results,” Macksey says.
Macksey is referring to the North Slope’s Point Thomson, an oil and gas field about 60 miles east of Prudhoe Bay. The field was originally discovered in 1977 and has been the subject of decades of legal challenges between the state and ExxonMobil, which holds the lease rights. Sullivan negotiated terms as DNR commissioner. Some of those terms have been criticized, but to date, ExxonMobil has spent about $2 billion of the budgeted $4 billion that it plans to spend for full production. At its peak this winter, about 1,200 people were working on the project. Hence the ad’s job claim.
Faulkner said that business has increased “drastically” recently. He credits oil tax reform and the Point Thomson settlement. He was doing some work for Shell when it was preparing to drill in the Arctic, but after a series of blunders, the Obama administration shut Shell’s Arctic program down pending an overhaul of Shell’s plans.
Contact Amanda Coyne at amandamcoyne@yahoo.com
So your refutation of my argument is to blame others. That doesn’t fool anyone. Dan has some splannin’ to do. Blaming others is not the way that a leader deals with problems.
I do agree that if Joe wasn’t so flawed that he would be the best to represent us. He believes in the right things, but belief is only half the battle. Where does your claim come from on Mead? Saying and citing. There is a big difference. I’m citing Dan on what he did, and what he said.
Another one proving my point. Amazing.
Seriously, L48 Dan?
It’s a simple google search to figure out your taking a Alaskan shit pile of credit for Pt. Thomson and the hire rate. And considering you ain’t Alaskan, it would be wise to go ask Don Young what a “Alaskan sh$t pile” is.
Gee, this vid seems so lower 48 -ish. Go figure.
Afghan Dan is a strong Second Amendment supporter. If that was not the case I would certainly not be voting for him. Mark Begich signed Anchorage on to Bloomberg’s Mayors Against Guns. Mark Begich has hired infamous gun control funder Celinda Lake.
Joe Miller is not smart enough to win but I like his politics. He he wasn’t so flawed, and if he could win he would represent Alaska well I think.
Mead Treadwell is a United Nations global warmer and one-worlder, and his record in government is one of excessive travel with no regard for productivity or fiscal restraint. As someone from a gun-owner state who actually attended the grade school in CT where all the shootings took place Mead should even now tell CT that gun control doesn’t work. CT already had gun registration and substantial gun confiscation before that shooting incident. Those who think banning guns stops murder are doomed to repeating the past, and Mead is in a good position to say that to CT.
If Begich remains in the Senate we will see anti-gun judges appointed who last far beyond the Obama administration. Begich needs to stop supporting Obama, and Obama has given Begich all the reasons in the world to do so.
Tim, people don’t like Joe Miller is a lying cry-baby hypocrite who has demonstrated horrible judgment and appears at times to be mentally unstable and paranoid.
Hey guy. You got your “Dans” mixed up. Mayor Dan is running for lt gov and Daniel Sullivan, former Dnr Commish and AG, is running for US Senate. Personally I will not vote for either Dan’s but for different reasons. I do not believe that Mayor Dan has conducted himself with honor and transparency during his two terms. Now the other Dan Sullivan has had a career that, to me at least, seems fairly honest and forthright. I disagree with his public stances on some issues so I will not vote for him.
Jeff,
Mayor Dan Sullivan is not running against Begich. You have the wrong Dan Sullivan. Former AG, former DNR Commissioner Dan Sullivan is running against Begich for the U.S. Senate. Really?
Dan Sullivan has been terrible for Anchorage and would be bad for Alaska. If we want to lose to Begich again, then wee should choose Mayor Sullivan over Treadwell.
I agree, it’s ridiculous to attack Dan on his residency. However, I think it’s appropriate to attack him on his opposition to the second amendment. If he had just said, I’ve come to a realization about it, and I was wrong – but nooooo, let’s get Mark Neuman to lie for me. Yeah: good strategy. Let’s hear more of your revisionist history Danny Boy, you sound a whole lot like Mark to me.
And if one person comes and says, Mark is nothing like Dan; Dan was in the military.
If Dan wins, my kid gets enlisted when they’re 18. Because I’d love for them to be guaranteed a Senate Seat.
Tim,
Pick a story and stick with it. Now, you’re attacking Sullivan on his politics. But, you started with saying he isn’t fit because he’s from Ohio, which is your real objection to Dan Sullivan. Then, it was because Alaska is a sparsely populated state, which makes no sense at all. Which story is it? You’re all over the page. Pick a story and stick with it.
Tim, have you ever lived outside of Alaska for a significant period of time? Have you learned a different way of living, problem-solving, communicating? Do you only stay in your own little community and never branch out or befriend people who disagree with you? Do you read books by authors outside of the state of Alaska? Were your parents born here? If not, then they were “outsiders,” too. What’s it like to live in such an insular world? Where does this arrogance come from?
