Tag Archives: dan sullivan

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.

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

D.C. publications focus on Alaska Senate race

On Sunday, two inside-the-beltway publications, Roll Call and The Hill, featured stories focusing on the 2014 Alaska Senate race.

Roll Call headlined its article as one of its 12 “Most Fascinating Races of 2014: Alaska Senate.” The publication announces what Alaskans had known for years: Democratic Sen. Mark Begich is vulnerable. According to the article, the race is currently rated a Tossup/Tilt-Democratic by Rothenberg Political Report/Roll Call. Roll Call said the fight between the top two Republican candidates — Lt. Gov. Mead Treadwell and former DNR Commissioner Dan Sullivan — is less about ideology and more about who can beat Begich, which is kind of true. However, Treadwell has increasingly positioned himself to the right, particularly on social issues, while Sullivan has steadfastly refused to go there.

In any case, the first real fundraising test is coming up. FEC financial disclosures are due on Jan. 30.

Enter the money game.

The Hill’s article, “Five Fundraising Numbers To Watch,” focuses on the importance of former Alaska DNR commissioner Dan Sullivan’s year-end campaign cash totals as a number to watch:

Republican strategists have been predicting a big fundraising quarter from Sullivan, a former Bush appointee with close ties to a number of national Republicans. His brother is a top fundraiser for Sen. Rob Portman (R-Ohio).Sullivan’s main primary opponent, Alaska Lieutenant Gov. Mead Treadwell (R), has struggled so far with fundraising, bringing in just $200,000 last quarter. If Sullivan can post a huge fundraising quarter, it could help establish him as the clear front-runner on the GOP side. But if he fails to live up to the hype, the primary could turn into a slugfest.

If nothing else, the article suggests that Sullivan’s D.C. Republican squirrels have been chirping into the ears of reporters, which I suppose is indicative of a campaign that’s capable of raising money. But it’s also worthy of note that those chirpers likely themselves have a financial interest in Sullivan’s fundraising prowess.

Contact Amanda Coyne at amandamcoyne@yahoo.com

Anthony Weiner and Mead Treadwell make Rothenberg’s award list for 2013

Stuart Rothenberg, political fortune teller and Roll Call political blogger, has published his annual “end-of-the-year awards.” The award categories range from the worst political decision of the year, which had Anthony Weiner’s name, or whatever, all over it, to the five most vulnerable incumbents up in 2014. Sen. Mark Pryor, D-Ark., made the list. Surprisingly, Sen. Mark Begich didn’t.

Perhaps that’s because Rothenberg doesn’t think much of Lt. Gov. Mead Treadwell, one of Begich’s main challengers, whom he gave an award for the most “interesting” candidate interview. According to Rothenberg, the interview was, “Memorable because the candidate couldn’t get his chip off his shoulder. Never has a candidate spent so much time complaining about an earlier article about him.”

Rothenberg was referring to an interview he conducted with Treadwell, among other GOP Senate hopefuls, in October. It’s unclear what exactly Treadwell’s specific beef was, but here’s what he wrote about Treadwell then:

Of the four,Treadwell was the most difficult to figure out, possibly because he spent so much of his time complaining about an article that my colleague, Nathan Gonzales, had written for my newsletter. No matter what question we asked, Treadwell somehow brought it back to what he regarded as an oversight or mistake in the article. He was clearly peeved, and that made him less affable and likable.

Rothenberg has yet to write anything about Dan Sullivan, the other GOP Senate candidate. Perhaps that’s because, although it’s been two months since he announced, finding Sullivan’s website or his contact information on Google takes about as long as it takes for the Senate to pass a bill, pre-filibusterer reform.

Rothenberg did, however, include GOP Senate candidate Annette Bosworth from South Dakota in his list of most interesting interviews. He called Bosworth charismatic and compelling, with “quite” a personal story. “But did it all add up?” Rothenberg asked. “Plus, I rarely see candidates who have absolutely no clue how to put together a winning campaign,” he wrote about Bosworth.

