Jim Crawford is a lifelong, third generation Alaskan. He is a real estate developer and former Chairman of the Alaska Reagan for President campaigns and former Chairman of the Republican Party. Jim is a social and fiscal conservative.
If We Owned AIDEA For One Day - 10/28/2009 5:17 pm
AIDEA, Alaska’s Sleeping Giant - 10/16/2009 1:07 pm
A New Vision for Alaska Housing? - 9/14/2009 12:27 pm
A Different Approach to Our Medical Cost Crisis - 8/27/2009 12:12 pm
Let’s Hire Alaskan Legislators - 8/10/2009 12:31 pm
A Safe New Tool for Ethical Communication Within - 7/31/2009 4:16 pm
Reform the Executive Branch Ethics law - 7/24/2009 1:59 pm
Too Big to Fail - 7/20/2009 5:26 pm
To My Friends, The Sarah Slashers - 7/10/2009 12:42 pm
Sarah Palin’s Announcement - 7/6/2009 2:57 pm
Being a Dad - 6/20/2009 9:02 pm
David Letterman Is No Comedian. - 6/17/2009 1:48 pm
How Much More Do We Need To Spend? - 6/5/2009 2:30 pm
Dan Fagan - For Love or Money? - 6/5/2009 2:20 pm
Bankers, The Wit and Wisdom of Washington DC - 6/5/2009 1:58 pm
OCTOBER 28, 2009 - 5:17 PM
If We Owned AIDEA For One Day
By Jim Crawford
If we owned the Alaska Industrial Development and Export Authority (AIDEA) for just one day, what could we do?
On Monday, with AIDEA’s top-notch staff, we would finance the Alaska Gasline. I’d call the boys at my old stomping grounds, J P Morgan/Chase. I worked with J P Morgan when they began the commercial mortgage backed securities business.
I originated Alaskan commercial deals with them and with other national markets that were looking for good commercial and apartment loans. Rating agencies gave points for geographic diversity in securities so Alaska loans were welcomed in the first commercial mortgage backs.
OCTOBER 16, 2009 - 1:07 PM
Government reform doesn’t just mean booting out the self-serving or criminals. Sometimes, it simply means making government work. Some agencies have very clear mission statements but their performance doesn’t measure up.
Let’s look at the Alaska Industrial Development and Export Authority, AIDEA. John Kelsey ably chaired AIDEA until his recent retirement. John and my mother, Brideen Crawford Milner, a pioneer Alaskan banker, served on the Board of Directors of the Alaska State Development Corporation in the 1960’s. John also chaired the Alaska Permanent Fund. He was an excellent pick to chair AIDEA’s Board. AIDEA has huge potential due to the contribution of the State of Alaska of over one billion dollars.
SEPTEMBER 14, 2009 - 12:27 PM
Nearly 4,000 homes in Alaska are “falling apart” according to Alaska Housing Finance Corporation’s 2008 Housing Assessment. 12,980 homes are needed to replace the overcrowded and substandard houses. 3,972 homes are unsafe, unsanitary and unrepairable.
In 2005, the number of unrepairable was 4,500. The difference, sadly, is the result of a change in sampling and refocus of the report from units to residents. No progress was noted for thousands of Alaskans who live in unsafe, unsanitary and substandard housing.
I hoped HUD’s Neighborhood Revitalization Program funding would start replacing unlivable housing. However, aside from the continuing focus in Mt. View, nothing much happened with the $19.6 million. Neighborhood Revitalization could purchase only vacant foreclosed homes. All those homes that are occupied, but unsafe, continue to decay, except for those mobile homes and cabins that burn and kill people. AHFC blames HUD. HUD blames Congress. Alaskans die.
AUGUST 27, 2009 - 12:12 PM
I love my doctor. He takes care of me. I expect medical professionals to be well paid and provide for their families. But, let’s not mince words; doctors are making a killing in America. How many Mercedes does a doctor need?
