This is the place to talk about Alaska politics -- state, local, national. Public life in the Last Frontier has probably never been more interesting than right now -- the governor as candidate for vice president, the broad and still-evolving corruption investigation, a big election, powerful members of Congress under scrutiny, and the usual hardball Alaska politics. Come here for news, tidbits and information, and join the discussion. Keep your comments civil and on point. Avoid personal attacks. Do not use profanity. Posts that violate the Terms of Use will be deleted. Repeat offenders will be banned.
Erika Bolstad
Erika Bolstad covers Alaska issues, including the congressional delegation, from Washington, D.C., for McClatchy Newspapers. Before joining the bureau in 2007, she spent seven years as a reporter at the Miami Herald, where she covered politics, government and the state legislature. E-mail Erika at ebolstad@adn.com.
Sean Cockerham
Sean Cockerham writes about Alaska state politics. He spent three years based in Juneau for the ADN before joining the Tacoma News-Tribune to write about Washington state politics. He went to Iraq twice for the News Tribune, and previously wrote about Alaska government and politics for the Fairbanks Daily News-Miner. E-mail Sean at scockerham@adn.com
Kyle Hopkins
Kyle Hopkins covers politics and other stories for the ADN. He covered the 2006 campaign for governor, has blogged extensively about Alaska politics, covered Anchorage city government and was a reporter based in the Mat-Su. He grew up in Southeast Alaska and previously was a reporter at the Fairbanks Daily News-Miner and Anchorage Press. E-mail Kyle at khopkins@adn.com
SECTION
The FBI raided state legislatures offices in Aug. 2006, and the fallout since has been epic in Alaska's political world.
Polling on Palin vs. Murkowski - 1/6/2009 3:24 pm
Citgo 'suspends' free heating oil program - 1/5/2009 2:37 pm
Palin's comments on first grandchild - 12/31/2008 4:35 pm
Suicide council audit - 12/30/2008 9:11 pm
Son of Snowzilla - 12/30/2008 8:55 pm
'People' editor: No deal for baby photos. Yet. - 12/30/2008 1:12 pm
'Baby Name Bible' - 12/29/2008 8:14 pm
Anchorage Mayor: Begich out, Claman in Jan. 3 - 12/26/2008 12:40 pm
No trash power? (Plus: School board pay) - 12/26/2008 11:22 am
PETA's beef with Palin - 12/24/2008 12:02 pm
"The opportunities that were not seized." - 12/22/2008 1:48 pm
Palin's next big speech? - 12/22/2008 12:37 pm
Here we go - a look at potential 2010 election matchups (and Palin popularity) - 12/20/2008 1:42 pm
Hawker to Palin: Try again - 12/19/2008 5:11 pm
Video: Palin on salary, energy plan - 12/19/2008 9:58 am
Walt Monegan is planning to run for mayor - 12/18/2008 4:40 pm
Covering Juneau - 12/17/2008 5:07 pm
Palin says no to raise; energy plan delayed - 12/17/2008 2:19 pm
Meyer joins majority, gets LB&A (Updated with McGuire, Menard joining too) - 12/16/2008 5:45 pm
Big crowd on hand for Assembly meeting - 12/16/2008 4:42 pm
(UPDATED) New commission recommends $25K pay raise for governor - 12/16/2008 12:15 pm
Young: "I'm going to go back and kick their ass!" - 12/16/2008 10:10 am
JANUARY 6, 2009 - 3:24 PM
Contradictory polling out there on a hypothetical matchup between Republicans Lisa Murkowski and Sarah Palin for the U.S. Senate in 2010 (Palin has expressed no interest in taking on Murkowski, so this race exists only in the realm of media speculation.)
Talk radio host Dan Fagan paid for a Dave Dittman poll that suggests Murkowski would beat Palin 58 percent to 31 percent in a Republican primary. But a recent Daily Kos/Research 2000 poll has almost exactly opposite results -- with Palin beating Murkowski 55 percent to 31 percent.
JANUARY 5, 2009 - 2:37 PM
From Kyle Hopkins in Anchorage -
Venezuela President Hugo Chavez may not be giving free heating oil to Alaska villages this winter after all.
Citgo, the Venezuela-owned oil company, has announced it suspended the free heating oil program. That according to Citizens Energy, the non-profit that distributes the oil.
We previously reported that Citgo had told the Alaska Inter-Tribal Council in November that the program was going to return this winter.
