I am completely disgusted.
My phone has been blowing up with calls, emails, texts and Facebook messages from people who want to know how I had felt about the runoff election while it was underway and how I have felt about the results.
I couldn't think. I certainty couldn't give the detailed analysis of the numbers that people wanted to hear. Thinking about this race just made me sick to my stomach.
I had done a lot of the research; studied how each of the precincts had come out. In fact, there were some very interesting results. In the first election, Ethan Berkowitz received 37 percent of all ballots cast. This is in a city where Mark Begich could barely break the 45 percent mark, which motivated passing a ballot measure that lowered the threshold to win from 50 to 45 percent.
Being a nonpartisan affair, the mayor's race has always brought interest from many from within the mainstream parties and those on the fringe. It's a great place for more nontraditional candidates to get a larger stage to make their voices heard. We've seen our fair share of nasty elections on every level. The presidential race of 2000 cemented the concept of hanging, dimpled and pregnant chads in our psyche.
During both of Mayor Dan Sullivan's elections he handled baseless, nasty allegations with grace, and won both contests.
After the April 7 mayoral election, Andrew Halcro, who finished third and was therefore disqualified from the two-candidate runoff, posted this on his Facebook page the day after the election: "8 years ago I lost to Sarah Palin and Tony Knowles. 8 hours ago I lost to Amy Demboski and Ethan Berkowitz. I think I've seen this movie before."
The most infamous case of a nasty election in Alaska's history -- we all know -- was the primary and general election for U.S. Senate involving Joe Miller and Lisa Murkowski.
In the primary election, Joe Miller ran a pretty solid campaign. He came along at exactly the right time – at the heart of Tea Party popularity. He was focused on his message, and it was consistent throughout his speeches and appearances.
Then he shocked the state.
Attaining that success, while certainly not setting any standards for ethical behavior, the campaign was solid. They focused on the facts and articulated to the further-right base of the Republican Party why he was the best candidate. He was set up.
With all due respect to Scott McAdams, the Democratic candidate who is a fantastic Sitka politician and a great man, there was no way Joe Miller was going to lose as the Republican candidate in the general election.
Not only did the Democrats not want that to happen, but the Republican establishment did not want to back Miller, for many different reasons. So, Sen. Murkowski announced a run in the general election as a write-in candidate.
Then it got ugly.
After a pretty clean-cut campaign in the primary election, things changed quite a bit in the general election. It started on election night at the Egan Center. While we were all watching results come in and recovering from the shock of the Miller victory, a friend and photographer I was talking to, Bryan Hickok, pointed out two men to me and said "They are security for Joe Miller."
These bodyguards got more public attention in October 2010 when they handcuffed journalist Tony Hopfinger when he was trying to ask questions at a public event.
That election was ugly. It gave mudslinging a whole new meaning. Talk radio even got involved when on-air host Dan Fagan encouraged everybody to sign up as write-in candidates flooding the state election office on Gambell Street.
All of these elections were pretty bad, involved some very personal and unnecessary attacks, and many of the people involved owed apologies. In some cases those were made.
The accusations made against Berkowitz during the last two weeks of this mayor's runoff was far more disgusting -- so disgusting that I couldn't write about it, I couldn't put words to it, I refused to put it in print attached to my name. If you don't know what happened, you won't learn it from me. Rest assured these allegations are so absurd and out of line that Demoboski should have quickly disowned the allegation completely. She did not.
The extreme left bloggers fired back and attacked Demboski's family as well. Those attacks were equally uncalled for and disgusting. Neither Berkowitz nor anybody in the campaign ever acknowledged those attacks -- a route Demobski should have taken.
I believe in humanity. I believe in the power of people. I think that we are all inherently good and desire to do things the right way, even if we occasionally get off track. While I am very excited for the future of Anchorage under the leadership of Berkowitz, who is a great man, the excitement is a little bittersweet because this month humanity let me down.
Mike Dingman is a fifth-generation Alaskan born and raised in Anchorage. He is a former UAA student body president and has worked, studied and volunteered in Alaska politics since the late '90s. Email, michaeldingman@gmail.com.
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