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P E N I N S U L A
Tuesday, October 23, 2018 Kenai Peninsula, Alaska
Vol. 49, Issue 20
Borough welcome sign gets makeover By VICTORIA PETERSEN Peninsula Clarion
Something is missing on the drive to and from Anchorage. The Kenai Peninsula Borough’s welcome sign, which normally sits at Milepost 75 on the Seward Highway, is currently under repair at the borough’s maintenance shop. Brenda Ahlberg, borough community and fiscal projects manager, said the sign has been removed and is being refurbished for age-related wear and tear. “The sign is an icon,” Ahlberg said. “People are always stopping and taking pictures there. We want to make sure it’s safe.” In the Oct. 9 Borough Assembly meeting, John Quick, chief of staff for Mayor Charlie Pierce, said the sign was rotting. “The two beams on each side, basically you could put your hand on it and rip the wood out,” Quick said at the meeting. “That’s how bad it was rotting. Somebody could come and kick it and it probably would fall down. So, it was brought to the mayor’s office attention.” Quick said there was no way to fix the sign on site, so the borough brought it back to the maintenance department where it is drying out, which Quick said could take a matter of months. He said the maintenance department has fixed the sign in the past, but not to this extent. Tim Dillon, executive director of the Kenai Peninsula Economic Development District, and Sen. Lisa Murkowski’s office also expressed interest in helping fund a sign that would face drivers leaving the peninsula, Quick said. “They’re thinking about throwing in some money for a sign that also says ‘Thank you for coming to the Kenai Peninsula Borough. Come visit again,’” Quick said.
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Meet the candidates A look at Alaska’s gubernatorial hopefuls Democrat Begich turns to voters once more By BECKY BOHRER Associated Press
JUNEAU — For months, Mark Begich faced pressure from fellow Democrats to drop out of the Alaska governor’s race. Now, he’s their best shot at winning the seat. The race was upended last week when independent Gov. Bill Walker dropped his reelection bid. He said he concluded that he had no chance of winning against Begich and Republican Mike Dunleavy and thought Begich would be better for Alaska than Dunleavy. Walker’s announcement came days after his lieutenant governor, Democrat Byron Mallott, resigned over what Walked described as an inappropriate overture to a woman. Walker, a former Republican who was elected with Democratic support in 2014, said he and Begich don’t agree on a lot of things. But Walker said he fears Dunleavy will unravel some of his major policies and “hurt” Alaska. Dunleavy’s campaign manager criticized Walker for a “bitter, partisan” attack on
Dunleavy. Begich, the former Anchorage mayor and one-term U.S. senator, entered the race late, worried about the direction the state was headed. Alaska fell into a recession in 2015 amid slumping oil prices. Crime rates are up. Student test scores are lagging. But his decision to run riled some Democrats and independents who believed Walker deserved a second term. They worried Begich and Walker would split the vote and hand the race to Republicans. Begich said his campaign was “inundated” with calls after Walker’s announcement Friday, “a sign that people have been waiting for the governor’s race to firm up in one way or another, and now they see it.” He called Walker’s action courageous. “I think this is the moment,” he said, adding: “I believe we can move the dial and win this election.” State Rep. David Gutten- In this July 27, 2017, file photo, Mark Begich speaks at a news berg was among the Demo- conference in Anchorage. (AP Photo/Mark Thiessen, File) crats who backed Walker and wanted Begich to quit. Now, “I would have hoped that it earlier,” he said of race dyhe said, “you just take one pin would have reconciled itself namics. “But it is what it is.” off and put on the other.”