What changed?
In its announcement, Citizens Energy said: "Due to falling oil prices and the world economic crisis, Citgo has been forced to re-evaluate all their social programs, including the heating oil program."
DECEMBER 31, 2008 - 4:35 PM
From Kyle Hopkins in Anchorage --
The governor's office just sent out this statement:
Governor Sarah Palin Welcomes Her First Grandchild
December 31, 2008, Anchorage, Alaska – Governor Sarah Palin has welcomed her first grandchild, Tripp Easton Mitchell Johnston, born to Bristol Palin and Levi Johnston on December 27.
“We are over the moon with the arrival of this healthy, beautiful baby,” Governor Palin said. “The road ahead for this young couple will not be easy, but nothing worthwhile is ever easy. Bristol and Levi are committed to accomplish what millions of other young parents have accomplished, to provide a loving and secure environment for their child. They are both hard workers, they’re very strong, and have faith they’ve made the right decision in setting aside their own interests to make this child their highest priority.”
DECEMBER 30, 2008 - 9:11 PM
From Kyle Hopkins in Anchorage --
Speaking of things I forgot to post, here's the report on the statewide suicide prevention council described in today's story.
DECEMBER 30, 2008 - 8:55 PM
Team Eagle created "Snowzilla - I'll Show You A Big Wild Life!" at the GCI Snow Sculpture Contest downtown near the railroad tracks in 2007. This year, Fur Rondy plans to build a gigantic snowman of its own. (Fran Durner / Anchorage Daily News)
From Kyle Hopkins in Anchorage --
Ernie Hall, board president for the Fur Rondy festival, hopes Fur Rondy can begin building its own version of Snowzilla as early as late January.
It’ll be as tall or taller than its Airport Heights cousin, he said.
Snowzilla creator Billy Ray Powers says he supports any snowman-related endeavors but wonders if the city is trying to capitalize on Snowzilla’s fame while looking to squash the original. (Fur Rondy is an independent nonprofit but gets some funding from the city.)
Anyway, this new snow giant will need a name.
Hall, who was on Dan Fagan’s KFQD show today, said one person suggested “Jack Frost.”
Except, isn’t that the name of the chief of code enforcement? He’s not necessarily the city official who told Powers not to build Snowzilla this year, but still.
DECEMBER 30, 2008 - 1:12 PM
From Kyle Hopkins in Anchorage -
Just got off the phone with People magazine's managing editor, Larry Hackett. The topics: Palin's celebrity - and whether it extends to her kids - and if the magazine struck a deal to buy pictures of the new baby.
MSNBC posted an anonymously sourced story today today saying People won a bidding war for pictures of Tripp, and would pay the new parents $300,000 for the photos.
Hackett said that's not true.
"There was no bidding war, or at least not one that I was privy too, and I'm the guy who does these things... it's just not true," Hackett said.
And:
"There is no deal with the Palin family. Or Bristol or anybody else," he said.
I asked if that included the Johnstons.
"Nobody. Nobody. Nobody. And I don't know if there will be. I would love to have them."
In other words, Hackett said there's no deal in place, but People might be willing to make one. Of course, they'd rather get the pictures for free.
DECEMBER 29, 2008 - 8:14 PM
From Kyle Hopkins in Anchorage --
This from page 567 in "The Baby Name Bible":
"Trip. Word name. This began as a nickname, but in an age where any noun goes, this could be thought of as representing a little voyager -- hopefully not into a psychedelic realms. Tripp."
Other options from the same page: Trout, Tristan, True, Truman & Trust.
DECEMBER 26, 2008 - 12:40 PM
From Kyle Hopkins in Anchorage --
City spokeswoman Jenny Evans says Anchorage Mayor Mark Begich's last day will be Jan. 3 -- a week from Saturday -- when he hands the keys to Assembly Chair Matt Claman.
Begich is taking with him his spokeswoman, Julie Hasquet, his chief of staff, David Ramseur, and aide Diane DiSanto as he heads to D.C. to replace Sen. Ted Stevens. (Technically, Hasquet stays in Anchorage.)
"Half of the offices are going to be vacant on that side of City Hall," Evans said.
DECEMBER 26, 2008 - 11:22 AM
From Kyle Hopkins in Anchorage --
The Fairbanks borough has canned any short-term plans to convert its trash into power, the News-Miner reports today:
The decision follows a review of a half-dozen proposals from companies interested in the idea, according to the Fairbanks North Star Borough, which runs the South Fairbanks public landfill - and which this summer solicited input from firms interested in building a waste-fed power plant.
