The November general election is just over three weeks away! Early and absentee voting starts on October 21. It was a pretty busy week in Alaska politics. Thirty-day campaign finance reports for for legislative candidates were due on Monday (10/7/2024). Representative Mary Peltola (D – Alaska) and challenger Nick Begich had three debates across the state. A Palmer City Council meeting went off the rails when several city employees testified against the newly hired city manager, who was soon after let go. This week marked 100 days in office for Anchorage Mayor Suzanne LaFrance. And after voting down a $250,000 payoff to former Municipal Manager Amy Demboski last week, the Anchorage Assembly buckled and approved the payoff on Tuesday (10/8/2024).
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Legislative candidates pull in more than $1.6 million one month before general election
The following is an excerpt from this week’s special 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. Our coverage of the budget starts with the governor’s proposed budget, and we track everything in detail through the entire process. If you have any questions or would like to subscribe, please email jeff@akpoliticalreport.com.
More than 100 candidates running for 50 legislative seats recently filed their 30-day campaign finance reports, which were due on Oct. 7. These reports cover the period from Aug. 11 – Oct. 4. These come after the 7-day reports for the primary election, which were due Aug. 13.
Total income from legislative candidates for this reporting period is more than $1.6 million. Candidates collectively reported more than $1.8 million beginning cash on hand – money from the previous reporting period. Candidates collectively spent more than $1.3 million on campaign expenses. And after debts, candidates collectively report $2 million cash on hand.
Total campaign income to date for this election cycle for all legislative candidates is $4.7 million.
Of the top 20 biggest fundraisers, 12 are incumbents. The largest fundraiser was Fairbanks Democratic Sen. Scott Kawasaki, who reported more than $68,000 in income. The largest non-incumbent fundraiser was independent Savannah Fletcher, who reported $65,000 in income.
Below is a summary of the reports for the candidates in each race. Note that since a Ninth Circuit ruling in 2021 struck down Alaska’s $500 per year individual-to-candidate contribution limit, and a later APOC order in 2022, individual-to-candidate contributions are unlimited in Alaska. They will remain unlimited unless the Legislature passes a bill with new limits that adhere to the court ruling or a ballot initiative reimposing limits is passed.
The next campaign finance report for legislative races, the 7-day report for the general election, is due on Oct. 29. Those will cover Oct. 5 – Oct. 26.
If you would like to see the complete breakdown for each legislative candidate, consider subscribing to the Alaska Political Report. Email jeff@akpoliticalreport.com for a copy of the latest special report.
Palmer City Council Meeting Gets Crazy
A Tuesday (10/8/2024) meeting of the Palmer City Council went off the rails due to its new city manager, Stephen Jellie. In less than two months on the job, Jellie had managed to piss off and mistreat a lot of city employees. These include the police chief and city attorney, who both spoke against Jellie at the meeting. Many more city employees spoke against him at the packed meeting. It was pretty wild. And Jellie was in the room for the whole thing! This Mat-Su Sentinel article breaks down just how crazy the meeting got. A few excerpts from the article:
Jellie on Tuesday afternoon ordered Palmer Police Chief Dwayne Shelton to turn in his badge and gun and placed him on two weeks of paid administrative leave after he raised concerns about employee rights and safety following recent decisions by Jellie, Shelton told the council.
Jellie this week also barred the city’s department heads from speaking to any member of the City Council about personnel or other issues, reminding them that they “serve at the pleasure of the city manager” and warning “that you all know what happens when any of us try to end-run the structure and system of governance that is in place,” according to a private email signed by Jellie.
In a scathing five-minute statement delivered during Tuesday’s meeting from her seat next to Jellie on the council dais, Heath, the city attorney, laid out a list of Jellie’s actions that she described as “just a sample of harmful conduct.”
The next day, Jellie resigned. Per his contract, he was paid $75,000! Jellie and Amy Demboski should get together and compare notes. In the last two years, Jellie resigned as city manager in Ogdensburg, New York and as fire chief for Teton County and Jackson Hole, Wyoming. I guess the geniuses on the Palmer City Council didn’t Google homie before they hired him.