When you Google “Annette Bosworth for Senate” her website is on the top of the page. Just saying.

Contact Amanda Coyne at amandamcoyne@yahoo.com

Error riddled article on Senate candidate Sullivan sensationalizes tragic murders

Thursday began as a very good day for U.S. Senate candidate Dan Sullivan. Roll Call, an inside-the-beltway publication owned by Congressional Quarterly, wrote a story about his campaign, highlighting that he worked for Condoleezza Rice in the Bush administration, his time in Alaska as the state’s attorney general and as the commissioner of the Alaska Department of Natural Resources. It mentioned his service in the Marine Corps, and that he was deployed as a reservist to Afghanistan this summer.

“Sullivan’s résumé reads straight out of a Republican textbook,” Roll Call wrote.

Most importantly for Sullivan’s campaign, the article suggested that Sullivan might be out fundraising Lt. Gov. Mead Treadwell and Joe Miller, his opponents in the Republican primary.

And then another story appeared about Sullivan. This one was in Brietbart.com, an online conservative news site that was founded by the late Andrew Breitbart, who had been a staunch tea party and Sarah Palin supporter. The site has not been known for always getting things right and does not shy from controversies. The headline on this piece read, “Dan Sullivan, Alaska U.S. Senate candidate, ran office that let child molester free.”

An alternative headline read: “Dan Sullivan AK US Senate child molester coddler.” (That alternative headline appears to have been written for search engine optimization purposes, or for getting as many hits as possible. Hit baiting, they call it in the business.)

The article indicates that as attorney general, Sullivan was responsible for the heinous 2013 double murder and rape of a 2-year-old and 92-year-old in Anchorage.

Mike Anderson, Dan Sullivan’s spokesperson, said that the Brietbart article “is riddled with inaccuracies and reads like a political hatchet job.”

Indeed, the author appears to be using the crime to score political points against Sullivan by exploiting the victims and playing loose with the facts.

Jerry Andrew Active is accused of committing the crimes 12 hours after he was released from jail, where he was serving time for a parole violation. An error in the state database system likely was the result in the light sentence he received for a 2009 rape, after which he was let go, sent back to jail, and let go again.

Sullivan was attorney general during the time that Active received his “soft” sentence as a result of a plea deal. However, the initial charge for the 2009 rape happened months before Sullivan took the job, and the problem with the database pre-dated his tenure. According to a report done on the case by the current attorney general, the database error took place on Jan. 30, 2009, when Sullivan was on duty with the U.S. Marine Corps.

Sullivan wasn’t appointed as Alaska’s AG by Sarah Pain until June, 2009, five months after Active was charged, and was the DNR commissioner when Active committed his crimes.

Additionally, it was the database maintained by the Alaska Department of Public Safety that made the error on Active’s record; not the one maintained by the Department of Law, as the article states.

According to the Department of Law, “It is unreasonable to suggest that anyone could have predicted the crimes Mr. Active is presently charged with committing over the Memorial Day weekend in Anchorage this year.”

It’s unclear from whom or where the writer of the article, Charles Johnson, is getting his information. According to Sullivan’s press secretary, they played phone tag in late October or early November, but were never able to touch base.

The piece also appeared on Joe Miller’s website, the content of which is primarily culled from other conservative sources and websites. Miller’s campaign spokesperson did not return a call requesting comment.

Fred Brown, a spokesperson with Lt. Gov. Mead Treadwell’s campaign responded to a request for comment via email. “This was a very tragic event,” he said. “Our thoughts and prayers go out to the victims families for this senseless and heinous act of violence. I sincerely hope that the policies in the Attorney General’s office that let this criminal out onto the streets have been reviewed and addressed to ensure that something like this never happens again.”

During Sullivan’s time as AG, there were about 47,287 criminal cases handled by the Department of Law. About 12,155 of these cases were felonies, according to the department. His campaign said that his number one priority was “protecting Alaskans, particularly the most vulnerable.”

