Print article Campaigners supporting the recall of Alaska Gov. Mike Dunleavy have gathered more than three-quarters of the signatures needed to force a statewide vote on the governor’s tenure, they said. Such a vote could take place as soon as this summer, but the exact date depends upon when the signatures are submitted and when those signatures are processed by the Alaska Division of Elections. Meda DeWitt, chair of the group seeking the governor’s recall, said that as of Thursday, the group had “55,613 signatures with 15,639 left to collect.” State law requires the group to obtain the signatures of at least 71,252 registered Alaska voters, and the pace of signature-gathering appears to be picking up after a pandemic-caused lull. On Feb. 9, the group had reported having just over 50,000 signatures, only about 10,000 more than it did in June 2020.
Alaska Gov. Mike Dunleavy said he will block executive-branch employees from testifying to the Senate Judiciary Committee, chaired by Eagle River Republican Sen. Lora Reinbold.
Print article JUNEAU An Alaska Department of Law investigation found “no violations of state law or regulations” after a state-owned corporation awarded a sole-source contract to the grandson of a major contributor to Gov. Mike Dunleavy’s 2018 election campaign. The department’s conclusions were outlined in a Jan. 29 memo from Attorney General-designee Treg Taylor to Dunleavy’s chief of staff, Ben Stevens. The memo reviewed the contract with Clark Penney, grandson of developer Bob Penney, who gave more than $350,000 to a political group that supported Dunleavy’s election in 2018. The memo was released after a public records request from the Daily News.
Print article Alaska on Sunday became one of two states in the United States without a formal COVID-19 public health disaster declaration and the only state without any disaster-related provisions, at least right now. The physically isolated and medically fragile state is also seeing a sharp reduction in coronavirus cases. But without the declaration, everything from hospital coronavirus treatment units to space for large vaccination clinics is in limbo, observers say. In place since March, it provided legal backing for state health orders, as well as flexibilities to respond to the virus and deliver vaccine to Alaskans. “Alaska is definitely in uncharted territory here,” said Emily Ford, government relations director with Providence Alaska Medical Center, the state’s largest hospital in Anchorage.