Democratic candidates are chosen by vote, not "entitlement"--Correction and comment from Ethan

by: Celtic Diva

Wed Jun 03, 2009 at 01:43:11 AM AKDT

*********************************UPDATE****************************

Ethan Berkowitz properly corrected me on my brain fart (I fixed it) and added a comment on the post:

I read your recent piece and just wanted to remind you about the Cngressional race.

After Diane Benson declared, State Democratic Party Chair Jake Metcalf jumped in, then I entered.  It's not accurate to say that the primary was just between Diane and myself.

As far as the governor's race goes, no one is entitled to any elected race -- not those who've run before, not those who served the party, not those who started early.  It is supposed to be a bout a contest of ideas and qualifications, and the voters make the determination.

Thanks,
Ethan

Thanks, Ethan!

Those of you who follow the blog understand; these days, I don't put much stock in what Sheila Toomey writes.  However, this week's Alaska Ear put out some scuttlebutt concerning Gubernatorial Candidate Bob Poe that concerned me:

A MORE INTERESTING QUESTION ... How hard are mainstream Democrats, perhaps including Ethan Berkowitz, Hollis French and Eric Croft, trying to convince Bob Poe to drop out of the nascent governor's race "for the good of the party?" It's hearsay, but a persistent claim, the fear being he splits the primary vote enough to win but can't take the general. Unclear who they think the best candidate is. Probably some differing opinions there.

In hopes that this was just information thrown out there to divide the Democrats, I decided to do some research of my own and talked to a source close to the campaign...

...only to find out that the story is true!  Fellow Democrats truly are trying to dissuade Bob Poe!!!  Are you kidding me?

So...let's get this straight:

"Hey, Bob! We know you've been out there for the last six months working your butt off and dumping your own money into this campaign because you weren't allowed to raise any.  Now, only a couple of weeks into being able to receive contributions, we want you to back out of the race because a couple of our buddies are going to jump in and take it from here."

Are you serious?  That doesn't even make any logical sense!

For one thing, this isn't the Anchorage Mayor's race when coming to a candidate's agreement would have made sense.  The Governor's race has a lovely primary far enough ahead of the General Election that the winner can pick up considerable momentum.  There's NO real reason (other than for candidates who are afraid of the competition) to try and cull the herd ahead of time.

Secondly, it's only June 2009.  The election isn't until November 2010!!!  The talented Kay Brown just got to work on the Poe campaign,
there's still another Legislative Session in between and NO ONE knows what's going to happen between now and then!  

The really irritating/disturbing part for me is this sense of "entitlement" that seems to be expressing itself here...that one has to "prove" him/herself to a certain "clique" before one can run for office in this state, especially in the urban areas.  It's especially discomfiting because I've been witnessing this and hearing about it for awhile.

There's the case of Diane Benson, two-time candidate for Don Young's seat, who received no Alaska Democratic Party money either time.  When former legislator Ethan Berkowitz and Jake Metcalfe joined the race, both men were showered with praise and contributions before Jake dropped out.  Meaning no disrespect to Ethan, I must point out that Diane got the same percentage of votes against Don Young on a shoestring budget during a Republican-friendly year that Ethan got in 2008 with a huge warchest.  Also meaning no disrespect, I must point out the Native woman vs. Caucasian male issue...it is there.

During the session, when the Legislature and Governor Palin were having their standoff over a replacement for Juneau Senator Kim Elton, we were introduced to the name Joe Nelson.  Joe was clearly not the right guy, as he allowed himself to be used as a "spoiler" against the Senate Democrats and he also said something really stupid in a Governor's Press release when he withdrew his name from consideration.  However, before all of that happened, I remember wondering "Why wasn't this guy courted by the Juneau Democrats before?  After all, he IS married to Mary Nelson, former Democratic Legislator.  What's up with that?

Then some of my sources from Juneau (especially the Native Community) explained how "cliquish" it is there.  I was tp;d that it's almost impossible to "break in" to the circle of Democrats who make a great deal of the decisions.

And once again, when we look at the racial and gender make-up of the urban legislators from Anchorage, Fairbanks and Juneau, you would think that those of us who live in these cities are all-white and mostly male.

So, it seems we have two issues here that are interrelated:

1)  Some people get huffy if a "new face" tries to run for office without "paying their dues"...whatever those "dues" may be...and...

2)  While the Democratic Party is definitely the party of inclusion (especially in comparison to the Republicans), we still have a long way to go to improve representation within our own ranks.

We MUST reach out to enthusiastic candidates who can fire up a campaign.  We cannot allow one faction of the Party to dictate the views that EVERY DEMOCRAT must have, discouraging highly qualified potential candidates from running.  We MUST encourage young minority members to become active in the party and mentor them into running for office.  For Alaskans to become engaged in the political system, they must be able to see their own faces in the legislature and the local councils and assemblies.

Resolving both of these issues depends upon nurturing, encouraging and supporting new blood to run for office as Democrats at ALL levels on the ballot. If that didn't happen nationally, Barack Obama would not be President today.

For the Palin Administration "transparent government" has become an oxymoron.

by: Celtic Diva

Fri Feb 06, 2009 at 13:07:07 PM AKST

A few weeks ago, I submitted a couple of records requests to the Governor's Office.  They sent back letter responses to both at the very same time.

On the first one (regarding the "racist emails"...turns out that less than a handful of employees forwarded them on), the letter stated that the Office of the Governor had "no records that are responsive to your request."  However, they forwarded it to the Department of Administration who did.  I received a timely phone response from Kevin Brooks, then a written one with the information I requested.

The second letter was a different story.  It stated that because there was:

"no record responsive to your request we must deny your request under 2 AAC 96.335.(a) (2) Denial of request:

(a) A request for a public record that complies with this chapter may be denied only if

       (2) the record is not in the public agency's possession, and after a diligent search the public agency does not know where the record is to be found;

The records I was requesting in the second letter?

I request the Office of the Governor to duplicate and provide me with a copy of every contract and/or agreement the State of Alaska or any entity or agency of the State of Alaska awarded to Meghan Stapleton and family members and/or any company related to Meghan Stapleton and family.  

If there are public records that are described in this public records request that the Office of the Governor does not maintain, please let me know the name of the public agency that maintains those records and the name and address of each State of Alaska employee who is a custodian of the records.

My understanding from other former State employees is that the department containing that information is the exact same department they happily forwarded the first letter to...The Department of Administration.  For whatever reason, they are forcing me to do an appeal rather than forward my request to that department of their own volition.

Hmmmmmm...

Of course, this is not a surprise.  Considering the ridiculous six-month runaround the Alaska Democratic Party has experienced in their attempts to obtain retrieved emails from Governor Palin's government account AND the fact the Administration is asking for two more months, I should count myself lucky.  I find this especially suspicious in that I'm rather close to an individual who pulls emails from government servers as part of his/her job.  He/she couldn't imagine it taking longer than two weeks, especially since there are contractors out there who specialize in such things.

Then, of course, there's the unfolding court case from Andree McLeod, attempting to make sure that emails sent to one non-state employee (Todd Palin) cannot be kept off the public record from the rest of us and declared "confidential."

Between that and the ridiculous amount of money the Administration has attempted to charge individuals and agencies for those records, it's a frustrating experience trying to get the Administration to comply with that "transparency" we've all heard so much about.

I'll keep you all updated as to the status of my appeal.