Former Alaska state Rep. Tom Anderson, 43, sunk his legislative career by agreeing to set up a sham company, billed as a Web-based newsletter, to act as a clearinghouse to hide payments he thought he was getting from a private-prison company that wanted his political influence.
Sentenced to serve five years in prison for his role in the bribery scheme, Anderson is on track for an early release this summer and already has a job offer waiting for him –- in public relations.
"He had paid his debt to society and now it's time for him to hit the ground running and come out a better man," said Alaska restaurateur and businessman Frank Dahl, one of the co-owners of the newly formed firm Optima Public Relations.
The other co-owner is Anderson's father, Tom Anderson Sr., former director of the Alaska State Troopers. Dahl and Anderson's dad have dabbled in PR-style affairs most of their careers, Dahl said, adding that they felt it was time to make a formal business out of their experiences.
The company, which will offer polling, ad placement and marketing strategies to political campaigns or "any and all companies," is new enough that its website is still under construction, Dahl said. But it has landed some work, including a spot in support of Sen. Lisa Murkowski's re-election campaign, as well as three "major companies" outside the state that Dahl declined to name.
For the Kenai Sports Fishing Association, a predecessor company to Optima -- Alaska Public Strategies -- created an election season ad showing the Republican senator, who ran against GOP nominee Joe Miller as a write-in candidate, holding a large king salmon, Dahl said.
What the convict Tom Anderson's role will be remains to be seen. "We will be hiring other people, and he is going to be one of those people that we will be hiring at some point to be working for us," Dahl said.
Asked whether creating a spot for Anderson was motivated by family connections, or Anderson's skills, Dahl responded, "a little bit of both."
"I would not hire him if it were not for his talent," he said.
According to the Bureau of Prisons, Anderson is finishing up his time at a halfway house in Seattle and is scheduled for release in late July.
"Tom's case and circumstances are irrelevant as far as his father and I are concerned," Dahl wrote via email. "We believe in Tom, and admire his positive attitude after such an adverse event. Tom's tenacity seems to compel him to rise above personal challenges, and that's why he'll be good in our PR firm. ... He'll work really well with clients, particularly when we're hired for crisis management and communications."
Plus, Anderson will walk through the door with impressive credentials, Dahl said, noting that Anderson holds degrees in political science, public management and law, and has a history of managing successful political campaigns, giving him experience in "grassroot advocacy, polling and marketing development."
The company expects to be fully operational by mid-summer.
Contact Jill Burke at jill(at)alaskadispatch.com
[EDITOR'S NOTE: This article was updated May 11, 2011 to correctly attribute work done by Alaska Public Strategies on a re-election campaign for U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski.]