Contact Amanda Coyne at amandamcoyne@yahoo.com

Treadwell and Sullivan speak out on Medicaid expansion

On Friday, Gov. Sean Parnell announced that he would not accept federal funds to provide health insurance for poor Alaskans. His announcement was met with much criticism from groups and individuals across the state, many of whom were incredulous that the governor would turn down what was considered free money from the federal government, something that Alaska hasn’t historically been known to do.

More to the point, had Parnell accepted the funds, up to 41,500 more people could have been insured.

It’s unclear how it will play out in the electorate in the long run, but judging from reactions, it doesn’t appear to be the most popular decision that Parnell has made, which, viewed through one lens, could be considered brave.

Some politicians praised Parnell, but most, who went public anyway, did not. Democratic Sen. Mark Begich, for one, appeared not to agree with Parnell’s decision. In a statement, he said that turning away the federal funds will just make health care more expensive for others. The three Republicans who are vying for his seat, however, remained mum.

On Wednesday, both Lt. Gov. Mead Treadwell and Dan Sullivan responded to the decision.

In emailed statements, both appeared to support the governor’s decision. Treadwell is more unequivocal. “I support Governor Parnell’s decision to not expand Medicaid,” he wrote. “When I am elected I will work with our Governor to bring decision making home and find solutions that work for Alaska.”

As Alaska’s former attorney general, Sullivan wrote one of the first legal challenges to the law on behalf of the state. His response is more thoughtful and more measured but in the end, he agrees with Parnell.

The country’s healthcare system is in “disarray,” Sullivan wrote, “and the federal government’s promise in Obamacare to cover the vast majority of Medicaid expenses is doubtful at best.”

Medicaid, he said, “requires a functioning healthcare market and a federal government with the credibility to deliver on its healthcare promises.”

Both of their responses are printed in full below.

Joe Miller’s campaign did not respond to a request for comment. Miller walks a fine line here. He gets veterans’ health benefits, but his wife and children in the past received coverage through Alaska’s Medicaid program. He did, however, discuss the issue with local talk show host Glen Biegel and said that he supported Parnell.

“More power to him,” Miller said.

Treadwell’s statement:

The many failures associated with Obamacare have been well documented. I support Governor Parnell’s decision to not expand Medicaid. The federal budget is a mess and Alaska cannot trust Washington DC to fulfill its financial obligations. We seek more cost effective ways to help those who need help. Alaska needs flexibility from the federal government to craft our own health care solutions. When I am elected I will work with our Governor to bring decision making home and find solutions that work for Alaska.

Sullivan’s statement:

As Alaska’s Attorney General, I spent weeks evaluating the Affordable Care Act, trying to understand all of its complex components and the constitutionality of its provisions.

The work I authored (attached) provided a strong foundation to the legal challenges that led to the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision on Obamacare that limited the federal government’s power under the Commerce Clause and its ability to coerce states into accepting certain federal government mandates. President Obama and Senator Mark Begich consistently promised Alaskans: that if they liked their current insurance plan, they could keep it.

For those who actually read the Affordable Care Act, they would have known that this was a promise that could never be kept. The combination of Obamacare’s mandates and healthcare policy requirements is fundamental to the structure of the Act. As these and other interrelated provisions of the Act are failing or are delayed, in a legally dubious manner, the entire structure of Obamacare is in disarray and the federal government’s ability to deliver on healthcare promises and results for Alaska has thoroughly been undermined. This is not surprising. Trying to reorganize close to one-sixth of the U.S. economy is a task for which the federal government is ill suited.

This is the context in which I view Medicaid expansion. Health care access and affordability are extremely important issues to Alaskans and it is important for policy makers to focus on them. So too is the urgent need to revive our national economy and reign in the trillions of dollars of deficits that the Obama Administration has run up in the past five years.