Tim,
Pick a story and stick with it. Now, you’re attacking Sullivan on his
Tim,
Again, you prove my point. How does the population of a state have anything to do with Dan Sullivan’s ability to serve and represent Alaska? Your argument gets more illogical with every post.
Alaska “deserves to be represented by its own people,” you say? Dan Sullivan is as much of an Alaskan as you are. To think anything else only reinforces my point about the ignorance and insular mentality of people like you. Again, how sad that you cannot see the value of the contributions of people who moved here with rich experiences that you will never have. How sad to be so narrow-minded.
By the way, Vermont and Wyoming are the two least populated states in the nation. (Alaska is only the 4th least populated state.) And people don’t think as narrowly as you do there. In fact, one of Vermont’s U.S. senators was born in New York, went to college in Chicago, lived on an Israeli kibbutz and didn’t move to Vermont until he was 23. Have you heard of Bernie Sanders? Congressman Welch from Vermont was born in western Massachusetts, where he attended college and then he went to law school at UC Berkeley. He also came to Vermont as an adult. Vermonters elected both men to represent them regardless of how long they had been in the state. Clearly, they saw the richness of their life experience and commitment to the state above everything else. You might consider taking that perspective.
What’s your next argument?
Begish sucks as a senator. His father ran for offiice after living in the state for only 4 years. Was it inappropriate for his father to run after only 4 years? Was he a carpetbagger? Begich is a hypocrite. Nothing more. He’s a shill for Obama. That’s it.
Dan Sullivan and Mead Tredwell are no conservatives. They are establishment Republicans who are already bought and paid for. Follow the money. Both of them supported RINO Lisa Murkowski (who has voted with Obama over 70% if the time) in 2010 and Treadwell had already financially contributed to her 2016 campaign. The only true constitutional conservative is Joe Miller and that is why the establishment and liberals can’t stand him. He is the only one who can clearly articulate conservative positions and the only one who can beat Begich. Sullivan is a “photo op” fighter with a made up image and Treadwell is a snake and rumor spreader who lacks judgement. This election cycle people are fed up with establishment politicians who are weak and don’t have a backbone to stop the push for amnesty, or to defund Obamacare, or stop the crazy spending, or prosecute those in the IRS who are targeting select groups, or demilitarize the federal government. People better wake up or tomorrow you may wake up and there will be no more America.
We are a sparsely populated state which deserves to be represented by its own people in Congress. Say what you will but Don, Lisa and Mark are Alaskan through and through.
I’m sure Dan is a good guy and nice to old ladies, but he should run for mayor of Toledo or an Ohio Senate seat.
Mwinters, governors govern. Senators write laws on behalf of the people. They are two different branches of government.
Tim, you just proved my point about the insular and ignorant mentality of many like you. How sad that you have never lived outside of this state to see the value of the contributions and experience of those who have. How sad that your perspective is so limited and small.
Ethan Berkowitz got smoked by a scandal-plagued Don Young –a guy who had had all his seniority stripped from him by his own party– for the same reason why L48 Dan will lose to Mark Begich: he’s a outsider.
L48 Dan has less of an Alaska track record than Frisco Ethan, who put in his time in the Leg before running. And just as Ethan was foolish in his spray starched Carhartts speaking with his thick SF accent (speech therapy cured him of it), so does Ohio Dan strike offkey note after note because he is not of this land.
L48 Dan will lose this statewide election because he is an Outside Invasive Species, just like Berkowitz.
I could not possibly credit either Begich or Sullivan for single handily creating these jobs. Don Young was correct on this issue of politicians over using the pronoun “I”.
As a sidebar regarding Pt. Thompson, Alaskans should be very wary of being actual business partners in the high stakes game of oil and gas. I strongly recommend Alaskans read the ADN article by Dermot Cole published on June 5, 2014. (http://www.adn.com/2014/06/05/3503795/russian-ceo-with-potential-stake.html)
This article describes the league into which the Alaska government has gotten itself; not as a sovereign, but as an actual business partner.
I like to compare Alaska’s new situation with the German Autobahn. A Ferrari (BP), Lamborgeni (Exxon Mobile), Porsche (Conoco) and a Maserati (Trans Canada) are maneuvering with no speed limit. Now onto the Autobahn enters the Beverly Hillbillies in their Model T Ford Truck (State of Alaska) fully expecting to keep up.
When Mead Treadwell said that he had a jar of mayonnaise in his refrigerator that had been there longer than Dan Sullivan had been in Alaska, I immediately supported Dan Sullivan. Dan Sullivan handled Treadwell’s condescending comment with grace and humor. It was brilliant.
But, his criticism of Sullivan, echoed by many of the posts on this page, is indicative of a larger issue. There is an arrogant, insular and elitist mentality among some Alaskans — not all — toward fellow Alaskans who happened to move here from somewhere else. Calling Dan Sullivan “Ohio Dan,” or “L48 Dan” is so petty and mean-spirited. And what’s the point? To say that he is insignificant or beneath them? Where is the kinds and fairness in that?