Peltola vs. Begich
Mary Peltola and Nick Begich faced off in three debates this week: the famous fish debate in Kodiak, a debate in Fairbanks hosted by the Alaska State Chamber of Commerce and Greater Fairbanks Chamber of Commerce, and a televised debate hosted by Alaska Public Media and KTUU.
I’m not sure the debates will change many minds or convince many undecided voters, but even a few may end up mattering. Polling is showing the race extremely close. If you have been paying any attention the last few weeks, you have seen all the negative campaigning from both campaigns as well as political action committees. Begich will benefit from Donald Trump being on the ticket. But the question is will Trump be able to get Begich over the finish line?
If either Begich or Peltola fail to get more than 50% on the first round, the ranked choice retabulation could get interesting. The other two candidates on the ballot are incarcerated Democrat Eric Hafner and Alaska Independence Party candidate John Wayne Howe.
Things got a bit loose this week when I received an email from Nick Begich’s dad, also named Nick Begich, threatening to sue the Landmine! To be clear, we stand by all the reporting in the article but the Landmine article in question that the Peltola campaign, Alaska Democratic Party, and third party groups have been referencing in their ads against Nick Begich made no claim that Begich was scamming seniors. I have spoken to both the Peltola campaign and Alaska Democratic Party about it. Their ads have been deceptive because they only reference the date of the article and not the article itself. I have had to explain this to dozens of people who have contacted me about these deceptive attack ads.
Republican U.S. House candidate Nick Begich's father, Nick Sr., is threatening to sue the Landmine!
Nick Sr. is the brother of former U.S. Sen. Mark Begich and former State Sen. Tom Begich.
He is upset about this 2022 Landmine article, which discusses the conspiracy theories,… pic.twitter.com/kENKMD7u7K
— The Alaska Landmine (@alaskalandmine) October 9, 2024
Other Happenings
This week marked 100 days in office for Anchorage Mayor Suzanne LaFrance. Since taking office on July 1, she has been appointed people to serve in all key city positions. She has struggled to deal with homelessness, police shootings, pedestrian deaths, and public safety. If you have been around Anchorage since the leaves started falling, you have seen many more homeless camps revealed throughout the city. Winter is just around the corner and it does not seem her administration is serious about tackling homelessness. She and her political allies can’t blame all the city’s problems on former Mayor Dave Bronson forever. And with an Assembly filled with her friends, she can’t blame them either. I fear the next six months in Anchorage are going to get worse, not better.
On that topic, check out this excellent article by Anchorage Daily News reported Kyle Hopkins that came out today, “Hundreds of people charged with domestic violence, child abuse or DUIs are walking free in Anchorage.” Unfortunately, there’s never been a better time to get a DUI, assault someone, or commit domestic violence Anchorage.
Former Democratic Representative Grier Hopkins beat former Senator John Coghill in the Fairbanks North Star Borough mayoral race by 0.79%!
After the final count, Grier Hopkins beat John Coghill by 154 votes for the open Fairbanks North Star Borough mayoral seat. The margin is less than 1%. pic.twitter.com/tKU0ECb2uH
— The Alaska Landmine (@alaskalandmine) October 8, 2024
Representative Jamie Allard (R – Eagle River) went hard in this new ad from her campaign!
Damn Rep. Jamie Allard is going hard with this campaign ad about the transgender sports bill at the end of session! 🔥 #akleg pic.twitter.com/a3CQukQkUh
— The Alaska Landmine (@alaskalandmine) October 9, 2024
This whole thing was pretty dumb. The mistake labeling Republican Mia Costello a Democrat in the election pamphlet was not on Costello’s candidate page, but on the index page that almost no one would have looked at. Ironically, the whole fiasco has helped Costello more than “Democrat” Dustin Darden and Democrat Denny Wells.
.@TheAlaskaDems threatens to sue the @ak_elections if they don’t include all three candidates on the correction for labeling Republican Mia Costello a Democrat.
