This is the place for news on Alaska politics -- state, local and national. Public life in the Last Frontier may never have been more interesting than right now -- the broad and still-evolving corruption investigation, a new governor, powerful members of Congress under scrutiny, and the usual hardball politics on the state, national and local levels. Come here for the latest news and join the discussion. Keep your comments civil and on point. Avoid personal attacks. Do not use profanity. Posts that violate the Terms of Use will be deleted. Repeat offenders will be banned.
Kyle Hopkins
Kyle Hopkins writes about Anchorage city government and politics. He covered last year's campaign for governor, and has blogged extensively about Alaska politics for the past year. He grew up in Southeast Alaska and was a reporter at the Fairbanks Daily News-Miner and Anchorage Press. E-mail Kyle at khopkins@adn.com
Sean Cockerham
Sean Cockerham writes about Alaska state politics. He spent three years based in Juneau for the Daily News before joining the Tacoma News-Tribune two years ago to write about Washington state politics. He went to Iraq twice for the News Tribune, and previously wrote about Alaska government and politics for the Fairbanks Daily News-Miner. Now he's back in Anchorage. E-mail Sean at scockerham@adn.com
Erika Bolstad
Erika Bolstad covers Alaska issues, including the congressional delegation, from Washington, D.C., for McClatchy Newspapers. Before joining the bureau this summer, she spent seven years as a reporter at the Miami Herald, where she covered politics, government and the state legislature. E-mail Erika at ebolstad@adn.com.
AK superdelegate update - 5/9/2008 3:56 pm
'Fairbanks what!' - 5/9/2008 10:19 am
Jackson Q&A - 5/8/2008 7:15 pm
Health commissioner resigns - 5/8/2008 4:17 pm
Surreality recap - 5/8/2008 2:50 pm
The prosecutors - 5/8/2008 1:14 pm
Full Kohring statement: 'I refuse to cower ...' - 5/8/2008 12:30 pm
A ride home - 5/8/2008 11:53 am
The judge - 5/8/2008 10:46 am
42 months - 5/8/2008 10:32 am
Hitchhiking to court - 5/8/2008 10:00 am
'I'm here to proclaim my innocence' - 5/8/2008 9:24 am
'Old Valley' - 5/8/2008 9:07 am
At the courthouse - 5/8/2008 8:39 am
Where they make their money - 5/7/2008 5:42 pm
Recycling the recycling plan - 5/7/2008 4:52 pm
Metcalfe drops out - 5/7/2008 1:53 pm
Legislative director - 5/7/2008 9:15 am
Is that it for Jake? - 5/6/2008 7:04 pm
Tonight - 5/6/2008 4:29 pm
Wuerch resigns - 5/6/2008 3:06 pm
Assembly: Trashtastic - 5/5/2008 8:54 pm
MAY 9, 2008 - 3:56 PM
From Sean Cockerham in Anchorage --
It looks like Barack Obama erased Hillary Clinton's lead among Democratic party superdelegates today. But Alaska's superdelegates aren't joining the national rush to get on the Obama bandwagon.
Alaska's four superdelegates are still evenly split - one each for Obama and Clinton and two who haven't committed to either.
"This probably the most monumental decision I have made in my life," said Cindy Spanyers, an uncommitted superdelegate from Juneau. "The overwhelming importance of it is weighing on me and causing me to reflect and think about my values, Alaskan Democrats, the future."
MAY 8, 2008 - 7:15 PM
From Kyle in Anchorage --
The Health and Social Services Department’s duties include looking after the young, old and needy. It runs the state Pioneer Homes for seniors, distributes food stamps and oversees Medicaid programs.
Karleen Jackson, the commissioner since 2005, resigned this week.
Below are excerpts from a quick Q&A I had with Jackson this afternoon about her resignation. While Jackson said she and the governor’s team disagreed on where the Department should go over the next two years, she declined to give details.
I wasn't able to reach Gov. Sarah Palin.
Meantime, you might want to check out Economist Gregg Erickson's column from February, where he described tension between Jackson and some legislators.
Here’s the Q&A:
Why are you resigning?