Medicaid costs in Alaska and nationally are skyrocketing. Medicaid expansion requires a functioning healthcare market and a federal government with the credibility to deliver on its healthcare promises. Right now we have neither—the U.S. healthcare market is in disarray and the federal government’s promise in Obamacare to cover the vast majority of Medicaid expenses is doubtful at best.

The issue of access to affordable healthcare for Alaskans remains a very important issue for our citizens. Congress needs to regain the trust of the American people on these issues before we move forward on additional major healthcare programs.

Contact Amanda Coyne at amandamcoyne@yahoo.com

Martha McKenna: she’ll work hard to keep Begich in office

You’ll likely never meet her, see her face, or even hear her name, but one way or another, you’re going to be touched by Martha McKenna in the next year. According to Roll Call, McKenna will be leading the independent expenditure program for Senate Democrats in the 2014 race.

The independent expenditure, or IE, arm of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee controls tens of millions of dollars spent on Senate races each cycle, much of which will end up in the pockets of Alaska’s expanding media outlets.

In Alaska, the group will support U.S. Sen. Mark Begich against Republican challengers Joe Miller, Mead Treadwell and Dan Sullivan, who are running in the Republican primary.

Although a party’s IE can be effective, those kinds of expenditure groups haven’t received the kind of attention that the super PACs have received, which have fewer restrictions but cannot coordinate with a party. Often, as opposed to groups associated with a political party, super PACs are homespun and more nimble.

So far in Alaska’s Senate race, Jim Lottsfeldt is running a super PAC to support Begich. Art Hackney is running one to support former DNR Commissioner Dan Sullivan. Stephen Wackowski ~~and Taylor Bickford are~~ is running Mead Treadwell’s super PAC.

Contact Amanda Coyne at amandamcoyne@yahoo.com

Correction: The original story said that Taylor Bickford was running Treadwell’s super PAC. That’s incorrect.

Government shutdown could cost Alaska up to $39 million

Using Moody’s Analytics and the Bureau of Economic Analysis, the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee says that the recent government shutdown could cost Alaska as much as $39 million in lost wages, federal funds, and in impacts from lost federal contracts.

The 16-day federal government shutdown was at its heart a fight over the funding of Obamacare and affected, among other things, disability checks, veterans’ benefits, and federal lands and contracts.

Lt. Gov. Mead Treadwell, who is running in the U.S. Senate Republican primary, has been repeatedly calling for the repeal of Obamacare. At one point Treadwell said that he would “stand” with the senators who were supporting the shutdown, and at other times said that he wouldn’t. Another candidate, Joe Miller, unequivocally supported it.

The DSCC called both of them “reckless,” and said that they were putting “partisanship ahead of Alaska.”

Former DNR Commissioner Dan Sullivan, who is also running in the Republican primary, has yet to address the issue. He declined to answer questions on the day that he announced his run on Oct. 15, the day before the shutdown ended.

Both Sens. Lisa Murkowski, a Republican, and Democrat Mark Begich worked to end the impasse.

Alaska appears to be faring better than other states with a high federal presence. Washington D.C. is expected to be hit hardest, followed by Maryland and West Virginia.

Contact Amanda Coyne at amandamcoyne@yahoo.com

DNR Dan Sullivan’s primary election voting problem

Of the three candidates in the U.S. Senate Republican primary race so far, it looks like former DNR Commissioner Dan Sullivan is the candidate who can raise money. His first fundraiser brought in about $50,000, which was more than 25 percent of what his most heavily financed primary challenger, Lt. Gov. Mead Treadwell, managed to raise in 90 days.

His opponents know this. Both Treadwell and incumbent Sen. Mark Begich are trying to stick him with the rap that he’s not a real Alaskan and that he’s using the state for his own personal political advancement.

His voting record, specifically that he missed voting in primary elections, will likely be used to further that rap.

