During his inauguration in Kotzebue Monday, Gov. Mike Dunleavy said there was a “misunderstanding that I had said something about closing schools in rural Alaska.”
Read MoreThe announcement naming John Quick, who is in his mid-30s, as commissioner of administration for Gov.-elect Mike Dunleavy said one of his “signature achievements” was cutting a $5 million deficit to $400,000 at the Kenai Peninsula Borough in one year “simply by finding efficiencies.” That’s not what happened.
Read MoreA Dunleavy press release said Adam Crum, 34, has managed “large teams and multi-million dollar budgets,” but he has not managed anything approaching the largest department in the state, one with a budget of $3.2 billion.
Read MoreGov.-elect Mike Dunleavy has decided that the best way to cut the budget is to get someone from Outside to lead the charge, though she doesn’t know the state budget or Alaska.
Read MoreThe demand by Gov.-elect Mike Dunelavy and chief of staff Tuckerman Babcock for a loyalty oath from hundreds of state employees who are not part of the political class is a mistake.
Read MoreTuckerman Babcock has been named by Gov.-elect Mike Dunleavy as the chief of staff for the Dunleavy administration, a position in which he ought to set a good example by accepting a salary commensurate with the ideals of a man dedicated to small government.
Read MorePresident Trump started a trade war with China without a coherent strategy or any concern about the damage it could inflict on fishing or any other industry in the United States. Alaska’s U.S. senators just can’t bring themselves to say that or push back.
Read MoreDeciding whether the state can afford to take $6 billion from the permanent fund will be a major decision for the next Legislature. But it shouldn’t be a difficult one because the withdrawal should only be about half that amount.
Read MoreAlaska oil hit $85 a barrel on Oct. 3, but the price is now below $70 per barrel. President Donald Trump wants to see it keep falling: "Hopefully, Saudi Arabia and OPEC will not be cutting oil production. Oil prices should be much lower based on supply!" he wrote on Twitter.
Read MoreBased on his history, former Rep. Dick Randolph would like nothing better than radical changes in the Constitution so that state resources will be handed to private companies in the interest of fighting socialism. Whether Dunleavy goes along remains to be seen.
Read MoreAlaska’s next governor will ask the Legislature to make 2019 the year of the giant dividend—about $6,700 per person. It’s not a conservative approach.
Read MoreRep. Don Young received a higher percentage of the vote in the 1976, 1978, 1980, 1982, 1984, 1986, 1988, 1994, 1996, 1998, 2000, 2002, 2004, 2006, 2010 and 2012 elections.
Read MoreThe Dunleavy dividend of $6,700 would place immediate desires above the interests of future generations. The loss of the perpetual earning power of $2.4 billion has not been calculated.
Read MoreRep. Don Young, 85, pointed to himself with his right arm and shouted, ‘Uno, Uno, Uno” into the microphone. This is what you shout when you play your next-to-last card in the child’s game of “Uno.”
Read MoreIndecision never makes for a good editorial, but what I find most objectionable is the claim that Mike Dunleavy has a better grasp of the budget than Mark Begich. To me, the budget is the biggest issue, with education, the gas line, crime and the Permanent Fund inextricably connected.
Read MoreA radio ad proclaiming the virtues of Republican Mike Dunleavy delivers the names of top contributors so fast that it is nearly impossible to understand the words. State law bans this tactic, which is why the APOC should act on this right away.
Read MoreThe Anchorage Daily News is allowing former Sen. Mike Dunleavy to get away with claiming he "misspoke" during the many months in which Dunleavy promised to get rid of "climatologists" in the state budget to save money.
Read MoreThe 85-year-old Young may claim to be the paragon of responsibility, but he didn’t act in a adult manner a year ago when he voted to explode the federal deficit and grant a giant corporate tax cut that mainly benefits the wealthiest people and institutions in the country.
Read MoreThe 2017 version of Rep. Don Young left no doubt about his views on spending billions for President Trump’s border wall. He said a wall would never work and the federal government had no business promoting it.
Read MoreFormer Sen. Mike Dunleavy keeps talking about cutting a $4.5 million state expenditure on a commuter rail study from Mat-Su to Anchorage. There is nothing to cut because the money was never appropriated.
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