Jackson: Well, I sat down with the governor and some folks in her office, and we chatted about where things have been, and what we’ve been doing the last couple years, and looking ahead and moving the department forward in the next couple years, because we’re sort of at the half time of the four year administration. And there were some differences of opinions between myself and some of the governor’s office staff on how to get where we’re going ...
MAY 8, 2008 - 4:17 PM
From Kyle in Anchorage --
Karleen Jackson, commissioner of the state Health Department, is resigning.
She sent this letter to staffers today:
Jackson
It has been an honor to serve alongside each of you as we’ve worked to promote and protect the health and well-being of Alaskans. However, the Governor has accepted my resignation and effective Friday, May 9, Bill Hogan will serve as Acting Commissioner for the Department of Health and Social Services.
Thank you for the numerous ways you have improved the health and social services programs in our state. I have no doubt that together you will continue to serve the public with ethics and integrity, promote clear and transparent government, and improve the health of Alaskans.
MAY 8, 2008 - 2:50 PM
From Kyle in Anchorage --
Let's review:
-- Kohring’s lawyer – John Henry Browne -- tells the judge that Kohring had to hitchhike to work. The borrowed 1984 Ford truck with a loose door he’d been driving crapped out on him and a supporter came to the rescue. "He was offering his profound support and his prayers, and he called his wife and said, 'Put Vic on the prayer chain right now; he needs prayer,' '' Kohring said
-- Waiting for the hearing to start, the peanut gallery obsesses over Kohring’s new haircut.
Exhibit A: Kohring at a September hearing. (ADN photo)
Exhibit B: Kohring at court today. (ADN)
-- Browne tells the judge his client has been sleeping on the couch of his parents’ double-wide while former Veco chief Bill Allen – who played a central role in these corruption cases – is “driving around in his Lexus with $400 million in his pocket.”
-- After Browne compares his client to nice-guy Andy Griffith, prosecutor Joe Bottini said he never saw an episode of the Andy Griffith Show where Andy took money from somebody.
Griffith: No convictions?
-- Kohring won’t have to go into custody right away. He’ll be able to get surgery on his back, after suffering an injury in a car accident a week before the trial began. His lawyer was driving.
MAY 8, 2008 - 1:14 PM
From Kyle in Anchorage --
While Kohring and his lawyer looked to portray the former Valley legislator as an an everyman and victim railroaded by the government at today’s sentencing, prosecutor Edward Sullivan evoked one of the iconic images from Kohring’s trial:
He described a snapshot of Allen giving Kohring money, and Kohring asking what he could do for Allen.
The tape: Former Alaska legislator Vic Kohring accepts cash from VECO's Bill Allen in this March 2006 secretly recorded video.
“That one act alone says it all about Vic Kohring’s character and his conduct in this case,” Sullivan said.
MAY 8, 2008 - 12:30 PM
Kohring and his attorney John Henry Browne talk to the media. (Bill Roth/ADN)
From Kyle in Anchorage --
Here’s the full statement Kohring read to the judge John Sedwick today, based on a written copy he handed out before the hearing.
When he actually stood up to speak, Kohring ad-libbed in a couple areas, but for the most part stuck to this script. As he talked, Sedwick listened silently and a guy in a black-and-white "proud to be Valley Trash" shirt searched for a seat.
I stand before you not to plead for mercy as others have done before me. Instead, I'm here to proclaim my innocence. I don't believe I received a fair trial last fall which is why I did not prevail in this court room.
MAY 8, 2008 - 11:53 AM
Kohring leaves the courthouse today. (Bill Roth/ADN)
From Kyle in Anchorage –
Just got back from court. Kohring and his lawyer gave long interviews on their way out the door. (Browne is giving Kohring a ride home in a sporty black Dodge sedan.)
“As I go to into prison, as I fight this thing from a prison cell, I do so with a clear conscience,” Kohring said.
More soon, including the full statement Kohring read to the judge, and then more from the federal prosecutors.