My friend went to visit a specialist. Billings wise, that’s like a regular doctor on steroids. It was a follow up visit on a leg infection he feared was reoccurring. He just wanted a prescription for an antibiotic since the last flare up ended him in the hospital for ten days and his medical insurance was cancelled on his last day. The specialist ran in, spent a total elapsed time of three minutes, examined both legs and wrote a prescription. The cost of this drive by exam? $640. For three minutes. Ya think $12,800 per hour is a bit much?
AUGUST 10, 2009 - 12:31 PM
I want to hire a Legislator to work with me in real estate development. It’s not politically correct but I’m serious. Legislators I’ve known over the last three decades are smart, hard working. The benefit to my clients is my employee will have superior knowledge of the state and know how to do a tough job. Anyone who can help manage this state should be pretty good at helping us develop a condo project or restaurant.
Am I a special interest? You bet. My clients are as special as they come. I put up buildings, find homes and finance both. Will this work be a conflict of interest for my new employee? I don’t see one. But every time a Legislator goes to work, some partisan declares a conflict, potential conflict or the appearance of a conflict.
JULY 31, 2009 - 4:16 PM
A Safe New Tool for Ethical Communication Within
The Executive and Legislative Ethics Acts
Having run five Alaska statewide presidential campaigns, a successful Alaska gubernatorial primary, a disastrous gubernatorial general, a half dozen or more state senate and state house races and the Republican Party of Alaska twice as Chairman, once as Finance Chairman, I am qualified to advise candidates on how to comply with the ethics acts during the upcoming campaigns. This advice only applies to incumbent Legislators and members of the Administration, U. S. Senators and U.S. Congressmen. After all, you do not have to be ethical under these laws until you are elected.
JULY 24, 2009 - 1:59 PM
Kim Chatman filed an ethics complaint against Governor Palin for creating a legal defense fund to pay legal bills of $600,000, incurred by Governor Palin and caused by Chatman and her partners by filing frivolous ethics complaints.
The confidential report of attorney, Thomas Daniel, hired by the Alaska Personnel Board to investigate, was leaked to the Associated Press. Mr. Daniel, knowledgeable about the Executive Branch Ethics law, also acknowledged the law is in need of repair. He would not breech confidentiality by discussing specifics but confirmed that he only provided copies of the report to Governor Palin, Kim Chatman and the Board. Governor Palin did not waive confidentiality. Chatman stated she did not release the report. The Associate Press refused to say who did. Confidentiality in Alaska personnel laws is now a bad joke.
JULY 20, 2009 - 5:26 PM
Businesses, banks, stockbrokers, insurance companies, car manufacturers have all failed this year but been bailed out by the federal government. These businesses are so big and so important that they were judged “too big to fail” since their failure would so damage the U. S. economy as to be irreparable. Not true.
Failure is not pleasant for those who failed but failure should not be condoned or encouraged. Goldman Sachs just reported record profits after receiving billions from the federal government. Having depleted their own assets, Goldman turned to the federal government and received billions for the sale of its worthless stock. Now Goldman wants to buy it back its worthless stock so it can pay out billions in bonuses to the same architects who created their failed business model.
JULY 10, 2009 - 12:42 PM
Barack Obama was elected to serve a six-year term in the United States Senate. He did not resign to run for president. He continued his service in the U. S. Senate during his countless hours of campaigning. His long absences from his Senate duties were and are the norm in Washington D. C. Were his constituents well served by his sporadic service? Personally, I think he should have resigned his office if he wanted to pursue other issues or offices. That would have been the right thing to do.
Senator Obama wanted to bring change to Washington but played by the old rules of self-service rather than public service. While I disagree with his approach, I do not hate him for his political philosophy or approach or try to undermine his presidency. After all, differences are makes what politics interesting.
JULY 6, 2009 - 2:57 PM
As the Democrats fervently hope and hype the end of Sarah Palin’s career in politics, they might just want to actually pause and listen to her words. Sarah Palin most definitely has a future as a conservative leader, both in Alaska and on the national scene. She is by far the most popular Republican leader today in the United States. That may be the reason why so much time of the D’s is spent rumor mongering and throwing vitriol at her.
