He hasn't made headlines like he did, say, in 1985, when he allowed three members of his congregation to dress as devils and act like protesters with the anti-apartheid folks in front of his church to get attention. Or when he and his congregation came out in force against gay rights. But a visit to his church, The Anchorage Baptist Temple, on the Sunday before Tuesday's primary still seems required attendance for many candidates.
On Sunday, about 20 state and federal candidates showed up to introduce themselves to the congregation. They sat politely in the pews as a graphic video of a passion play the church put on last Easter was displayed on a huge screen above the choir. (The acting was so effective, the blood and torture so real, that a small child behind me had to cover her eyes.) Later, they listened to Prevo warn of hell and brimstone, a "prison" awaiting the unsaved.
After the service, the candidates mingled with the congregants in the lobby.
Among the candidates running for federal seats were U.S. Rep. Don Young, Lt. Gov. Sean Parnell, U.S. Sen. Ted Stevens, state Rep. Gabrielle LeDoux, Rick Sikma, David Cuddy, Diane Benson, Jerry Heikes, Michael Corey, Bob Bird and Frederick David Haase.
Some of the state candidates included Rep. Bob Lynn, David Harbour, Bob Bird, Sen. Bettye Davis, Rep. Max Gruenberg, Pete Petersen, Rep. Bob Roses, and Uwe Kalenka.
Among those federal candidates absent: Democrats Ethan Berkowitz, running for U.S. House, and Anchorage Mayor Mark Begich, running for Stevens's Senate seat.
Berkowitz didn't show because he was on the Kenai Peninsula. Begich didn't show because of scheduling conflicts. Spokespersons for both said that their absence shouldn't be viewed as a political statement.
Diane Benson said that her presence there shouldn't be taken as a political statement either. "I came here to meet constituents. Not as an endorsement of the message," she said.
Pete Petersen, who's running for state House against Republican incumbent Roses in the district that includes the Anchorage Baptist Temple, was a bit more forthright. "This is strictly publicity," Petersen said. (Petersen is a Democrat, although you won't find the term anywhere in his campaign literature or on his website.)
Democratic state Rep. Gruenberg, who is Jewish, said that he didn't find the service-with all the talk about the punishment awaiting those who don't believe in the resurrection-offensive. "People should be allowed to do and say what they want to in their own faith," he said.
Democratic state Rep. Les Gara has a primary challenger, but he didn't attend because he was knocking on constituents' doors, an activity that he finds less hypocritical than attending the church. Gara, who is also Jewish, said, "Jerry Prevo is not my pastor. He doesn't go to my temple, and he doesn't stand up for the things I believe in. Why would I go and pretend to believe the things he believes in to get votes?"