MAY 8, 2008 - 10:46 AM
Kohring and attorney John Henry Browne talk to the media after sentencing. (Bill Roth/ADN)
From Kyle at the courthouse --
“His behavior here didn’t strike me as nearly as egregious as the behavior that was displayed in other cases,” Sedwick said while handing down Kohring’s sentence.
Sedwick also said: “There can be no doubt that he knew what he did was wrong.”
There must have been some discussion of Kohring’s health and medical care while I was in the lobby, posting a blog item, because Sedwick said something about Kohring being able to get better medical and dental care – considering his finances – in prison than on the outside.
Kohring meets the press after the sentence was handed down. (Bill Roth/ADN)
MAY 8, 2008 - 10:32 AM
From Kyle in the federal courthouse --
Judge John Sedwick just sentenced Kohring to 42 months.
Look for Kohring's lawyer, Browne, to appeal.
Earlier, Browne argued that in this political corruption case, the Veco corporation got a pass. Maybe because Veco was involved in the oil industry, which is so important to people who run the government, Browne said.
When it was the feds’ turn to talk, prosecutor Joe Bottini, addressed Kohring's polite, nice-guy image. He may be a big gentle guy, but he's a big corrupt gentle guy, Bottini said.
“What you saw here was a guy that was politely corrupt. It doesn't mean that he’s any less corrupt than Pete Kott because he doesn’t swear.”
Kohring on his way into the courtroom earlier today. (Erik Hill/ADN)
MAY 8, 2008 - 10:00 AM
Kohring and attorney toward the courtroom. (Erik Hill/ADN)
From Kyle in the federal courthouse --
"I would point out that today Mr. Kohring had to hitchhike to court," Kohring's lawyer, John Henry Browne, just told Judge John Sedwick.
Browne is arguing for a lighter sentence, and is comparing how Kohring has been treated to how former Veco chief Bill Allen has been treated.
Kohring was driving a borrowed 1984 Ford truck with a door that falls off, Browne said.
He’s been living in his parents' double-wide trailer, sleeping on a couch, while Allen is “living in a nice neighborhood … driving around in his Lexus with $400 million in his pocket.”
(Readers who followed Kohring's trial closely might remember one of the FBI wiretaps , from August of 2006, in which Kohring asked ex-Veco lobbyist Rick Smith for a pickup truck to campaign. "Maybe you or perhaps Marc Marlow (the Anchorage developer for whom Kohring reported being a paid consultant) or somebody might know of somebody who might be willing to donate a vehicle for just a brief period of time, six to eight weeks or so. Do you have any ideas how I might be able to get a vehicle?")
MAY 8, 2008 - 9:24 AM
Kohring in the courthouse. (Erik Hill/ADN)
From Kyle at the federal courthouse --
Kohring just handed me a copy of the statement he's about to make in court to the judge:
"I stand before you not to plead for mercy as others have done before me. Instead, I'm here to proclaim my innocence. I don't believe I received a fair trial last fall which is why I did not prevail in this court room."
"I was stunned when I learned after the trail you are married to one of my biggest personal and political enemies from my years as a legislator, who showed up at this very court at the end of my trial. Federal law and the Judicial Code of Conduct required you to excuse yourself from my case even if a perception of a conflict existed and to avoid the appearance of partiality that might reasonably be questioned. You judged yourself blameless despite a mountain of evidence documenting the antagonistic relationship between your wife and myself occuring over a two-year period. ..."
MAY 8, 2008 - 9:07 AM
Headed in: Vic Kohring, right, and attorney John Henry Browne arrive for Kohring's sentencing in federal court. (Erik Hill/ADN)
From Kyle at the federal courthouse --
Kohring just arrived. Flashbulbs lit the lobby like a disco ballroom.
"You might get yourself on the front page of the paper tomorrow for shaking my hand," he tells the man next to him.
George Stuart, president of the Valley teacher's union, is here. He described Kohring as "Old Valley."
Reporter David Shurtleff described Kohring's hair today as an "Ashton Kutcher" cut.
MAY 8, 2008 - 8:39 AM
From Kyle Hopkins at the federal courthouse --
Less than an hour to the Vic Kohring sentencing this morning.