The fear of the Democrats is palpable. They rightly fear a competent, capable, pro-life, pro-family defender of conservative values who understands and conservatively interprets the Constitution. Of course, they should fear her. Sarah connected to the American people as no one has since Ronald Reagan. She has a huge base of public support.
JUNE 20, 2009 - 9:02 PM
On Father’s Day, Dads get to celebrate our most important life assignment. It is an awesome task and responsibility to be a Dad. Balancing multiple relationships - your wife, your work, your play, your parenting, your finances and all else, can sometimes be overwhelming. But it is also the most rewarding job I’ve ever been given.
I am blessed with two daughters, Heather and Meagan and a son, Jimmy.
Heather is a Realtor in Washington. She is in property management and manages a huge apartment complex. Heather is thirty something and independent. What I care about most is that she is happy. I miss her presence so much but with Instant Messaging, text messaging and email we stay up most times. I love Father’s Day since I know I will hear her happy voice. I think most Dads thrill at their grown children’s happy “Hi, Dad!” on Father’s day.
JUNE 17, 2009 - 1:48 PM
It’s no small wonder that conservatives throughout the nation objected strongly to David Letterman’s crude attempt at humor at the expense of Governor Palin’s daughter Willow. With advertisers bailing out daily, it’s also no surprise that he finally was forced to provide a real apology yesterday.
If you follow the Rasmussen Reports daily briefings, http://www.rasmussenreports.com, you’ll find that 49% of folks in America today now have an unfavorable opinion of Letterman. His first apology was self-protection from angry American parents. I have two daughters and as a parent would never accept a sexual remark about my teenage daughters as funny. It is not acceptable to target teenage girls for a cheap laugh.
JUNE 5, 2009 - 2:30 PM
Alaska is in a unique situation, leading the nation in economic stability, reserves and low taxation. Alaska doesn’t have a recession nor an economic crisis. We don’t have a foreclosure crisis. Our Alaskan economy is doing fine, creating over two thousand more jobs in 2009 than in 2008. So, we shouldn’t just increase state government spending by $1.5 billion Obama dollars.
It used to be that Republicans and conservatives held the line and Democrats and liberals bulked up on spending government money. But in the Alaska Legislature, the rules have apparently changed. Republican Mike Hawker, formerly a budget hawk, is now spouting dove wings and singing Cum By Ya with the Democrats, demanding the State of Alaska receive and spend every last dime of federal stimulus funds. Since when did Republicans become the cheerleaders of growing more government?
JUNE 5, 2009 - 2:20 PM
Dan Fagan’s columns of late are akin to a forlorn, desperate and dateless high schooler lamenting his lost love. Remember in high school losing your one, great love? So infatuated were we that her rejection turned us to anger and pain. Unchecked, these feelings drove toward hatred instead of love. Most grow out of those emotional tirades and mature. If we’re lucky, we find real love and settle into a life filled with kids and jobs on the roller coaster of a loving family life.
Some don’t grow up and can’t get over their rejection. Remember when Dan Fagan was all over Anchorage touting his great love for everything Sarah? His statements that he had this huge crush on Sarah? Did his research simply miss the fact that Sarah is happily married and totally committed to a great First Dude, Todd? Perhaps he thought his personal magnetism, charm and unmistakable wit would win her and she’d throw Todd under the bus.
JUNE 5, 2009 - 1:58 PM
Thanks to the wit and wisdom of Washington, you and I are now shareholders in America’s largest banks. We should have the same rights Warren Buffett does when ponying up a couple hundred billion dollars. The difference is we got here at gunpoint.
Bankers are granted a government franchise from the people. They’re custodians entrusted not to lose our money. They’re lenders to industry and consumers. They’re mortgage lenders feeding quality home loans into securities that provide national liquidity. They’re lenders to small businesses under SBA guaranteed programs.
But bankers in the last decade refocused themselves, selling insurance, peddling “highly sophisticated debt instruments” and stalking takeover targets.
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