Begich, he said, is now the clear choice for him. Libertarian Billy Toien also is running. It was amid intense pressure this summer that Begich said the focus of his campaign became clear. Then, speaking to a women’s group in Anchorage, his voice hoarse from laryngitis, he embraced his Democratic roots. He talked about wage inequality, fighting for working families who struggle with costs like day care and the need to speak out when President Donald Trump, who easily won the state in 2016, is wrong. “You cannot be silent,” he told them. “You cannot sit there and hope it’s all going to work out.” The women applauded. But he said the positive response after video of the speech was posted online, from people previously on the fence, was like “the Big Bang.” “It crystallized in my mind … all these people I’ve talked to on the campaign trail, ‘This is why I’m in.’ I don’t need the office,” he said, adding: “But I do believe there’s a lot
See DEM, page A2
GOP’s Dunleavy makes the case for the PFD By BECKY BOHRER Associated Press
JUNEAU — As a kid growing up on the East Coast, Mike Dunleavy dreamed of coming to Alaska — of hunting, fishing in wild streams and losing himself in the state’s vast, open spaces. Now, after nearly 35 years in his adopted state, Dunleavy wants to become Alaska’s governor. The race was shaken up last week when independent Gov. Bill Walker dropped his re-election bid. He said he concluded he could not win a three-way race and said Democrat Mark Begich would be better for Alaska than the Republican former state senator. Dunleavy, a former educator who left the Senate after five years in January to focus on the campaign, has cast himself as tough on crime, a budget hawk who opposes new taxes and a defender of the annual oilwealth check the state pays to residents. Since the primary, he
has been selective in which debates he attends, drawing criticism from his opponents, and he’s stuck to his message. Walker and Begich have said Dunleavy’s number don’t add up and have sought to portray him as dangerous for Alaska. Walker worries Dunleavy could unravel policies he’s put in place, like expanded Medicaid. Dunleavy has raised concerns about Medicaid. Dunleavy, 57, said he got the blessing of people in his district to leave the Senate. And he said he wouldn’t be running if he didn’t think his ideas were achievable. “Just to run to lie to people, to be governor? No,” he said. Dunleavy grew up in a union household in Scranton, Pennsylvania, the youngest of four boys. He loved being in the woods — hiking, fishing — and played basketball, his sturdy, tall frame an asset. His dad was a mail carrier; his mom, a clerk for the city. In this Aug. 19 file photo, Republican gubernatorial candidate Mike Dunleavy, right, stands near Dunleavy said his mother was his campaign table at a meet-and-greet event in the lobby of Anchorage Baptist Temple in AnSee GOP, page A3 chorage. (AP Photo/Becky Bohrer, File)
State: Votes for any candidates on ballot will count By BECKY BOHRER Associated Press
JUNEAU — A vote for any candidate for governor and lieutenant governor on the general election ballot in Alaska will be counted, the state elections office said Monday. That includes votes for Gov. Bill Walker and former Lt. Gov. Byron Mallott. Their names remain on the ballot though last week Walker ended his re-election campaign and Mallott re-
signed his office. The date for candidates to withdraw from the ballot was Sept. 4. Walker ended his re-election bid Friday, days after Mallott resigned over what Walker described as an inappropriate overture to a woman. Walker told reporters it had been a tough week and that talks with Democratic challenger Mark Begich also factored in to his decision to end his campaign when he did. Mallott was replaced by former state health commissioner Valerie Da-
vidson. Walker said he concluded he couldn’t win against Begich and Republican Mike Dunleavy, and he said he thought Begich would be better for Alaska than Dunleavy. Samantha Miller, a spokeswoman for the Division of Elections, said by email that Walker would be re-elected if he got the most votes. But Walker downplayed the possibility of that happening. “I don’t think that’s going to be an issue,” he said Friday.
She said there is nothing in state law that allows the Division of Elections to replace a ballot once it’s been voted and returned to the division. However, she said if a voter filled out their absentee ballot and still has it in their possession but wants a new ballot they can request a replacement ballot. Meanwhile Monday, the state’s largest labor organization, the Alaska AFL-CIO, said it is supporting Begich for governor. This summer, the group
endorsed Walker. The Alaska AFL-CIO said leaders of affiliated unions met Sunday and endorsed Begich given Walker’s decision to cease campaigning. Vince Beltrami, president of the Alaska AFL-CIO, said in a statement that the organization will “dig in with every ounce of energy” it has to help Begich win. Dunleavy on Monday announced he’d been endorsed by Republican U.S. Rep. Don Young and Republican U.S. Sen. Dan Sullivan.