Happy Solstice everyone! Today also happens to be my birthday. Thanks to everyone who wished me a happy birthday. I hope everyone has a great Christmas this week. There is only one Sunday Minefield left before we hit 2026! 

The Republican Senate minority chose Senator Mike Cronk (R – Tok) as their new leader, but not without some internal drama. Governor Mike Dunleavy (R – Alaska) has still not chosen replacements for the two vacant Mat-Su House seats. Things got wild at a packed meeting of the Palmer City Council due to an issue involving the Palmer Golf Course. The Anchorage Assembly voted 7-5 to change the city seal, a move that made many Anchorage residents unhappy. And some politicos are on the move. 

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 will be heading back for my eighth session in January. 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. 

Republican Senate minority chooses new leader, but not without problems

The following is an excerpt from this week’s edition of the Alaska Political Report. You can click here for more information about the Political Report. A subscription is $1,299/year per organization. Discounted pricing is available for non-profits and government entities. If you have any questions or would like to subscribe, please email jeff@akpoliticalreport.com.

This week, the reconstituted six-member Republican Senate minority chose Tok Sen. Mike Cronk as their new leader.

Cronk replaces Mike Shower, who resigned his seat in late October to focus on his campaign as Republican gubernatorial candidate Bernadette Wilson’s running mate. He was replaced by Sutton now-Sen. George Rauscher.

Shelley Hughes also resigned her Senate seat in mid-November to focus on her campaign for governor. She was replaced by Wasilla now-Sen. Cathy Tilton.

Rauscher and Tilton were confirmed Nov. 29. Rather than quickly choosing a new minority leader, it became clear there was a split between the caucus’ more conservative members (Rauscher, Tilton, and Robb Myers of North Pole) and the more moderate members (Cronk, James Kaufman of Anchorage, and Rob Yundt of Wasilla).

Cronk, Kaufman, and Yundt all voted for the budget and to override GOP Gov. Mike Dunleavy’s partial veto of education funding. The rare budget veto override, which took place in August during the special session, got 45 votes – the bare minimum required by the Alaska Constitution.

Myers, Tilton, and Rauscher voted against the budget and no on overriding Dunleavy’s veto.

Myers wanted to be minority leader, but so did Cronk. Each of them had three votes, one short of the four needed from the six-member group. Unlike the very public drama within the Republican House minority, the Senate minority quietly dealt with their issues — but issues persist nonetheless.

For starters, Cronk’s vote to override Dunleavy’s education veto does not bode well for the Senate minority’s relationship with the governor in the final year of his term.

Cronk is also keeping his seat on the finance committee. Sources report that it was made clear to the more conservative members of the minority that even if their caucus split with Cronk as minority leader, Cronk and Kaufman would be able to keep their finance seats — even though the reduction of the bloc’s size would typically cost the caucus one or both seats on the committee. The guarantee that Kaufman and Cronk could keep their seats is only something the Senate majority could promise — suggesting the mostly-Democratic majority helped sway the outcome of the vote for minority leader.

Other considerations also played into the choice of Cronk as minority leader. Rauscher will get a seat on the influential resources committee, replacing Hughes. Tilton will get a seat on the state affairs committee, replacing Yundt. Yundt will go to the education committee, replacing Cronk.

All committee assignments will be confirmed shortly after the legislative session convenes on Jan. 20 when the Committee on Committees meets.

The Political Report will again be covering the legislative session from Juneau.

Palmer Golf Course contract extended for one year

A Tuesday (12/16/2025) meeting of the Palmer City Council got wild when hundreds of people showed up to support the Palmer Golf Course. There were so many people in attendance that the location of the meeting had to be moved to accommodate everyone.   

You may recall the Loose Unit in the December 7th Sunday Minefield was the City of Palmer, with a special mention for City Manager Kolby Hickel Zerkel. This was due to the fact that the city nearly let the contract for the operator of the golf course expire. It was set to expire on December 31, but the outpouring of support from the community resulted in the council extending the contract for one year. 

If the contract had expired, it was not clear if the course would even operate next year as much work needs to be done in the winter to prepare for the summer golf season. The whole thing was either the result of incompetence by City Manager Hickel Zerkel, or a potentially more sinister attempt to shut down the golf course – which makes money for the city. 

Seeing the writing on the wall, Hickel Zerkel actually attempted to take credit for fixing the issue with the contract. It was a brazen attempt to take credit for a problem she caused. Assembly member John Alcanrta pushed back, saying that she was looking for problems with the FAA and that she’s looking for a solution in search of a problem.

One observation about the Palmer people who showed up to testify, they did their homework and were very respectful. Testifiers ranged from golfers to employees to a Special Olympian to one girl who learned to golf there and is now attending college on a golf scholarship. It was great to see so many people organize and show up to support an asset so important to the community. 

Other Happenings 

The Resource Development Council announced Connor Hajdukovich as their new executive director. Congrats, Connor! He’s been interim director since October. Following the breaking of the glass ceiling by Steve Wackowski to lead the Alaska Oil & Gas Association, Connor is the second man to lead one of the industry trade groups. He’s the son of Leslie Hajdukovich, who unsuccessfully challenged Senator Scott Kawasaki (D – Fairbanks) last year. She now works as Representative Nick Begich’s (R – Alaska) Fairbanks director. 

Republican gubernatorial candidate Matt Heilala hired Tom Wright to be his campaign manager. Congrats, Tom! Wright worked as senior legislative staffer in the House for many years. Ryan Sheldon will stay on as deputy campaign manager.

The Landmine has confirmed the board of the Cabaret, Hotel, Restaurant & Retailers Association (CHARR) is looking into former president/CEO Sarah Oates Harlow and how she may have got loose with her expense account. It sounds like it’s internal for now. She was let go in October.

Everyone in Southcentral should be paying close attention to the gas issue. If these low temperatures keep up and gas has to continually be pulled from the Cook Inlet Natural Gas Storage Alaska (CINGSA), things could get dicey in March and April if there is a cold snap. Or if one or two of the wells were to fail now, that could also create a big problem. It’s so crazy the people in charge of our state have let our energy situation come to this. 

Another one! That makes 13 Republicans in the governor’s race. 

This Week’s Loose Unit 

This week’s designee is as easy as it gets. This week’s Loose Unit is the Anchorage Assembly, specifically the seven members who voted to change the city seal: Chris Constant, Daniel Volland, Yarrow Silvers, George Martinez, Cameron Perez-Verdia, Felix Rivera, and Anna Brawley. 

The fact that it only passed by one vote is telling. After a public survey the Assembly put out backfired, they went even further and chose a design that was not even one of the options! Classic Loose Unit behavior. 

I have not seen this level of pushback and disgust from Anchorage residents against the Assembly since Covid. It’s hard to understand just what the hell they were thinking.

They cut out Captain Cook’s ship and the airplane. I can see why some would want to get rid of the ship (not me) but the eliminating the plane is super loose. Anchorage is a critical aviation hub for the world. It seems the most important reason for many of the yes votes was due to the weird Native worship feelings they hold. 

It was clear that Anchorage residents did not want the seal changed. Reasons ranged from the potential cost to wanting the Assembly to focus on the real issues affecting Anchorage to not liking the new designs. Regardless of the reasons, it was clear the vast majority did not want it changed.  

I made a Facebook post on the Landmine page asking what people think of the new seal. With more than 400 comments, it’s hard to find a positive one. 

If Mayor Suzanne LaFrance had any political sense, she would have vetoed the new design. The Assembly would not have the votes to override the veto. The whole thing is maximum loose and beyond comprehension. 

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.