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.

Alaska poll workers and voters speak about turnout (PLEASE share your story!)

by: Celtic Diva

Fri Nov 07, 2008 at 10:05:59 AM AKST

By: Melissa Fouse on November 6, 2008
at 2:04 pm

Shannyn - I was a poll watcher for this election, a volunteer (for the Ds) and spent 15 hours Tuesday watching for any election fraud or anomaly in House District 26 (Anchorage, west side). Turnout was low - of the 1200 registered voters in that precinct, about 550 voted. Another 66 voted questioned ballots. Every ballot was properly handled; the touch-screen machine was not even used. In the middle of the afternoon, when the results of the Presidential election were announced (I suspect, we were in a news blackout in the polling place) the trickle of voters slowed even more. Of the over 300 identified D supporters on the list I had in front of me, not even 100 voted. I know there were some 200 volunteers doing what I was doing and most likely more from the Rs.

It stinks that so few people voted, but in my small precinct, it was all on the up and up.

By: mike on November 6, 2008
at 7:02 pm

Our polling place was DEAD QUIET when we voted at 6:30 pm. There were MUCH bigger crowds in the evening for at least the last 2 elections.

I hate to say it but I think once it was clear Obama won, many Democrats and Democrat-leaning independents just didn't bother to show up. My guess is a lot of people only really cared about the Obama race, and didn't care so much about our local elections.

By: Carrie on November 6, 2008
at 11:25 pm

I did exit polls on Tuesday. There was a huge line at my precinct prior to the polls opening at 7am. After about 7:30am it was DEAD the rest of the day. This is the third presidental election I have done exit polls for, and it was very clear to me that turnout was WAY down. In fact, the officials at my site were very perplexed.

Get over your conspiracy theorys and get a life. Would someone be crying foul if the Senate and House races had gone the the other way? Doubtful. For goodness sake, even the pollsters were suprprised at the low turnout. Ask the officials who were there - the voters didn't show!!!

People called into Cary Carrigan's show this morning recounting pretty much the same experience.  While it sounds like polls in Homer were busy, poll watchers, poll workers and voters in Anchorage have recounted the same story; it was busy first thing in the morning and dead the rest of the day.

This completely jives with my husband's voting experience just after 6:00 PM in Anchorage District 24 -- there were two people voting when he walked in.  When he was done, it was so empty he said you could practically hear the wind whistling in the rafters.

PLEASE recount your Alaska voting experiences either here on the blog or by emailing me at celticdivaak@yahoo.com.

**UPDATED** Smear Against Ethan Berkowitz perpetrated by local printer...for Don Young's Campaign!

by: Celtic Diva

Tue Nov 04, 2008 at 00:26:50 AM AKST

Well, at the time, I thought it was interesting that they had chosen District 24 and I figured it happened because wing-nut candidate Uwe Kalenka used the printer involved, Nenana Creative Arts, for his signs.  I thought maybe he was doing Don Young a favor.

However, the tenacious Michelle Meyer took it a step further.  She did the research and discovered that "Nenana Creative Arts" is also DON YOUNG'S campaign printer!

Here's Michelle's Press Release.  The spreadsheets showing the Young connection can be emailed if anyone would like a copy.


FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
November 3, 2008

ALASKANS FOR CLEAN ELECTIONS, A NON-PARTISAN CAMPAIGN FINANCE REFORM GROUP, IS BEING FRAUDULENTLY LISTED ON DISCLAIMER OF NEGATIVE CANVASSING EFFORT IN ANCHORAGE

(ANCHORAGE)  Over the past weekend, Anchorage residents contacted Alaskans for Clean Elections reporting a flyer hanging on their doors with the disclaimer, "Paid for by Alaskans for Clean Elections".  Alaskans for Clean Elections (ACFE) is a non-partisan campaign finance reform group which sponsored a ballot initiative on the August 2008 primary election. The flyer (see attached file) was not paid for by, nor distributed on behalf of AFCE.   AFCE had no part in, nor does the group participate in partisan campaign activities.

"Alaskans for Clean Elections had nothing to do with this negative, partisan campaigning," said Michelle Meyer, Campaign Manager for Alaskans for Clean Elections. She continued, "In fact, this style of campaigning is exactly why we must reform the current political campaign finance system. We have worked for 18 months to educate Alaskans about the need for reform in our electoral system and we certainly don't want Alaskans to be confused about our organization or its goals."

When asked, multiple canvassers said they were paid by Nenana Creative Arts.  Clean Elections has since learned that Nenana Creative Arts is Don Young's political sign vendor.  

Tim June, Chair of Alaskans for Clean Elections, said today "The blatant dirty politics that is on display is the reason we need Clean Elections for Alaska, and for that matter all elections, including federal."

Sponsors of Alaskans for Clean Elections are exploring all legal options, including the filing of an FEC complaint to investigation violations of federal election laws.  "We wish to stop anyone from using the Clean Elections name on negative literature for this, and future elections," continued June.  