Alas. Another near year, and still no garbage-fueled cars.
On an unrelated note: Am I crazy or does this North Slope Borough Assembly ordinance say that borough school board members recently got a 33 percent pay hike for attending meetings? Looks like regular board members got an increase of $250 per meeting (up from $750), while the board chair gets a $500-per-meeting increase to $1,250.
DECEMBER 24, 2008 - 12:02 PM
From Kyle Hopkins in Anchorage -
PETA has been shopping a story here for the last couple of days saying that someone claiming to be from Palin's office threatened to sue them over a video game they posted on their Web site.
The game lets players pelt Colonel Sanders, the "Trollsen Twins" and Palin with snowballs. A PETA spokesman said that when they asked who the caller was, he told them to take the game down or read his name on a lawsuit.
Palin spokesman Bill McAllister said yesterday that no one at Palin's office had heard anything about such a call.
Politico.com has more on the saga here.
This morning, PETA sent a copy of this escalating e-mail battle between the group's president, Ingrid Newkirk, and McAllister:
DECEMBER 22, 2008 - 1:48 PM
From Sean Cockerham in Anchorage --
Sarah Palin says the biggest mistake of the vice presidential campaign was "the opportunities that were not seized to speak to more Americans via media. I was not allowed to do very many interviews, and the interviews that I did were not necessarily those I would have chosen."
That's according to an interview Palin did with the conservative magazine Human Events. The magazine named Palin its conservative of the year for 2008.
The reason, writes Ann Coulter (a regular Human Events columnist), is Palin's "genius at annoying all the right people."
DECEMBER 22, 2008 - 12:37 PM
From Kyle Hopkins in Anchorage --
Palin's next scene on the national stage could come as early as February, at a major conservative convention in D.C.
The event is called the Conservative Political Action Conference, and Palin was supposed to be the keynote last February, before she became a household name.
When Palin couldn't make it, Vice President Dick Cheney stepped in.
"I wonder if it would have made a difference in the campaign, because CPAC is a well-attended event and it certainly would have put her on the national stage many months prior to the election," Director Lisa De Pasquale said in a phone interview this morning.
The convention isn't affiliated with the Republican Party, but big-name Republicans make a point of stopping by. It’s where Mitt Romney conceded to John McCain this year, and where John McCain drew boos from self-described Reagan conservatives when he talked about immigration.
Now the 2009 convention is just two months away, and Palin's expected to be there, Pasquale said.
"It probably will be her next big speech."
DECEMBER 20, 2008 - 1:42 PM
From David Hulen in Anchorage --
We all learned a thing or two about the accuracy of political polling in Alaska during this year's election. Short version: multiple polls were way off in calling the U.S. Senate and U.S. House races. Was it some sort of Alaska version of the Bradley/Wilder effect (where respondents aren't candid with pollsters)? Does the unique nature of the place just make it harder to poll accurately statewide?
Whatever. It's not stopping at least one poll from jumping back in the pool and looking ahead to 2010. The left-leaning Daily Kos yesterday published results from a poll it commissioned from Research 2000, which did get a number of non-Alaska races right this fall, including the presidential election. The new poll sampled 600 likely voters statewide between Dec. 15 and 17. Kos founder Markos Moulitsas writes, "Alaska is far too entertaining politically to swear off, so we jumped right back in."
Among the findings:
> If a Republican primary were held now for U.S. Senate, it would be Palin pummeling incumbent Murkowski, 55 percent to 31 percent. In the general, it's both Palin and Murkowski over the two Democrats mentioned in the poll (Knowles and French).
> When asked whether Palin should be re-elected governor, 51 percent said yes, 33 percent would consider another candidate, and 16 percent said "replace."
> Palin remains a popular governor - 60 percent favorable, 38 percent unfavorable. That's certainly a slide since those off-the-charts numbers measured early in her term (one poll found an 89 percent positive rating in May 2007). And her positives have continued slipping since the fall (when Ivan Moore found 68 percent approval in September and Research 2000 found 65 percent in October). But as Moulitsas puts it, "She has a long way to fall before she'd be considered in trouble."
