APOC punts on Dunleavy support group until after the election, but warns GOP group spends more ‘at its own peril’

The Alaska Public Offices Commission couldn’t decide whether the decision by the Republican Governors Association to create a $3 million bank account and call it an independent group was allowed under Alaska law, so the commission put the matter off, calling for more information and future deliberations after the election.

There is evidence that the bipartisan commission was not fooled by the bank account set up by the RGA and christened “A Stronger Alaska,” however.

The alleged “group” doesn’t exist, except in the forms filed with the APOC claiming it exists. The “group” does not have its own bank account, phone number, office, website, email address, business license, or identification number with the IRS.

The APOC said the evidence so far shows “the RGA did little to distance itself from A Stronger Alaska.”

“Apparently, Republican Governor’s Association created A Stronger Alaska at the behest of their high-ranking employee David Rexrode, who in turn ran the independent expenditure group. There is no independent board overseeing A Stronger Alaska’s expenditures. There is no independent address, no independent phone number, and no other existence of A Stronger Alaska other than a single APOC filing and a bank account it shares with Republican Governors Association’s own accounts.”

The APOC released its decision Wednesday afternoon, saying the Dunleavy support group could keep spending money but to be aware that if the commission decides in the future that A Stronger Alaska is an empty front group, the RGA “will continue to make expenditures at its own peril.”

“Moreover, A Stronger Alaska could expose Republican Governors Association to penalties during the pendency of staff’s investigation if the commission later finds that the two entities are one in the same.”

I think the APOC meant “one and the same.”

The RGA and A Stronger Alaska are one and the same. So there should be penalties.

A press release from the two groups that brought the complaint cheered the decision, calling it a victory for transparency in government. The Alaska Public Interest Research Group and the 907 Initiative said they read the order as finding that A Stronger Alaska is a shell created to disguise the RGA funding.

“As part of this order, the commission issued a stern warning to the RGA’s attorneys to preserve all emails, texts, and any other information. Additionally, to the extent the RGA wishes to engage in Alaska’s elections, the Commission encouraged the RGA to do so ‘in its own name . . provided it complies with all campaign finance laws.’ AKPIRG and the 907 Initiative agree wholeheartedly: If the RGA wanted to campaign, it always had the right to do so, but it must do so transparently and in its own name,” the two groups said.

“This is a huge win for transparency in Alaska’s campaign finances and a reminder of the importance of having oversight in this process,” said Veri di Suvero, Executive Director, AKPIRG. “Although APOC stopped short of specifically enjoining all action by the RGA’s false front, shedding light on this issue underscores the importance of a strong regulatory process to prevent major dark money schemes and their unchecked influence on Alaska’s elections.” 

The decision again exposes the weakness of the APOC, a tiny organization—it has seven employees in Anchorage and one in Juneau, half of what it had a decade ago—and is unable to thoroughly deal with matters of substance during the heat of campaigns.

A Stronger Alaska is not a separate group. It is a bank account controlled by the RGA. The two people whose names are on the bank account are employees of the RGA. The lawyers for the two groups talked long enough and loud enough to confuse the situation.

A Stronger Alaska exists only in the sense that the RGA keeps telling the APOC that it exists. According to reports filed with the IRS, the RGA never contributed $3 million to a separate legal group in 2021, as the statements filed with the APOC in Alaska claim.

The Legislature needs to tighten the rules and explain in clear English so that everyone understands that creating a bank account does not create a separate organization.

The APOC is not an agency that legislators and governors enjoy funding because they often see it as an entity that makes their lives more difficult. The public loses because the APOC is barely alive. It needs more resources.