It’s important to note that the mistake was on the index, not Costello’s candidate page. Likely no one would have… pic.twitter.com/K9BBsbDEdd
— The Alaska Landmine (@alaskalandmine) October 12, 2024
Some people, like myself, are actually independent. But when a candidate labels themselves an independent and is supported by the Alaska Democratic Party, they should be honest about who they are.
7/22, or nearly 1/3, are “independents.” 😂 #akleg pic.twitter.com/TSmSQqLIQD
— The Alaska Landmine (@alaskalandmine) October 14, 2024
This Week’s Loose Unit
There were A LOT of great candidates this week. Between the hyper loose Palmer city manager, the Division of Elections labeling Republican Mia Costello a Democrat, and Nick Begich’s dad threatening to sue the Landmine, this week could have had a daily Loose Unit. But three people stood out this week. This week’s Loose Unit is a tie between Anchorage Assembly members George Martinez, Karen Bronga, and Mark Littlefield.
During Tuesday’s Anchorage Assembly meeting, Bronga motioned to reconsider her vote on the $250,000 Amy Demboski payoff that the Assembly rejected 4-6 last week. Bronga voted no on it last week. After a long executive session, the Assembly came back and voted to approved the $250,000 payoff 8-4. Don’t forget, Demboski called a female co-worker a “cunt” during a work meeting before she was fired by then-Mayor Dave Bronson.
This is a sick day for Anchorage. The Assembly just voted 8-4 to approve a $250,000 settlement to former Municipal Manager Amy Demboski, who called a co-worker a “cunt” during a work meeting and who was responsible for creating the toxic work culture she alleges in her lawsuit. https://t.co/ArPeXOpWji pic.twitter.com/RxTSgR4eJV
— The Alaska Landmine (@alaskalandmine) October 9, 2024
Bronga, Martinez, and Littlefield all voted no on the payoff last week. All three changed their votes on Tuesday. Classic Loose Unit behavior. Assembly members Zac Johnson and Daniel Volland were not at last week’s meeting. Johnson voted yes on Tuesday, while Volland voted no.
After the meeting I asked the three why they changed their votes. All were cagey about it. Here is what they told me:
Martinez said it was the right thing to do at this time.
Littlefield said he learned new information, but refused to share any of it.
Bronga said it’s time to move on and added it could end up costing a lot more. She also said that Demboski is “very popular in some circles,” whatever the hell that means.
Littlefield and Bronga are both up for re-election in April, but Bronga is not running. The other yes votes up in April are Kameron Perez Verida and Meg Zaletel, but Zaletel is not running.
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.
Nice to know that if you’re “very popular in some circles” the Assembly will just give you a cool quarter-mil! In summary, over the last week we’ve learned: Every municipal employee should sue the city and then offer to settle for a huge amount of money. No problems at your workplace? Create them yourself! Everyone being too polite in the office? Just start slinging profanity at anyone underneath you. Call your secretary a c***! Now you work in a toxic workplace and the city owes you big money! (Pro tip: hire a well-known liberal lawyer so the Assembly can make… Read more »
Also, Landfield, son, you really should have covered what Amy Demboski did to her former employer, the dentist. If you dont know, ask around. Plenty of people know what she did, and some of them will talk. She is a sick, sick, SICK person. A true psychopath.
Please fill in the gaps! Amy Demboski has been a disaster from her enlisted service in the USAF until now on the morning radio talk show. She is definitely sick and Darrell is right there encouraging her in her sickness. I’d like to know about her time as a dental office employee and thereafter.
I wondered why very few new people were coming to AA to get their papers signed.
Is old man Begich still filling in for Alex Jones on Infowars ? What’s his position on Sandy Hook ? NBII was once involved in a jewelry store business with some well-known Arizona mobsters. Nick Begich, your worldwide reputation is a joke. You call yourself a Doctor….A Doctor of Bullshit perhaps. FRO
Retracked, LMAO, it’s “redacted” 😜
Remember the outrage at SB91. Coghill tried to explain that we were on a trajectory towards prison overpopulation, which would result in deadlock within the criminal justice system. Now that we are seeing the consequences of that, maybe it’s time we take up SB91 again. Unfortunately, the adults in the room were largely voted out of office, and our politicians have learned to not touch reform with a ten foot pole.
