A little more than four years ago during a Senate election campaign, I wrote, "Joe Miller's political future in Alaska is, not to put too fine a point on it, deader than Alabama roadkill. Draw a chalk line around it and call somebody to clean it up. The worst part? Miller insists on killing it even deader."
Things change, but at the time, that observation was spot on. Fast forward to today's packed Anchorage mayoral contest, substitute Dan Coffey's name for Miller's and you have a good assessment of Coffey's predicament as some view it nowadays.
It is difficult to imagine a guy who has run longer or harder for the mayor's job than Coffey, or who has more money tied up in the effort -- or a guy who is more inclined to hoist himself on his own petard. He apparently has only one button available to push -- "self-destruct."
On his campaign website, for instance, Coffey, a lawyer with a lengthy resume -- businessman, sports team owner, member of various boards and commissions and the Anchorage Assembly -- hangs out his dirty laundry for everybody to see in something he calls "Reports to Voters."
He told the Anchorage Press: "The idea was, 'Look, I am an imperfect human being. I have made these mistakes ... in the public arena. Here's what happened. Not my side of the story ... I want you to know what I did, why I did it, how I did it, what was wrong with what I did, or what was right with what I did," adding, "If I make a mistake, I own it."
There is an Alaska Public Offices Commission fine for failing to register as a Port of Anchorage lobbyist -- just a misunderstanding, he says, settled on his lawyer's advice. There is a crab fishing violation -- just minor stuff, he says -- and an explanation of his liquor industry ties. "Don't judge a lawyer by his clients," he says. Then, there are the two other items.
One deals with an April 20, 2005, letter to a federal judge at the behest of defense lawyers representing Josef Boehm, who pleaded guilty to providing crack cocaine to teenage girls for sex.
When Boehm was busted, Coffey was counsel for a company Boehm invested in. Boehm was, Coffey writes, "missing meetings, attending meetings when he was not lucid or attentive and generally not acting in a rational manner for a businessman involved in a multi-million dollar development."
Coffey says he only offered the judge his observations on whether Boehm was capable of a "leadership" role in his crimes. "My letter in no way condoned Boehm's conduct," Coffey writes.
Then, we have this: In 2008, Coffey, an Assembly member, was in a car with Assemblyman Bill Starr. Coffey's cellphone "butt-dialed" a political foe, the late Allan Tesche, whose answering machine picked up and recorded what was said.
In the profanity-laced recording -- a transcript was posted on Coffey's website -- Coffey makes remarks that could be construed as admitting he was paying Assembly members to vote his way. Coffey claims he was "joking" when he said, "I'm doling it out 250 at a crack."
Then we have Coffey's lawyer, Thomas Amodio, threatening to haul into court any radio or TV station that broadcasts the tape, which has been aired at least once.
Coffey says it all is a big mistake, that he hired Amodio, Alaska Dispatch News reports, to "research and inform broadcasters about the law, not to threaten them"; that he read only the first page of the lawyer's letter.
The sheer weight and number of the questions boggles the mind. How many times can he say, "I don't know," or, "That is not what it appears"? He is a lawyer, so how can he not know that a defense-requested letter blaming drugs for a federal defendant's reprehensible behavior will be seen as seeking leniency? How can he not guess people might wonder why he was doing business with Boehm if he were in such bad shape? How can Coffey look at the transcript of the tape recording -- or listen to it -- and believe anybody will think he was joking? How can he not know his own lawyer is threatening the media -- and claim he did not read the letter sent them?
How can he be such a smart guy and not know so much?
Somebody get out the chalk.
Paul Jenkins is editor of the Anchorage Daily Planet, a division of Porcaro Communications, which has provided services to the mayoral campaigns of Amy Demboski and Andrew Halcro.
The views expressed here are the writer's own and are not necessarily endorsed by Alaska Dispatch News, which welcomes a broad range of viewpoints. To submit a piece for consideration, email commentary(at)alaskadispatch.com.