From Rindi White in Wasilla:
A candidate for Mat-Su mayor is claiming the borough is targeting him in an effort to sideline his mayoral campaign.

The Mat-Su Borough on Tuesday cited former Iditarod musher David Straub of Willow for 25 violations stemming from running a dog kennel without a license.

Chief Mat-Su Animal Care Officer Bob Haskell said 21 citations are for dogs not registered with the borough, three are for dogs without immunization records and one is for operating a kennel without a license.

Straub said while he was in Wasilla attending a forum for candidates running for Mat-Su mayor on Tuesday, a Mat-Su Borough Animal Care and Regulation officer inspected his kennel. The officer gave him the citations at Underdog Feeds on the Parks Highway, where Straub had stopped on his way home.

“It’s disheartening they can’t call and make an appointment like anybody else,” Straub said. “They basically know we had these forums. For the borough to come in here and try and influence the election, it’s very disheartening. I’ve tried to get over doing injustice to me.”

In 2005, Straub was found guilty of one charge of animal cruelty and fined $300 after borough animal care officers visiting his kennel found several of his sled dogs were emaciated. Some of the dogs were euthanized while in the borough’s care.

Straub fought the case and is trying to rebuild his kennel. He has 22 dogs and applied in December for a kennel license. The borough denied the license in April.

Haskell said he couldn’t discuss why the permit was denied because it’s part of an ongoing investigation. Straub said it was because he had unpaid fines stemming from 2005, also for not registering dogs.

Straub said he believes the impromptu inspection was done because he has used the mayor’s race as a platform to promote his plan to change the way the borough government runs. Straub wants to eliminate the strong-manager government method in place today and create a strong mayor method, which is similar to Anchorage.

“That’s why I’m running for borough mayor, to help people recognize that the way it’s going down there is wrong,” he said.

Haskell said he was aware that Straub was running in the special election for Mat-Su Mayor but didn’t know there was a candidate forum being held today. Straub’s application for a kennel license predates the election, he said.

“The initial portions of this investigation started last year while Mayor Menard was still in office,” Haskell said.

Curt Menard served as mayor of Mat-Su from his 2006 election until he died in March.