District 24 votes to censure Lisa Murkowski for her vote on the second Trump impeachment and asks the State Central Committee to express through a statement of censure our collective dissatisfaction with Senator Murkowski’s representation of Republican values and priorities.

The vote was unanimous among the District 24 leadership attending with Representative Tom McKay abstaining.  Senator Natasha von Imhof attended the early portion of the meeting and was not present for either the discussion or vote to censure. 

This resolution will be presented before the upcoming Republican State Central Committee (SCC) meeting on March 13, combined with similar resolutions passed by a number of other Districts, and presented for approval.

A couple thoughts are in order.

First, censure associated with the second impeachment of President Donald Trump is the first time in my knowledge that a state political party in Alaska is in the process of censuring any member of the congressional delegation.  In this, Lisa is uniting the Republican Party, but not in the way she thinks.

Second, it is disappointing that we find ourselves in a period where the only way we figure we can get the attention of our elected representatives is via these sorts of vehicles.  Perhaps sticking your finger in the collective eyes of an appreciable number of your party members is something less than a positive lifestyle choice for a continued political career in office.  Sadly, I don’t see this ending any time soon.

The discussion leading to the vote was instructive.  There were at least three versions of the censure resolution presented.  While there was discussion on actual verbiage, there was no discussion on whether or not to proceed, as those of us who voted to do so were unanimous in agreement.  In the end, simplest and shortest version was approved. 

I hope this does some good, or at least gets Lisa’s attention for a little while.

I write this piece as the sitting Vice Chair of Dist 24 Republicans.  I attended the meeting.  It is presented with the knowledge of the District 24 leadership.

Alex Gimarc lives in Anchorage since retiring from the military in 1997. His interests include science and technology, environment, energy, economics, military affairs, fishing and disabilities policies. His weekly column “Interesting Items” is a summary of news stories with substantive Alaska-themed topics. He was a small business owner and Information Technology professional.

The post Censuring Lisa Murkowski appeared first on Alaska Politics and Elections.

This started a few weeks ago with a request by McKay for a pre-primary endorsement.  While not regularly done, this request triggered a formal process in the District detailed in Party Rules.  In short, the District leadership appoints a Target Committee which interviews candidates and reports the results of those interviews to the District leadership at the leadership meeting.

Areas of questioning are detailed in Party Rules and generally concentrate on knowledge and support for both the Party Platform and Party Rules.

Initially, McKay made the only request for an endorsement.  Representative Kopp and Senator von Imhof both requested endorsements shortly afterwards.  The interviews were held telephonically Friday, June 5 for McKay and von Imhof.  Kopp cancelled his interview around 50 minutes before it was scheduled via an e-mailed statement to the leadership that ended with the following:

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“Bruce Schulte explained to me that he is not able to provide for a more just endorsement process. The interview outcome has clearly been predetermined and I do not believe this reflects the will of my constituents, who I know to be fair-minded and more interested in hard work and results than in-party bickering. Because of this, I withdraw my request for a pre-primary endorsement interview and respectfully request the District 24 Party return to its 2018 position of not endorsing candidates in the Primary Election. As I embark on my third campaign in District 24, I will continue to diligently listen and work for my constituents whom I have been privileged to serve through their strong support these past four years.

The coming year will inevitably bring about new economic challenges. We need leaders who will break through the noise of partisanship to work for the common good of all Alaskans. I believe our community will see past the partisan fighting that has brought us nothing but gridlock and support those willing to work together to provide our state with real solutions.”

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The outcome from this is that District 24 has endorsed House challenger Tom McKay for the state primary in August.  Both Chuck Kopp and Natasha von Imhof withdrew their requests for an endorsement before the meeting was held on Saturday.  A fourth Republican candidate, Stephen Duplantis, who filed to run against Senator von Imhof, has not yet requested an endorsement.  Should he do so, his request will be considered like the rest of the candidates.  It is what Party rules require, and what we are determined to do.  Should Representative Kopp and / or Senator von Imhof request an endorsement, we will restart the process once again. 

On a personal note:  The Author participated in the process and has donated to Tom McKay this election cycle.  He donated to von Imhof and Kopp in 2016. 

Alex Gimarc lives in Anchorage since retiring from the military in 1997. His interests include science and technology, environment, energy, economics, military affairs, fishing and disabilities policies. His weekly column “Interesting Items” is a summary of news stories with substantive Alaska-themed topics. He was a small business owner and Information Technology professional.

The post District 24 Endorses Tom McKay for State House appeared first on Alaska Politics and Elections.