On April 6, 2021 all hell broke loose in the Capitol after Must Read Alaska’s Suzanne Downing published a story, “Party Capitol: Beer pong, leg wrestling, and a terse memo from Legislative Affairs.” The story stemmed from a gathering of nine politicos (who were later dubbed the Naughty Nine) that had taken place at the Terry Miller legislative gym six nights prior. 

The story got a few things right – like playing ping pong, having a few drinks, and some harmless leg wrestling – but fabricated others – like playing beer pong, claiming alcohol is banned in the Capitol, and essentially throwing a rager. 

Downing told the Landmine she definitely took some editorial liberties, like combining beer and ping pong into beer pong, but the real point was there was partying going on while the public was banned from the Capitol due to Covid. 

Indeed, the gathering did take place during the crazy Covid lockdown frenzy. (The dumbest thing about that time was all these lockdown rules existed to “protect the staff” but after work many legislators and staff went out to bars and restaurants in Juneau.)

But the story, and subsequent coverage from some in the media, did have a partisan angle. Three of the Naughty Nine were members of the House that Republicans were not happy with: Representative Zack Fields (D – Anchorage), then-Republican Representative Sara Rasmussen and then-Representative and now Senator Kelly Merrick (R – Eagle River).

Merrick had joined with Democrats to form a majority. And Rasmussen chose to be in a caucus of one, denying the Republican minority a seat on the 11-member finance committee, which she took. 

This is what really pissed some hyper partisan Republicans. 

Downing’s story, which resulted in widespread coverage in the Alaska media, spawned from an email sent on April 1, 2021 – the day after the Terry Miller gathering. The email was from Jessica Geary, the director of the Legislative Affairs Agency, and was sent to all legislators and staff. This email is what kicked off the entire controversy. 

Emails never before published shed more light into the matter.

Stacey Stone, a lawyer who represents Republican interests, sent a records request on behalf of Suzanne Downing to Geary asking for emails and security footage pertaining to the Terry Miller gym incident. The Legislature’s policy is to not release security footage except to law enforcement or to comply with a court order. Emails, however, can be released in certain circumstances. (The Legislature exempted themselves from the Public Records Act.) 

A production of 23 pages of emails was prepared by Geary to fulfill Stone’s request, but was ultimately not released when Representative Sara Hannan (D – Juneau), who chaired Legislative Council, blocked the release of the emails. However, the Landmine was sent the emails as a sort of insurance policy. Let’s just say some the emails aren’t exactly flattering to some of the attendees who are friends with Republicans. 

This is the first time any of these emails have been published. Below you can see the response that was supposed to go to Stone, followed by an email from Senator Shelley Hughes (R – Palmer) demanding to know what happened! 

The emails also show inquirers from then-Anchorage Daily News reporter James Brooks, then-KTUU reporter Sean Maguire, and then KTOO reporter Andrew Kitchenman asking for emails and copies of the security footage. Downing’s story really kicked something off. 

One person, known as Alaska First, was very upset and asked Geary if they could show up after hours and drink beer in the gym too! 

The whole thing was blown way out of proportion. In the end it was just a little ping pong, some basketball, and a few drinks. And yes, there was a little leg wrestling. 

Some Republican legislators wanted two of the staffers who attended fired. It nearly came to that. I felt particularly bad because I invited three of the people who were there, including those two staffers. One Republican representative even went full Karen and sent a letter to the CEO of Hilcorp as their lobbyist was one of the people who attended. 

It was a wild week. Things came to a screeching halt in Juneau for a few days during the mania over the incident. It was maximum loose, even for Juneau. 

So, four years later where are the Naughty Nine and what are they doing? Well, for one, everyone is doing great! You could say the Terry Miller incident was a real launching off point for some careers. 

Here is a summary of what the Naughty Nine are up to now:

• Kelly Merrick was elected to the State Senate in November 2022, a year and a half after Terry Miller. She was re-elected last year after a nasty campaign between her and her Republican challenger Jared Goecker. She has been part of bipartisan majorities in the Senate since being elected and served on the finance committee. She even got a $10,000 campaign donation from Robin Brena last year! Her title as leg wrestling champion is still under review due to accusations of cheating. 
• Sara Rasmussen did not seek re-election in 2022 after redistricting resulted with her in an essentially unwinnable district for a Republican. She recently welcomed her third child, a beautiful baby girl! She’s served as the state government affairs director at GCI since February 2023. She’s basically killing it!
• Zack Fields remains in the State House. In 2022, redistricting paired him with then-Democratic Representative Harriet Drummond. He easily defeated Drummond. Last year he ran unopposed. He currently serves as the majority whip and co-chairs the House Labor & Commerce Committee. Fields continues to be a successful operator in the Legislature. 
• During Terry Miller, Tyson Gallagher was Governor Mike Dunleavy’s (R – Alaska) deputy chief of staff. Some probably thought the negative publicity would hinder Gallagher’s career. They were wrong! Three months after Terry Miller Gallagher became Dunleavy’s acting chief of staff. And four months after that he was named his official chief of staff, a role he still holds. Take that, haters! 
• Post Terry Miller, Matt Shuckerow continued to run his successful consulting company, Fathom Strategic Communications. In November he was hired as the new corporate manager for Alaska government and public affairs at Hilcorp. No big deal! Shuckerow replaced another member of the Naughty Nine, Luke Miller.
• Luke Miller left Hilcorp last fall after nearly five years in the role. One may wonder why he would leave such a great job. Well, he is now the head of global media relations for Bechtel, a Fortune 500 company with revenues exceeding $20 billion! Unfortunately for Alaska, his new job took him and his family to Northern Virginia. 
• Austin Baird left his role as communications director for the House Majority Coalition nine months after Terry Miller. He started running a consulting firm, 49/50 Consulting, where he worked on Bill Walker’s gubernational campaign in 2022. Since March 2023, he has served as the director of corporate communications for the Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium (ANTHC). No big deal! 
• Grace Kubitz continued in her role as a staffer for Zack Fields for a year and a half after Terry Miller. She left at the end of 2022 and then spent nearly a year at NANA as their external affairs manager. Since September 2023, she has served as a legislative assistant for Senator Lisa Murkowski (R – Alaska) in D.C. It doesn’t get much better than that!  
• And finally, me. Well I am basically doing the same stuff but things are going much better. Terry Miller was my third session in Juneau and I was still figuring things out. I started the Alaska Political Report in January 2021, so it was still a new thing when Terry Miller went down. The Alaska Political Report has grown considerably since then. Neil Steininger, Governor Dunleavy’s former OMB director, came on board last year and is doing a great job. I also started Tudor Road Studios, a video and live stream production company, with my friend Scott Jensen right before Terry Miller went down. Four years later we have five owners and are having a great time growing that business. The Landmine is doing awesome and continuing to grow. I have spent every session in Juneau since the infamous Terry Miller incident and am writing this from my Juneau office, which I moved into in 2022, the session after Terry Miller.