While Sullivan has voted in every general since at least 2004, when public records are available, he has only voted in two of five primaries in those years. He skipped the 2004, 2006 and 2008 primary elections.

The Republican primary race in Alaska in 2004 was relatively uneventful. There was no governor’s race, and U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski was the only member of the delegation to have a challenger, whom she beat handily. In 2006, however, the governor’s primary race was a three-way one, pitting challengers Sarah Palin and John Binkley against incumbent Frank Murkowski. (The rest of that story, as they say, is history.)

In 2008, Rep. Don Young only won the primary by about 300 votes against current Gov. Sean Parnell.

Joe Miller did not vote in the 2008 primary, but voted in all of the others since 2004. Neither Treadwell or Begich have missed an election.

Sullivan’s spokesperson Mike Anderson sent the following email in response to questions about his voting record:

Since coming to Alaska over 16 years ago, Dan has always voted in the state. While serving his country after 9/11, he stayed engaged in voting in Alaska while working as a National Security Council staff at the White House, then as a Marine Corps Infantry officer and finally as an Assistant Secretary of State. During that period, he did miss a few primary votes, but never missed a general election vote.

Sullivan moved to Alaska in 1997 after getting a Georgetown law degree to clerk for judges, including Chief Justice Warren Matthews. He was in private practice until 2002, when he moved to D.C. to head the International Economics Directorate of the National Economic Council and National Security Council under George W. Bush. He left the White House to become an assistant secretary of state.

In 2009, then Gov. Sarah Palin appointed him to become Alaska’s attorney general. Sullivan has also served in the Marine Corps since 1993, both on active duty and in the reserves. He was recently called to active duty to work on a counterterrorism mission in Afghanistan.

Contact Amanda Coyne at amandamcoyne@yahoo.com

Senate candidate Treadwell’s latest campaign video

Senate candidate Mead Treadwell posted another campaign video on Tuesday, the same day that former DNR Commissioner Dan Sullivan announced that he’s entering the race. This one, like the last, stays with the homespun theme. The video signals that he’s an average Alaskan who just wants to do good by his state and his country. Notice the slight stutter, the hesitancy, the reference to allergies in D.C., trying to turn what many view as a lack of charisma to his advantage.

Romney’s money-tree shaker signs on with Treadwell

Lt. Gov. Mead Treadwell has hired the high-powered D.C.–based Republican fundraiser Lisa Spies to help open up pockets. She has already organized at least nine national fundraisers for him through Nov. 5.

Most recently, Spies was the Director of Women for Romney Victory where, according to her website, she led the effort to raise over $23 million. She also served as the Director of Jewish Outreach for the Romney for President campaign.

Her husband Charlie Spies founded the Restore Our Future super PAC, which raised $153 million throughout the 2012 election cycle. It’s been rumored that he is forming a super PAC for Treadwell.

FEC rules dictate that anyone officially part of the campaign, including the candidate, cannot communicate about the campaign with those who are involved with super PACs.

Treadwell is running in the U.S. Senate Republican primary. So far, Joe Miller is the only other declared candidate. Department of Natural Resources Commissioner Dan Sullivan is expected to enter the race and is expected to announce soon after his resignation from that job on Tuesday.

Sullivan will have some catching up to do. Below is a list of Treadwell fundraisers that Lisa Spies has organized.

September 25th
North Dakota
Reception: Captain Freddy’s Riverside Restaurant & Bar in Mandan, North Dakota. Hosted by Lt. Gov. Drew Wrigley.

September 26th
Seattle, Washington
Luncheon at the Washington Athletic Club. Hosted by Senator Slade Gorton, The Hon. Rob McKenna, The Hon. George Nethercutt, The Hon. Sam Reed, Chris Bayley, Svend Brandt-Erichsen, Brent Paine, John Stanton, Alan Walker, and Rob Wurm.