Photographers are staking out the door to get the first images of Kohring walking into the courthouse. It's cold and gray outside. Inside, a CPA from the Valley is waiting with a bottle of Diet Dr. Pepper for the hearing to start.
She watched most of the Kohring trial and some of the Pete Kott proceedings, and hopes that the next corruption case will come at a time she can take off from work.
(You can find all our previous coverage of Kohring, including the pass-the-cash video with ex-Veco chief Bill Allen, here .)
MAY 7, 2008 - 5:42 PM
From Kyle Hopkins in Anchorage --
It never hurts to show where politicians get their money. What stocks they own, who they do business with and who they work for.
But for city officials, those financial disclosure reports still aren't online. At least not on any city or state Web site.
So here's a look at the most recent reports from the Mayor and the new Assembly. They cover calendar year 2007.
Side note: Assemblyman Dan Coffey's report has more pages than "The Great Gatsby."
Assemblywoman Harriet Drummond
Assemblywoman Elvi Gray-Jackson
Assemblywoman Jennifer Johnston
Assemblywoman Debbie Ossiander
MAY 7, 2008 - 4:52 PM
From Kyle Hopkins in Anchorage --
The Assembly voted 7-4 to delay one of cornerstones of the city's new recycling plans last night - a landfill and transfer station fee increase that would pay for citywide recycling efforts - until August.
Click here for the video links.
Harriet Drummond, Sheila Selkregg, Mike Gutierrez and Elvi Gray-Jackson voted against postponing it, and today Drummond says the proposal may re-surface sooner than expected.
"I'm going to try to get reconsideration of that ordinance and get it moving ... see what we can do to make the people who voted no more comfortable and get it going now," Drummond said.
MAY 7, 2008 - 1:53 PM
Out: Jake Metcalfe hugs his wife, Moira Smith, after he announced that he is he's dropping out of the race for the Democratic nomination for the Alaska U.S. House.(AP/Al Grillo)
From Sean Cockerham in Anchorage --
Democrat Jake Metcalfe just quit the race for Don Young's Congressional seat.
He said the flap over anti-Ethan Berkowitz web sites was too much of a distraction.
"I want to clarify, once and for all, I did not order or ask anyone to buy the sites. I did not know until recently that anyone associated with my campaign had done so. It appears that a former campaign worker was involved in these acts, and I condemn them," Metcalfe said.
MAY 7, 2008 - 9:15 AM
From Sean Cockerham in Anchorage --
We keep getting contacted at the paper from anonymous folk saying they think Sarah Palin's new legislative director, Kelly Goode, has a conflict of interest because of her ties to a prominent lobbyist.
So I asked about it.
Goode said she's been dating Juneau lobbyist Kim Hutchinson for several years.
Goode said she's also been working in the Legislature for many years (most recently as chief of staff for Eagle River Rep. Nancy Dahlstrom) and has always taken a professional approach.
MAY 6, 2008 - 7:04 PM
From Sean Cockerham in Anchorage --
Democratic Congressional candidate Jake Metcalfe has called a press conference at his Anchorage campaign headquarters for tomorrow at 1 p.m.
Metcalfe hasn't been reachable today. I spoke to his wife and she wouldn't confirm or deny the rumors he is dropping out.
She said there wouldn't be any comment about that until the press conference.
MAY 6, 2008 - 4:29 PM
From Kyle Hopkins in Anchorage --
SaraEllen Hutchison, with the Alaska Center for the Environment, stood Downtown this afternoon handing out fliers encouraging people to go to tonight's Assembly meeting. Assemblyman Matt Claman's daughter - a member of her high school's "green team" - got a call about the meeting too.
Looks like Anchorage recycling supporters plan to be at the Loussac in force.
They'll look to persuade the Assembly to pass a couple of the various recycling and garbage rates proposals on the agenda.
Right now, there are two key proposals:
-- The first sets pay-as-you-throw garbage rates for the first batch of Solid Waste Services customers who will get curbside recycling service. Basically, these customers would pay more if they throw out more trash, and save more if they recycle.
Important warning about e-mails purporting to be from the adn.com staff.
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