For more information contact Alaskans for Clean Elections at 907-230-5617 or via email at michelle@alaskansforcleanelections.org

Smear Campaign against Ethan Berkowitz perpetrated by local printer Joe Law **UPDATED**

by: Celtic Diva

Sun Nov 02, 2008 at 15:02:52 PM AKST

**UPDATE 2**  Please let me know if there are other Districts besides 23 that got some kind of smear against Ethan.  Other folks and I are very curious.

Yesterday afternoon my daughter ran in the house with the flyer pictured above.  A couple of guys were going around the neighborhood (College Village--Berta Gardner territory) sticking these attempted smears of Alaska At-Large Congressional Candidate Ethan Berkowitz in the front door of each house.

The flyer claims that Ethan Berkowitz accepted donations from Bill Allen of VECO and had a copy of an APOC document to show it.  However the section on that document containing the date was conveniently cut off during the copying process...as if an amateur had done it.  When I searched the APOC site, I found one donation in May of 2000...during Ethan's primary for his house seat.  That's the ONLY donation I found listed in the APOC database from Bill Allen, who also donated to Con Bunde, Loren Leman, Kevin Meyer and many more during the primary and tons more folks during the General Election.

Remember, I said the year was 2000...before much of the corruption with Veco had been perpetrated and before it had come to light even within the Legislative community.

There were many almost-laughable problems with the flyer. However, the bottom of the flyer claimed that it was paid for by "Alaskans for Clean Elections."  That was their biggest mistake as Michelle Meyers was going to be FURIOUS that someone was claiming that she paid for anything like this!  (I would never want her mad at me...she's tenacious!)

So I called her and what a surprise! She was already in my neighborhood looking for the culprit and threatening legal action!


(more below the fold)

I'm FURIOUS at USA Today!! Does this bode ill for the piece on Good Morning America tomorrow?

by: Celtic Diva

Fri Oct 17, 2008 at 12:36:31 PM AKDT

Co-anchor Kate Snow of "Good Morning America"

I talked about my experiences last week when I had ABC News Good Morning America in my living room for their Alaska segment of "50 States in 50 Days" which they are doing in concert with USA Today.  

While I was a little concerned since they were rather vague regarding why they chose me, I figured this was a "culture" piece (not a lot of detail-just an "overview" of Alaska politics) so I didn't see a reason that it would be a hatchet job.  I had my friend Ron with me and he watched the whole thing.  He thought it went very well so I was somewhat less nervous about how it would turn out.

USA Today published their "50/50" piece on Alaska this morning (the "Good Morning America" piece airs tomorrow morning) and when I read it, I was horrified!

First off, they based their article on comments from alleged "independent" attorney Laura Bowen.  Yet, when I did a simple search on her name, I found that she signed a "Draft Palin for VP" online petition months before she was chosen.  I have strong suspicions that this woman works/volunteers for the McCain Palin Campaign, which would tarnish that "independent" title, wouldn't it?

And that would even be alright, if they spoke to an anti-Palin person to offset that...they didn't.

Anyway, below is the comment I left on the story:

Wow, this was just a bit inaccurate.

First off "independent Laura Bowen" signed a petition to "draft Sarah Palin for VP" LONG before she was picked by McCain. http://www.ipetitions.com/peti...

Maybe not QUITE so independent, huh?

I find it facinating that the Rovian Republican technique of accusing the other guy of what they were doing all along worked with the USA Today reporters.  

You do realize that the McCain Campaign SENT IN PEOPLE FROM OUTSIDE ALASKA to interfere with our state government, correct?
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/pal...

You do realize that Alaska State Workers were "instructed" to send any phone calls even breathing Palin's name, not to the state Communications person, but directly to the McCain Campain in Virginia, right?

You understand that the McCain Campaign's "Truth Squad" were the ones smearing people like Walt Monegan, Sen. Hollis French, Investigator Steven Branchflower and a myriad of other folks who "dared" to investigate the Governor and then find that she "abused her power," right?  
http://www.ktuu.com/global/sto...
http://www.divasblueoasis.com/...

You do understand that the only people who were able to stand up to this were folks like Republican Senate President Lyda Green, who is retiring, Representative Les Gara and Senator Bill Wielekowski, who have each received numerous abusive and threatening emails and phone calls, correct?

You do understand that the primary reason the Troopergate Report was released was due to a grassroots effort of Alaskans to try and offset the huge amount of pressure put on the Alaskan Legislative Council by the McCain Campaign to keep the report under wraps, right?  http://alaskansfortruth.blogsp...
http://mudflats.wordpress.com/...

I guess that "independent" Palin-bot Laura Bowen sure fooled you!

I encourage folks to read it and go leave their own comments.

I can only hope that my piece on "Good Morning America" tomorrow doesn't make me want to scream.