September 29th
Lana’I, Hawaii
Reception at the Four Seasons Hotel

October 2nd
Honolulu, Hawaii
Reception at the home of Candes Meijide Gentry and Steve Shropshire. Hosted by Congressman Charles Djou, State House Leader Aaron Ling Johanson, State House Floor Leader Beth Fukumoto Chang, and Hawaii GOP Chair David Chang

November 5th
Denver, Colorado
Reception at the Cherry Hills Country Club

Fundraisers have also been set for Oct. 9, and Oct. 10 in California. Also Oct. 28, and Oct. 29 in D.C. Details are still being worked out for these.

Contact Amanda Coyne at amandamcoyne@yahoo.com

Palin likely won’t run for Senate, but won’t shy from endorsing candidate in primary

On Fox News Sunday, former Gov. Sarah Palin indicated that it was unlikely she would run for U.S. Senate, but said she wouldn’t shy from endorsing a candidate in the GOP primary. She said that although Sen. Ted Cruz and other “good guys” in the Senate need “reinforcements,” any reinforcement likely won’t include her.

“It takes someone who has the stomach and the patience that are necessary to live and dwell in the cesspool that is D.C., which is really quite corrupt,” she said. “I have young children. I want to keep them nice and pure.”

She did, however, suggest that she’s going to endorse another candidate in the GOP primary.

“I would endorse someone,” she said. “I’ve never been one to shy away from calling it like I see it, and putting my money on someone who is willing to serve for the right reasons, do the right thing, and not be a typical go-along-to-get-along politician. Certainly not a RINO,” Palin said.

It’s unclear who would get her endorsement. So far, former candidate Joe Miller and current Lt. Gov. Mead Treadwell have officially announced that they are running. Department of Natural Resources Commissioner Dan Sullivan is also expected to jump in.

Palin had been a Miller supporter in 2010, but that relationship might have irrevocably soured when Miller failed to say whether or not Palin was qualified to be president.

If she has a personal relationship with Treadwell, it’s gone under the radar. He wasn’t part of her administration and she and Treadwell’s mentor Wally Hickel had a strained relationship. Too, Treadwell told Politico that he would be “surprised” if Palin made an endorsement in the GOP primary. Palin doesn’t cotton well to politicians saying what she will and won’t do.

However, Treadwell is positioning himself as a family values candidate, and has made repealing ObamaCare one of his main campaign issues, as has Palin.

Palin recruited Sullivan to be Alaska’s attorney general, but it’s unclear if his ideology will align with hers.

Contact Amanda Coyne at amandamcoyne@yahoo.com

Is Mead Treadwell afraid that Dan Sullivan will eat his lunch?

In a wide-ranging interview with Politico which took place in Washington D.C., Lt. Gov. Mead Treadwell, who is running for U.S. Senate, all but called prospective candidate, Department of Natural Resources Commissioner Dan Sullivan, a carpetbagger.

“I’ve got a jar of mayonnaise in my refrigerator that’s been there longer than Dan Sullivan’s been in Alaska,” Treadwell told Politico.

Sullivan’s partial response, via email: “(A)fter moving to Alaska over 16 years ago, I learned something new today — not to eat any of Mead Treadwell’s sandwiches.”

Sullivan hasn’t officially announced, but has resigned his job effective Sept. 24, and everyone, including Treadwell, knows he’s going to. This will pit him against Treadwell and tea party candidate Joe Miller in a three-way primary race before running against U.S. Sen Mark Begich in the general election.

“Politically, this helps Joe Miller. And most importantly, it helps people who want to help Mark Begich by fomenting division in the Republican Party,” Treadwell said.

Asked about whether or not he would be a better candidate than Sullivan, Treadwell said that he’s “very happy to put my record out there and let the voters decide.”

In 2009, then Gov. Sarah Palin appointed him to become Alaska’s attorney general. He’s now the commissioner of DNR. Sullivan has also served in the Marine Corps since 1993, both on active duty and in the reserves. He was recently called to active duty to work on a counterterrorism mission in Afghanistan.

