September is almost here, which means the end of summer is, unfortunately, nearing. I hope everyone has some great plans for the upcoming Labor Day weekend! The first Democrat entered the already crowded governor’s race. Former Revenue Commissioner Crooked Adam Crum, one of the many Republicans running for governor, held a bizarre kickoff event in the Mat-Su Valley. Attorney General Treg Taylor announced his resignation, which means he will soon be yet another Republican in the governor’s race. The House and Senate both held brief technical floor sessions on Tuesday (8/19/2025) during the ongoing special session. Representative Jamie Allard (R – Alaska) picked up an interesting Republican challenger. And a bunch of politicos, lobbyists, and legislators were on the Peninsula for the Kenai River Classic.  

A friendly message and reminder to all our readers. The Landmine is made possible by myself and a team of awesome Alaskans. I have been covering the legislative session in Juneau for the last seven years and returned from Juneau in May. If you enjoy the content we provide, please consider making a one time or recurring monthly donation. You can click here to donate. We have a system that makes it super easy. We would really appreciate it. And thanks to everyone who has been supportive. And a well-known Eagle River representative picked up an opponent. 

Governor’s race keeps growing

Former State Senator Tom Begich filed to run for governor this week. He’s the first Democrat to enter the race. There has been a lot of talk and speculation that former Democratic Representative Mary Peltola may run for governor, or challenge Senator Dan Sullivan (R – Alaska). But Peltola has been quiet about her plans.

Peltola also has a great gig working at the lobbying and law firm Holland & Hart as a senior director for Alaska Affairs. Word is her salary is $400,000 plus bonuses for work she brings in. It’s no easy decision to leave a job that pays that kind of money. 

Begich seems to have gotten tired of waiting for Peltola to decide what she’s going to do. He says that he will get out of the race if she gets in, which is a weird thing to say after you file to run for an office. But the longer he’s in the race lining up money and support, the harder it will be for her to get in.

My money is that if Peltola runs for anything it will be against Sullivan. National Democrats don’t want Sullivan to skate and Peltola is the most popular and known Democrat in the state. That means she could wait to file and continue to earn the big salary from Holland & Hart. Beating Sullivan in a red state like Alaska would be extremely difficult, and Peltola knows this. She could negotiate some great job after if she were to run against Sullivan and lose. Or she could just decide the stress is not worth it and stay with her job at Holland & Hart. The filing deadline is not until June 1, so there is plenty of time for her to decide.

Crooked Adam Crum held his kickoff event at a hangar in the Mat-Su Valley this week. He had a King Air and two single engine planes placed outside the hangar, kind of like a low-rent Donald Trump. Dude also had a teleprompter. If you need a teleprompter to announce that you’re running for governor, you have a big problem. He also had a big sign that read “BOLD LEADER. NO EXCUSES. JUST RESULTS.” No excuses, especially for refusing to cooperate with the legislative auditor on oil tax settlements! Word is he’s working with some big lower 48 consulting firm, who are probably going to drain him for whatever they can. He already filed a candidate reimbursement for a $25,000 loan to his campaign.  

Republican Bruce Walden also filed to run for governor this week. He ran for governor in 2022 but did not do well. 

With Walden, there are now nine Republicans in the race:

• Lieutenant Governor Nancy Dahlstrom 
• Former Senator Click Bishop
• Senator Shelley Hughes (R – Palmer)
• Mat-Su Borough Mayor Edna DeVries
• Crooked Adam Crum
• Bernadette Wilson
• James Parkin
• Matt Heilala
• Bruce Walden

But it’s soon to be ten. Attorney General Treg Taylor’s last day is August 29. He’s long been planning to run for governor while he’s been attorney general, which is loose. He’s part of a panel sponsored by the Anchorage Republican Women’s Club on Thursday (8/28/2025). He’s also on a panel at the Alaska Oil & Gas Association conference this week. And the group he chairs, the Attorney General Alliance, is meeting this week in Anchorage. My bet is he makes his announcement in mid-September.  

Other Happenings 

The House and Senate held brief technical floor sessions on Tuesday for the ongoing no activity special session. The House floor session lasted 37 seconds. Only three members were present. They adjourned to August 31 at 10 am for a technical session. The Senate floor session lasted one minute and 44 seconds. Only two members were present. They also adjourned to August 31 at 10 am for a technical session. The 30-day special session called by Governor Mike Dunleavy (R – Alaska) times out on September 1. There is some talk that Dunleavy may immediately call them back on September 2 for another special session on education. But even if he does, they likely won’t do anything.

Nick Capozzi, a Republican, filed to run against Representative Jamie Allard. Capozzi is the brother of Kati Capozzi, CEO of the Alaska Chamber. He previously worked as a special advisor to Governor Dunleavy. Ruby Jones also filed to run against Allard. She’s registered as Nonpartisan in the election database but she tells the Landmine that she’s a registered Republican.     

Is Senator Robb Myers (R – North Pole) up to something?! 

The Central Council of the Tlingit & Haida Indian Tribes of Alaska may be one of the most corrupt entities in Alaska, which says a lot. It’s amazing what some “outside firms” will do for money. Based on the number of people who have contacted me with horror stories about Richard Peterson, it’s telling how fast Tlingit & Haida swept everything under the rug. They all seem to be part of the racket. Stay tuned. There is a lot more to this story. 

Anchorage Mayor Suzanne LaFrance and the municipal government continue to let vagrants run wild in Anchorage. 

Luckily the FBI and feds are stepping up to help get some of the drug and vagrancy problems in Anchorage solved.

It costs $4,000 to fish at the Kenai River Classic. Some notable people in attendance included Nancy Dahlstrom, Treg Taylor, Crooked Adam Crum, Shelley Hughes, Dan Sullivan, several legislators, lobbyists, and business people. As George Carlin used to say, “It’s a big club, and you ain’t in it!”

This week’s Loose Unit 

This week’s designee is really loose! This week’s Loose Unit is Chugach Electric, with a special mention for Julie Hasquet, their senior manager for corporate communications. This week, Chugach Electric announced a new scam where they “round up” customer bills then dole the remainder out to who knows what non-profits. The best part is the program is opt OUT! You may recall this exact scam was part of the 1999 movie “Office Space.”

Chugach Electric went maximum loose with the program by not even getting permission to do it! The funny thing with utilities is rates are set. and utilities need permission from the Regulatory Commission of Alaska to make changes. The Regulatory Affairs and Public Advocacy section of the Department of Law responded by filing a petition against Chugach Electric for the scam. Classic Loose Unit behavior. 

It’s especially loose that amid a legitimate gas crisis in Southcentral, the clowns at Chugach are working on this kind of nonsense, as well as a fantasy that we will be able to derive our electricity from renewables. 

If you have a nomination for this week’s Loose Unit, or if you have any political news, stories or gossip (or any old pics of politicians or public officials) please email me at jeff@alaskalandmine.com.