DECEMBER 19, 2008 - 5:11 PM
From Sean Cockerham in Anchorage -
State House finance co-chair Mike Hawker told Gov. Palin today in a hand-delivered letter that she's based her budget on an unrealistically high expectation for state revenue. He wants her to rework the numbers to reflect a possible $2 to $3 billion deficit.
Palin's budget proposal is based on her revenue department's projection that oil will average $74.41 a barrel over the next budget year, which starts in July. "Many, if not most, professional economic analysts believe that the actual average prices will be significantly less than that," Hawker wrote.
DECEMBER 19, 2008 - 9:58 AM
From Kyle Hopkins in Anchorage --
Meant to post this yesterday, so sorry for the delay. This is Gov. Sarah Palin talking about a proposed pay raise for the governor. Plus: What happened to her energy plan, which was expected earlier this week?
(She'd just stopped by a downtown hotel to sign an order creating a rural subcabinet.)
...
DECEMBER 18, 2008 - 4:40 PM
From Don Hunter in Anchorage:
Walt Monegan just answered a phone call and confirmed he plans to file a letter of intent Friday with the Alaska Public Offices Commission.
A longtime Anchorage cop who rose to become chief of police, Monegan said people have been talking to him about running for office since before he left the city.
His much-publicized ouster as the state's public safety commissioner in a dispute with Gov. Sarah Palin last summer "certainly gave me the opportunity," Monegan said.
Monegan said he didn't want to talk in any detail about his campaign plans or issues he wants to pursue until his state paperwork has been filed.
DECEMBER 17, 2008 - 5:07 PM
From David Hulen, ADN state/local news editor --
There's a rumor going around that the ADN is shutting down its Juneau bureau and will not cover the upcoming legislative session, the governor, her administration and the state government generally. This is not the case.
We are planning to cover the upcoming session (it convenes Jan. 20) just as we did last year. That means being in Juneau for most of the three-month session. We've been planning this for the past few weeks. Our reporter will be Sean Cockerham, who has covered Alaska government and politics extensively for us. We'll cover the legislature and the administration from Juneau when he's there, and we'll cover both from Anchorage all year.
We have decided not to staff Juneau year-round -- at least for now. This isn't new. For many years we had a full-time, year-round Juneau reporter. We stopped doing that in 2007. Since then, we've sent reporters to Juneau as we think is warranted -- sometimes for months at a time covering regular and special sessions (including most of last summer). We've also gone months with no one in Juneau.
DECEMBER 17, 2008 - 2:19 PM
From Kyle Hopkins in Anchorage --
Two quick Palin items:
-- Palin says she didn't ask for a pay raise and won't accept one during her current term. That's from her spokesman, Bill McAllister, who says he talked to the governor about the $25,000 raise that a new state commission is recommending this week.
It's unclear if Palin would give the money to charity - as commission chairman Rick Halford suggested yesterday - or simply not receive the extra pay.
"The point is she's not going to take it home. It's not going to end up in her bank account," McAllister said.
-- Meantime, we were expecting to see Palin's energy plan released today. Energy czar Steve Haagenson has been working on it for months, and as recently as last week it was expected to hit the street today.
Now it's being pushed back until next month.
DECEMBER 16, 2008 - 5:45 PM
From Sean Cockerham in Anchorage --
(Update -- Ok, now Lesil McGuire has joined the Senate majority too.
The Republican from Anchorage will co-chair the Senate Resources Committee.
So it's six Republicans and 10 Democrats in the majority coalition. Just four senators will be in the all-Republican minority -- Con Bunde, Fred Dyson, Tom Wagoner and Gene Therriault.)
Original post --
Anchorage Republican Kevin Meyer is joining the state Senate majority coalition, and his prize is chairmanship of the Legislative Budget and Audit Committee.
It's been an important committee lately, hiring the Legislature's expert consultants on oil and gas issues. The committee has taken a major role in discussions of the natural gas pipeline as well as oil and gas taxation policy.
DECEMBER 16, 2008 - 4:42 PM
From Don Hunter at the Anchorage Assembly --
The Assembly has a full slate tonight, with union contracts, a fire department cost overrun and maybe even a proposal for the city to hire a "bear cop." There's still a half-hour to go before the earliest meeting of the night begins, the parking lot outside the Assembly's chambers at Loussac Library is filling up fast and the room is least half full. Cops and firefighters are well represented, and former Anchorage chief and former state public safety head Walt Monegan is among them.
Important warning about e-mails purporting to be from the adn.com staff.
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