Treadwell moved to Alaska in 1978 to work on Wally Hickel’s losing gubernatorial run. He returned in 1982 armed with a master’s from Harvard to work for Hickel’s company, Yukon Pacific which tried, but failed, to build a natural gas pipeline that would run from the North Slope to tidewater in Valdez. Hickel ran again for governor and won in 1990 and Treadwell served as his deputy commissioner of the Department of Environmental Conservation.

In 2001, Treadwell was appointed to the United States Arctic Research Commission by President George W. Bush. He became president of the commission in 2006. Throughout, he invested in a series of tech companies. He has been the state’s lieutenant governor since 2010, a job that’s been described by this writer, and by a columnist for the Anchorage Daily News, as not worthy of a “warm bucket of spit.”

According to Politico, Treadwell has been traveling across the country raising money. He’s recently been in Chicago, Columbus, Ohio and Oklahoma City. It’s unclear if any of these trips involved state business, and if not, whether Treadwell will reimburse the state for the time he has spent traveling for fundraisers.

Contact Amanda Coyne at amandamcoyne@yahoo.com

DNR Commish Dan Sullivan resigns; sets stage for U.S. Senate campaign

As I wrote last night that he would do, Gov. Sean Parnell announced on Thursday morning that Department of Natural Resources Commissioner Dan Sullivan submitted his resignation letter. Although he doesn’t say so in his letter, Sullivan is resigning effective Sept. 24 to run for the U.S. Senate Republican nomination to challenge incumbent Democrat Mark Begich.

“As I explore new opportunities and challenges in the next phase of my life, I intend to seek ways to continue to serve my fellow Alaskans,” Sullivan wrote.

“As attorney general, Dan played a major role in the Choose Respect initiative and fought hard against federal overreach,” Parnell said in his announcement. “During his tenure as commissioner, Dan led the state’s efforts in resource development and permitting reform, and worked to resolve Pt. Thomson litigation – setting the stage for a natural gas pipeline.”

In his resignation letter Sullivan is more specific about his successes as both Alaska’s AG and as DNR commissioner:

Protecting Alaska’s most vulnerable through the Choose Respect Initiative;
Spearheading the Cook Inlet energy renaissance;
Promoting increased oil production and jobs through the More Alaska Production Act;
Accelerating the commercialization of North Slope gas for Alaskans’ benefit;
Resolving Point Thomson and jump starting this multi-billion dollar North Slope development;
Slashing permitting backlogs and streamlining the State’s regulatory system;
Going on offense on ANWR exploration; and
Effectively fighting against federal overreach into the lives of Alaskans and our economy.

Sullivan will be running in the primary against current Lt. Gov. Mead Treadwell and former Senate candidate Joe Miller. Treadwell is kicking off his campaign today.

Both Sullivan and Treadwell are considered more “establishment” candidates, to the extent there is an “establishment” in Alaska. Miller is, well, Miller.

Because the party makeup of the U.S. Senate might very well rest on this race, people who are watching are nervous that Treadwell and Sullivan will pave the way for Miller to claim victory in a Republican primary, as he did when he ran against U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski.

Between Treadwell and Sullivan, Karl Rove, for one, has deemed Sullivan to be the more winnable and is prepared to put money through at least one super PAC that he spearheaded to help ward off Tea Party candidates such as Miller.

Sullivan looks good on paper. He’s got a Harvard undergraduate degree and a law degree from Georgetown. He’s a former U.S. Assistant Secretary of State under President George W. Bush. He’s been in the United States Marine Corps since 1993, and just got back from reservist duty where he was on a counter-terrorism mission in Afghanistan. He’s married to Julie Fate, whose mother is a respected Native Alaska leader and whose father is a former Fairbanks lawmaker.

However, unlike Treadwell, Sullivan has never run for office. Treadwell can fight tough and dirty if need be.

Contact Amanda Coyne at amandamcoyne@yahoo.com