Begich comes out against Pebble Mine

U.S. Sen. Mark Begich has come out against the Pebble Mine. In an interview with the Anchorage Daily News, Begich described it as “Wrong mine, wrong place, too big,” with “Too many potential long-term impacts to a fishery that is pretty critical to that area but also to Alaska, to world markets.”

Begich has been slow coming to this position. The mine has been a hot button issue since 2006, and was a campaign issue when he was elected in 2008. Ted Stevens, who he beat, had come out against the mine in 2007.

The mammoth mine would be on state lands, and the state has long tried to get the feds to stay out of the project. However, the EPA intervened and recently released a report that said that the mine would destroy up to 94 miles of streams, including five to 22 miles of salmon spawning streams, and 5,350 acres of wetlands.

The mine, in Western Alaska, is estimated to produce 80.6 billion pounds of copper, 107.4 million ounces of gold and 5.6 billion pounds of molybdenum.

The report was the likely precursor to federal intervention under the Clean Water Act. Such intervention has been strongly opposed by the state’s Republican leadership along with the two Republican members of the federal delegation.

Begich is in a competitive race to keep his seat. Although polls have shown that a majority of Alaskans oppose Pebble Mine, all of Begich’s Republican opponents—Lt. Gov. Mead Treadwell, Joe Miller, and former DNR Commissioner Dan Sullivan—have come out in opposition to federal intervention in the project.

It’s unclear what effect this will have on Begich’s support among avid pro-development Alaskans. But it’s unlikely that many of those would have his vote anyway.

It’s also unclear what his support, or lack thereof, will have on the project. The mine’s largest stakeholder, Anglo American pulled out of the project late last year. The other large investor, Rio Tinto, is considering pulling out. Too, an initiative has been qualified for the Aug. 19 primary election ballot to create a fisheries preserve in Bristol Bay. If it passes, it will effectively ban large-scale mining in the area.

What we do know is that Begich is a careful and cautious politician. As such, the move has likely come as a result of the growing Alaskan opposition to the project.

Contact Amanda Coyne at amandamcoyne@yahoo.com

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

Special interests planning annual Juneau invasion

The legislative session begins next week on Jan. 21, and if all goes smoothly, which it likely won’t, it’s scheduled to end on April 20. That leaves lots of time for various businesses, trade associations, groups, and individuals to fly to Juneau to try and have their say. (Psst, here’s a secret: a real person visiting Juneau to lobby for or against a bill can be more effective than five lobbyists doing the same.)

A significant number of uber organized organizations, already scheduled a visit. There are some groups missing however. Here’s the fly-ins that I’m aware of:

January 22-23: State Chamber
January 27-28: Resource Development Council
January 28-29: AK Power Association Managers
January 29: AK Oil and Gas Association
January 29: ConocoPhillips Executive and CAP Board
February 2-5: AK Assn School Boards
February 4: AK General Contractors, AK Trucking Association, AK Miners Association
February 4-6: Fairbanks Chamber
February 11-12: Council of AK Producers
February 11-14: AK Fire Chief Assn Summit
February 12: Women in Resources
February 17-20: AK Municipal League
February 18-19: Anchorage Chamber
February 25-26: ANSCA CEOs
February 26-27: AK Power Assn Leg Conf
March 2-4: AK Association School Administrators
March 5-7: AK Forest Association
April 16: AK Association of those who celebrate Laurie Herman day

Some groups who haven’t yet scheduled, but that usually make a large presence include: CHARR, the AK Hospital and Nursing Home Association, AFL-CIO, AK Travel Industry Association and the AK Support Industry Alliance

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

Loose Lips: Parnell rakes it in, Alectra in the House (!), and other political tidbits

State candidates fundraising reports are due to APOC by mid February and will include all monies raised in 2013 as well as for January 2014. Pundits are guessing that Gov. Parnell will likely report between $300,000 – $400,000 and that his two opponents, Byron Mallott and Bill Walker, combined won’t equal Parnell’s totals. Such is the power of incumbency in a state with $500 per-calendar year campaign limits. The limits were enacted in 1996, when Democrats thought it was a really good idea to handicap their big donors, the one fundraising advantage they had. They were like, we’ll be the party of ethics! Republicans, who were working hard, and succeeding, at building the party’s registration, were like, you take the ethics, we’ll take the money for the people and we’ll win! And they did, and continue to do so.

Voted the best name for incoming legislative staffer: “Alectra,” who reportedly will work for House Majority Leader Lance Pruitt. Speaking of legislative staff comings-and-goings, there’ll be at least one legislative office that has had 100 percent turnover since last year.

And then there’s the true American hero joining the ranks of legislative staffers. Senate President Charlie Huggins, co-chair of the Alaska Legislative Veterans Caucus, recently added Eric Hollen to his staff as a veterans affairs specialist. Hollen was a ranger in the U.S. Army and later, after sustaining a life-altering injury, went on to represent the United States in shooting at the 2012 Paralympic Games.

Quote of the day courtesy of Jimmy Fallon: “Alaska may legalize marijuana. Which would bring a whole new meaning to the term, “Baked Alaska.” Speaking of pot, Chris Rempert, from the Marijuana Policy Project, has moved to Alaska to run the campaign. Let’s give him a the usual big Alaska welcome by telling him we don’t like Outsiders.

Irony alert of the day: Shalon Harrington, who works for Mayor Dan Sullivan and traveled with him on the now controversial D.C. trip, used to work as Sen. Lesil McGuire’s chief of staff when she was Shalon Szymanski. Both are vying for the Republican lieutenant governor nomination. Using some mysterious formula, Sullivan recently paid the city back $214 for the trip. He said he was “going the extra mile,” to do things right. $214? 2014? If some opponent can’t make something of that, then we all deserve to remain perpetually baked in Alaska.

Correcting hyperbole: In an earlier version, I called Mayor Dan Sullivan’s trip “infamous.” It’s not infamous yet, as was pointed out. It’s merely controversial.

Correction: An earlier version of this post spelled Alectra’s name as “Electra.” And here I thought it couldn’t get any better.

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

Tweet of the day

Cash can't buy experience or roots. @DanSullivan2014 #aksen

— Rick Gorka (@Rick_Gorka) January 14, 2014

Lt. Gov. Mead Treadwell’s campaign spokesperson responding to Senate candidate Dan Sullivan’s reported $1.25 million fundraising haul.

Loose Lips: Rumors of the day

~~Maybe~~ True rumor: Alaska Senate Minority Leader Johnny Ellis will be giving up his leadership position to state Sen. Hollis French, who is running for lieutenant governor. ~~If true~~, The new position will give French much more on-air camera time and a bigger megaphone. (Update: The switch was decided a year ago.)

False rumor: Senate candidate Dan Sullivan’s reported $1.25 million haul was largely self-funded. I don’t know where these rumors are coming from but they are false. Sullivan’s spokesperson Mike Anderson said that Sullivan donated $500 to his own campaign.

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