“The complaint is being reviewed, and we do not have any comment on the litigation.” - Sam Curtis, a spokesperson for the Alaska Department of Law, on the lawsuit filed by the U.S. Department of Justice over Alaska’s U.S. Senate race late Thursday.
By Yereth Rosen
The three gubernatorial candidates who spoke Friday at the Alaska Federation of Natives convention found plenty of common ground on education, fisheries, public safety and other subjects.
But some divides emerged in what was, for the most part, a friendly and collegial panel discussion between Democrat Jonathan Kreiss-Tomkins, Republicans Dave Bronson and Treg Taylor and journalist Antonia Gonzalez, the moderator.
(Photo by Yereth Rosen/Alaska Beacon)
By Yereth Rosen
Mary Peltola, a Democrat in a tight race that might determine control of the U.S. Senate, stood on stage at the Alaska Federation of Natives convention in Anchorage and threw some barbs at the candidate who was not there: incumbent Sen. Dan Sullivan.
Peltola, in a late-afternoon candidate forum on Friday, addressed the news shock of the day: a lawsuit filed by the Trump administration that aims to “not acknowledge a win if the incumbent does not win.”
(U.S. Coast Guard photo by Petty Officer 2nd Class Holly Hugunin)
By Corinne Smith
Four candidates are vying for an open seat to represent the Southwestern Alaska House District 37, one of the state’s largest rural districts where fisheries, skyrocketing costs of living, transportation and schools are top of mind this election season.
The district includes communities from the middle Kuskokwim region including Aniak and Sleetmute in the north, southeast across Bristol Bay and Lake Clark regions to Cook Inlet, and south across the Alaska Peninsula, the Aleutian Islands and Pribilof Islands.
(James Brooks photo/Alaska Beacon)
By James Brooks
The U.S. Department of Justice filed suit against the Alaska Division of Elections late Thursday, seeking to block the division from certifying the result of the state’s U.S. Senate election if the Democratic challenger, Mary Peltola, wins.
President Donald Trump told reporters on Friday in Florida that he ordered the lawsuit be filed.
“I’m the one that said, ‘do it,’” he said.
(Mat-Su Borough screenshot)
COMMENTARY
By Melis Coady
At an October 6 public meeting about Alaska’s next transportation plan, a Chilkat Valley resident asked why she couldn’t find projects for the Haines area over the next four years, despite road problems there. A state transportation official acknowledged that funding is limited. Not every community can get what it needs.
Yet the same plan includes nearly $245 million for the first 22 miles of the West Susitna Access Road and a connector.
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