Alaska Politics Blog

This is the place to talk about Alaska politics, state, local, national. Public life in the Last Frontier has rarely been more interesting -- a full slate of federal and state elections, the influence of former Gov. Sarah Palin, the usual hardball Alaska politics. Come here for news, tidbits and information, and join the discussion. We encourage lively debate, but please keep it civil and stay on point. Don't use profanity, make crude comments or attack other posters. Posts that violate the Terms of Use will be deleted. Repeat offenders will lose their ability to post comments.

Sean Cockerham

Sean Cockerham writes about Alaska state politics. He's worked for the ADN in Anchorage and Juneau, covered the legislature for the Fairbanks Daily News-Miner, and covered Washington state politics for the Tacoma News Tribune. E-mail Sean at scockerham@adn.com

Kyle Hopkins

Kyle Hopkins covers rural affairs, general assignments and politics for the ADN. He covered the 2006 campaign for governor, has blogged extensively about Alaska politics, covered Anchorage city government and was a reporter based in the Mat-Su. He grew up in Southeast Alaska and previously wrote for the Fairbanks Daily News-Miner and Anchorage Press. E-mail Kyle at khopkins@adn.com and also find him on our rural Alaska blog, The Village.

David Hulen

David Hulen, the ADN's state and local news editor, is responsible for political coverage. He has been an editor and reporter at the ADN for more than 20 years. E-mail David at dhulen@adn.com

SECTION

Alaska political corruption

When the FBI raided state legislature offices in Aug. 2006, it publicly launched an investigation that ultimately reached the highest levels of Alaska politics, and continues to this day.

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Elections round-up: Taxes and bonds, plastic bags and politicians

From Kyle Hopkins in Anchorage --

A quick look at early results from city and borough elections held across the state Tuesday. We'll update as more info becomes available:

2:30 p.m. UPDATE: Barrow voters reject liquor store
A controversial proposal to create a city-run liquor store in Barrow failed 609-485, the mayor says.

Voters rejected the effort by a 12 percent margin, according to unofficial figures provided by Mayor Bob Harcharek. The proposal, placed on the ballot by petition, would have allowed local liquor sales in the North Slope city for the first time since at least 1997.

Only 90 absentee and questioned ballots remained to be counted, according to unofficial results.

The liquor store could have poured $500,000 to $1.5 million a year into city coffers, Harcharek said, but many Barrow residents worried it would have increased alcohol-abuse and alcohol-related deaths in the community.

Two Barrow city council seats also were on the ballot. George Olemaun defeated incumbent Mike Schults and others by more than 100 votes, Harcharek said. Incumbent Lloyd Leavitt also lost his seat. Qaiyaan Harcharek is leading that race with 378 votes, followed by Carolyn Thompson (330) and Leavitt (288), the mayor said in a short phone interview today.

...

Mat-Su Borough
Valley voters approved about $246.7 million in school and road bonds. The new construction projects are expected to cost the average homeowner more than $230 in taxes each year, according to borough figures.

In the Assembly races, Steve Colligan is leading Pat Johnson in the race to replace Mark Ewing of Wasilla. Colligan holds about 55 percent of the vote, according to unofficial results.

In the school board contest, incumbent Erick Cordero beat Lynette Warhus 3,898-2,624.

Read the results here. Incumbents fared well in races across the Valley, the Mat-Su Frontiersman reports.

Darcie Salmon was running unopposed for an Assembly seat while Ole Larson ran unopposed for school board.

Voters approved the $214.5 million school bond by a roughly 6 percent margin, according to the early figures. The bond will pay for school construction projects over a five-year period.

The $32.2 million road bonds package passed by about 59 percent to 41 percent.

Someone with a $208,000 home -- the average median assessed value of Valley homes in 2011 -- will pay an additional $231.29 a year in taxes to cover the bonds, according to the borough.

...

North Slope Borough
The mayor’s race looks to be a close one. Only two dozen votes separate former borough Assemblywoman Charlotte Brower (559 votes) from George Ahmaogak Sr. (535 votes).

But there are also 543 write-in votes –- many likely cast for Kaktovik tribal administrator Fenton Rexford, who is running a write-in campaign.

Last I checked the results weren’t on the borough website. The numbers above are from an unofficial tally the borough sent me this morning.

Those figures are missing a small number of votes from Point Lay, said Borough Clerk Jeannie Brower. As of about 11:30 a.m. today, the borough was waiting for a plane to arrive with ballots from the village.

Votes cast in Point Lay couldn't be counted in that community because of a paper jam in a voting machine, Brower said. The ballots will be counted by machine when they arrive in Barrow, she said.

“It’s not going to affect the results that much because there is hardly anybody in Point Lay that voted. It’s just going to put a scratch on the outcome," Brower said.

...

Fairbanks
Fairbanks North Star Borough voters rejected a proposal to impose emission standards for wood smoke. The initiative would have banned outdoor wood-fired boilers and all coal-burning devices within areas that don't meet federal air-quality standards.

(Ever gone running outdoors in Fairbanks in the winter? You come home smelling like a wood stove.)

About 60 percent of voters said no to the proposal.

Former state Rep. John Davies won election to the Borough Assembly with 53 percent of the vote in a three-way race with incumbent Joe Blanchard (25 percent) and Joshua Bennett (21 percent.)

Read the election results here.

In other races:
-- Borough Assembly seat D: Michael Dukes is beating Van Lawrence with 53 percent of the vote.
-- Borough Assembly seat E: Guy Sattley defeated a crowded field, capturing about a third of the vote. He’s followed by Ed King (22 percent), Aaron Bennett (17 percent) and Leslie McFarlane (14 percent.)

...

Juneau
A proposal to charge a 15-cent tax on plastic bags used by large retailers like Walmart and Fred Meyer failed big, with more than 69 percent of voters saying no. Voters extended a 3 percent sales tax by a 4,286 to 1,722 margin.

The tax pays for city services such as snow removal and road repair, as well as capital projects and youth activities, the Juneau Empire reports.

In other Juneau races:
-- District 1 Assembly: Jesse Kiehl defeated Brad Fluetsch 3,535-1,630.
-- Area wide Assembly: Carlton Smith leads Loren Jones 2,282-2,229.

...

Wasilla mayor
Unofficial results show Mayor Verne Rupright poised to win a second term.

He's leading council member Dianne Woodruff 453-284, with just 185 early/absentee and questioned ballots remaining to be counted, according to the website.

Council member Taffina Katkus is trailing in third place with 192 votes.

© Copyright 2011, The Anchorage Daily News. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
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