The worst kind of Alaskan is a hyphenated one. I moved to Alaska — like many others before and after me — to fulfill a lifelong dream to live here. I lived in several states and in Europe twice before moving to Alaska and I had never heard anyone say that they were a “lifelong Californian,” a “lifelong New Yorker,” a “lifelong Missourian,” etc. That’s because that isn’t relevant to most people who live anywhere else in this country. What those with this elitist, insular mentality of deifying “lifelong Alaskans” do is, they create a second-class citizenry, dubbing themselves the aristocracy — the only ones who matter and have anything significant to contribute — and alienate everyone else who is not a lifelong Alaskan, but an Alaskan nonetheless. It is an inherently insular and ignorant way of thinking.
There are two points missing from this discussion and I am incredulous that I haven’t heard them or read them anywhere. First, the only real Alaskans are the native Alaskans. Everyone else is a transplant — whether it’s first, second or third generation. It’s insulting and alienating for anyone to think they’re more Alaskan than native Alaskans, or more Alaskan than anyone, as if that were possible. Moreover, these “lifelong Alaskans” have parents who were born in the lower 48, or other countries, and moved here. They didn’t have a choice in where they were born. Alaskans who moved here because they wanted to move here, did so at a great price. It is a huge investment to pick up your life and move to Alaska from the lower 48 and build a new life — especially when you’re labeled an “outsider” as soon as you arrive.
The second point that this elitist group fails to see is that great ideas and worthy contributions can actually come from people outside of Alaska. The pipeline — an unprecedented engineering feat — was built by those whom the “life-longers” would call “outsiders.” And yet, it paved the way for them all to cash their PFD checks every year.
Alaskans who moved here from outside of the state have much to offer to the state that the elitists are missing. We appreciate Alaska in ways that those who were blessed to live their whole lives here, do not. It’s human nature. We see things in the context of a broader, more worldly world view, because of where we lived before coming here. And because we have a different perspective, we have different ways of problem-solving. We know how to relate to people outside of our home. We adapt to and embrace different ways of life from one region to the next, even within the United States. We chose to live here and made enormous sacrifices to make it happen. We left behind family and friends and a familiar way of life, old neighborhoods and greater access to the comforts of life. If you’re from the east coast, like I am, living in Alaska is analogous to living in Europe in terms of the distance and cost of traveling for visits. And if there is ever a family emergency, you are that much further way to help and support your loved ones. But, we moved here because we wanted to live the Alaskan dream. We wanted to play in the most beautiful and wonderful outdoor playground in the United States. We wanted to be surrounded by God’s beautiful creation. We wanted a simpler, cleaner, quieter life for our families. We wanted to be among like-minded adventurous and free-spirited people. We certainly did not want to be alienated by people who believe they are better than we are because they were born and raised here by no choice of their own.
Dan Sullivan is constantly barraged with criticism because he is what some call an “outsider.” When Hillary Clinton ran for the U.S. Senate in New York, which was not her home state, New Yorkers elected her, based on what they considered to be her qualifications, not her birth certificate. I never heard negative ads about Clinton being an “outsider,” or “Arkansas Clinton.” Hollis French and Ethan Berkowitz have served this state for years and they came to Alaska from the lower 48. Why do Alaskans do this to Dan Sullivan? I believe that Dan Sullivan is the best person to represent Alaska for a myriad of reasons, not least of which is his devotion to Alaska. His experience in the Bush Administration equipped him with invaluable experience and knowledge that will serve him well as a U.S. Senator for Alaska. If he simply carried Condoleeza Rice’s coffee every day, he would have a incredible world perspective that no one here has. But, he did so much more than that. Why is his experience dismissed rather than being discussed? And while the insular elitists are impugning Sullivan for leaving Alaska, they forgot that he served our nation as a U.S. Marine in Afghanistan. Need I say more about his experience? And he served as our Attorney General and Natural Resources Commissioner. But, on top of all of this, Dan Sullivan will be the best senator for Alaska because he is from outside of Alaska. He has a different perspective, shaped by all of his experiences, which would make him a better — not lesser — servant and representative of the state. Based on his response to Treadwell’s mayonnaise jab, he is more of a gentleman than Treadwell.
To Dan Sullivan, I say: when the negative nay-sayers criticize you for not being a “lifelong Alaskan,” I encourage you to turn the conversation around. The pipeline, the oil fields, and consequently, the state was built by “outsiders.” The Permanent Fund Dividend, enjoyed by every Alaskan, would not exist if not for the pipeline built by “lower 48” hands. Why not have a U.S. Senator who has lived here and elsewhere? He has that much more to bring to the table. He has that many more intellectual tools to do his job representing us. At the end of the day, we are all Alaskan.
I don’t understand his midwest mentality of hating and denigrating government yet clucking about all the jobs government created while he was on the state payroll.
He hates government while wanting to be elected to govern: this ad is so out of tune, Ohio Dan couldn’t even get one of his superPACers to pay for the airtime.