“ Some people, like myself, are actually independent.”
Dude – you’re a Trumpee & supported Bronson. You are not independent.
He seems to piss off everyone. You could probably call that independent.
Nobody is independent. Jeff has clear biases that cloud his reporting. And, there has always been speculation regarding how sponsorship affects his coverage (I have no informed opinion on such speculation). What is also abundantly clear is that he is entirely independent from control by either of the two major political parties. He deserves that much credit. He seems to be making the claim that an “independent” or “non-partisan” candidate should not accept or pay for assistance from the Democrats “Coordinated Campaign” apparatus. While I share his skepticism about how independent of party influence a few of the “Independent” candidates… Read more »
Son why won’t you come home? The cows miss you and so do your brothers and sister. Sorry that they teased you so much as a kid. They weren’t wrong, but we feel so bad at what it made you become. Our doors are always open.
I’d like to know the real reasoning behind “my” two assembly members voting, to give Amy $250,000 more than she deserves under the circumstances. She is and was the problem. Unfortunately, I cannot know because neither George Martinez nor Karen Bronga will return my calls/texts. Will I have better representation on the assembly from Yarrow Silvers, who will replace Bronga, most probably not.
Obviously, the Assembly concluded that paying Demboski $250k now was cheaper than paying attorneys to defend Bronson’s team against her allegations in front of a jury.
Understand that Bronson and his crew are terrible people, mistakenly cloaked in political power for three years.
The Assembly was probably right to settle.
Mayor LaFrance has a terrible mess on her hands. Trying to shore up the Municipal Attorney’s Office so that it can start prosecuting crimes, as the public rightfully expects.
Her team seems to be trying.
“The departures took place under the leadership of then-Mayor Dave Bronson, during a chaotic era of employee turnover at City Hall that has threatened other core services.“
-Kyle Hopkins, Anchorage Daily News
Why in God’s name did former Mayor Bronson let it get this bad? As bad as he was, surely he was anti-crime, right?
Shameful.
“Martinez said it was the right thing to do at this time. Littlefield said he learned new information, but refused to share any of it.” Translation… The claims made are baseless and the city would prevail in any Court. However, after making this a campaign issue, it would not be beneficial for the facts to demonstrate that the former Mayor was justified in terminating. Additionally, the Assembly assumes that Scott Kendall, attorney for the plaintiff, took this case on contingency. As such, The $250k settlement insures that the attorney, whom spends a great deal of his time financing and litigating… Read more »
“ Translation… The claims made are baseless and the city would prevail in any Court.”
-Scott
That doesn’t logically follow at all.
AT ALL.
The Assembly was obviously advised by its attorneys that Demboski had more than a trivial chance of prevailing at trial.
And that chance, combined with the cost of litigation, made settling the best financial decision.
I get it. I hate paying her too. But sometimes it’s the right choice.
While this may be true in any individual case, this sets a terrible precedent. The Assembly is not thinking about the next 20 toxic politicos that get appointed, act badly, and then demand a settlement. You think Bronson was the only administration that makes bad appointments?
“ this sets a terrible precedent.” -LisaV What precedent? This is hardly the first wrongful termination case Anchorage has settled. Remember Bronson’s sacking of Clifford Johnson? Johnson sued, and the Muni settled. This settlement is just the latest in DECADES of precedent. “The Assembly is not thinking about the next 20 toxic politicos that get appointed, act badly, and then demand a settlement.” -LisaV You know that how? You don’t know that. I expect they know very well that paying Demboski off could embolden other terminated employees to sue. EVERY employer appreciates that risk. I agree, the whole thing stinks.… Read more »
One of my favorite shows was Sea hunt. Amy was implying she looked like Lloyd Bridges.
I’m guessing that’s meant to be a funny rhyme with the word ”hunt.”
#Fail