The big problem with Dunleavy in 2020 is that he wants to spend $1.5 billion more than the state is taking in every year, but he won’t propose taxes, spending cuts, dividend cuts or any budget move of consequence. It’s the Dunleavy Disaster 2.0.
Read MoreThe Legislature has a plan to end the wasteful $600-per-hour contract with President Trump’s lawyer. One or more of 160 civil division state attorneys on the payroll could handle the case. If the Dunleavy administration tries to spend the money anyway and cut something like consumer protection, that will be another reason for recall.
Read MoreOn Friday, the Alaska Landmine reported on the first tangible evidence that connects the governor’s office to the Penney contract. Jeff Landfield wrote that he had obtained a copy of an internal AIDEA document that claimed the statutory or regulatory authority for the no-bid contract was “by governor’s request.”
Read MoreEvery public comment submitted to the state was in opposition to the Dunleavy-Clarkson plan to sign off on free legal help for each other in case of ethics complaints.
Read MoreAnchorage fiscal conservative Sen. Mia Costello wants to spend hundreds of thousands of state dollars because one family complained about the inability of their child to have the middle name “10” written that way on a state ID card.
Read MoreWith the recall driving every Dunleavy decision, he refuses to lead, follow or get out of the way. He should borrow the “I don’t really care. Do U?” jacket from Melania.
Read MoreState law and state regulations require competitive bids in most cases, including on work for AIDEA. No-bid contracts are allowed if they meet certain conditions, but AIDEA did not meet those conditions with the Clark Penney contract, which pays him $8,000 a month.
Read MoreThe Dunleavy administration could face up to the challenge, admit this is a serious threat to many thousands of Alaskans and try to prevent a travel fiasco in the fall. But that is not happening.
Read MoreThe process is plagued by a level of distrust created in part because the state decided to claim that half of the hundreds of public comments opposed to the proposal should be classified as “unclear.”
Read MoreAs with everything else in this costly legal case, which the Binkley family started against John Reeves in 2012, the warring parties disagree on whether the train tracks should remain.
Read MoreThe political strategy that the state dressed up in legalese Friday before the Alaska Supreme Court is a smart tactic, though the real motivation is never mentioned. It remains to be seen what the court will do on scheduling.
Read MoreIn each of the disastrous Koch Network/Dunleavy budget shows, either the governor or his temporary budget director portrayed the Alaska Marine Highway System as an extravagance the state could no longer afford.
Read MoreTom Boutin, the head of AIDEA, said $8,000 a month for four years is such a piddling amount that no one else in Alaska would accept that in a no-bid state contract. There is no reason to believe that claim.
Read MoreSomebody in the state labor department, headed by Commissioner Tamika Ledbetter, needs to be held accountable for this deception—about 175 public comments submitted in opposition to proposed state regs were falsely labeled as “unclear.”
Read MoreIf Gov. Mike Dunleavy ever wants to get past the questions about why Bob Penney’s grandson received a four-year deal worth up to $441,000, the first step is to have his staff start answering and stop stonewalling.
Read MoreI suspect that Attorney General Kevin Clarkson wants to elevate his personal reputation among the nation’s right-wing legal establishment and earn points with organizations that might help fund his crusade, join it in the years ahead or even take it over. Alaska shouldn’t be paying the bill.
Read MoreHis office may be officially in Juneau, but Lt. Gov. Kevin Meyer is among the state’s frequent-flying commuters from Anchorage. Meyer charged nearly $15,000 for transportation and meals for trips to Juneau in 2019.
Read MoreThe stonewalling on the Clark Penney no-bid contract from the Dunleavy administration continues. Legislators are asking the right questions, however.
Read MoreTammie Wilson’s new job, created by revising an existing opening, will be part of a proposed new unit that doesn’t exist yet, raising constitutional questions about the ban on ex-legislators moving immediately into the executive branch.
Read MoreThe recall appeal to the Alaska Supreme Court doesn’t have to be a drawn-out process, though the attorney general and the Dunleavy support group will try to make it so.
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