What are the top issues facing Alaska and who is examining them with an eye to educating Alaskans to insist elected officials make well-informed decisions? Wise elected officials should want to know this, too.
A lot has been happening organizationally with AK Roundtable and this is an update on the previous story written December 23, 2021.
Intent of the AK Roundtable Effort
The purpose of an election is to enable a qualified citizen who registers to vote to select who will represent them, period–not to enable organizations, unions from all over the United States to come in here and dump money to decide who represents Alaskans, explained Ric Davidge, AK Roundtable Founder. A former District Republican Official himself, Davidge says one of the problems is some Republican candidates today take money from unions and special interests to get elected with false narratives.
A perfect example of this: Rep. Kelly Merrick has been censured by the Alaska Republican Party for joining the Democrat minority caucus to give them a majority coalition in the last legislature. However, Merrick still runs as a Pro-Life Republican who has tremendous financial support from primarily special interest unions. Read about Kelly Merrick’s False Narrative
Merrick’s APOC Contributors:
| Date Paid | Contributor | Amount |
| 11/16/21 | Alaska Laborers PAC | 3,000.00 |
| 12/29/21 | Laborers Union Local 341 | 3,000.00 |
| 12/29/21 | Laborers Union Local 942 | 3.000.00 |
| 12/30/21 | UA Local 375 Plumbers & Steamfitters Union (FBX) | 3,000.00 |
| 12/31/21 | Juneau Central Labor Council of Unions | 3,000.00 |
| 01/11/22 | Laborers Union Local 341 PAC Account | 3,000.00 |
| 01/12/22 | Alaska Laborers Union PAC | 3,000.00 |
| 01/14/22 | Laborers Local 492 ALPEV Voluntary Contributions (FBX) | 3,000.00 |
| 1/15/22 | Public Employees Local 71 | 2,000.00 |
| 12/29/21 | Anchorage Fire Fighter’s Union IAFF Local 1264 | 1,500.00 |
| 12/29/21 | Operating Engineers Union Local 302 | 1,500.00 |
| 12/29/21 | Teamsters Union Local 959 (FBX) | 1,500.00 |
| 12/31/21 | Gerald Neeser, Neeser Construction | 1,500.00 |
| 12/29/21 | Alaska AFL-CIO | 1,000.00 |
| 12/29/21 | Alaska State Employee Union ASEA/AFSCME Local 52 | 1,000.00 |
| 12/29/21 | Lyndon Transport James Jansen | 1,000.00 |
| 12/30/21 | Bill Walker Brena Bell Walker (Failed 1-term Governor) | 1,000.00 |
| 1/10/22 | Bill Armstrong, Armstrong Oil & Gas (CO) | 1,000.00 |
| 12/31/21 | Elizabeth Stevens, Wife of former Dunleavy Chief of Staff Ben Stevens | 750.00 |
| 12/2921 | Union Lawyer Charles Dunnagan | 500.00 |
| 12/29/21 | Electrical Union Workers IBEW Local 1547 | 500.00 |
| 12/29/21 | UA Local 367 Plumbers & Steamfitters Union | 500.00 |
| 12/31/21 | Robert Abbott, NW Region Laborers Union (WA) | 500.00 |
| 12/31/21 | Linda Anderson, Foundation Health Partners (FBX) | 500.00 |
| 12/31/21 | Joe Balash, Santos Limited (Oil Search) | 500.00 |
| 12/31/21 | Vince Beltrami, retired Alaska AFL-CIO President | 500.00 |
| 12/31/21 | Tom Brice, retired Alaska Union Official | 500.00 |
| 12/31/21 | Dave Cruz, Cruz Construction (FBX) | 500.00 |
| 12/31/21 | Joelle Hall, President Alaska AFL-CIO | 500.00 |
| 12/31/21 | Keith Meyer, LNG Central (TX) | 500.00 |
| 12/31/21 | James Sampson, Former Pres. AFL-CIO (FBX) | 500.00 |
| 12/31/21 | Colleen Savoie, Parker Smith Insurance Broker | 500.00 |
| 12/31/21 | Matthew Shuckerow, Former Press Secretary for Gov Dunleavy | 500.00 |
| 12/31/21 | Kai Sims, President Anchorage Wolverines Hockey | 500.00 |
| 12/31/21 | John Sims, President ENSTAR | 500.00 |
| 12/31/21 | Kevin Sund, Juneau carpenter | 500.00 |
| 12/31/21 | Khalial Within, Attorney, AK Dist Council of Laborers | 500.00 |
| 01/12/2022 | Wes Canfield, AK Laborer’s Union Local 341 Bus Agent | 500.00 |
| 01/11/22 | Caboret Hotel & Restaurant (CHARR PAC) | 500.00 |
| 01/11/2022 | Kisha Guillen, Bookkeeper Laborer’s Local Union 341 | 500.00 |
| 01/12/2022 | Todd Porter, QAP Construction Co. | 500.00 |
| 01/13/22 | Larry Bell, AK Natl (IBEW UNION) Electrical Contractors Assn | 500.00 |
| 01/17/22 | Shalon Harrington, Dir. External Affairs Ambler Metals | 500.00 |
| 01/17/22 | John Lincoln, CEO-NANA Corp | 500.00 |
| 12/31/21 | Doug Buman Jenn Buman) Laborer’s Health Safety Fund (OR) | 300.00 |
| 12/31/21 | Brena English, Juneau School District “Paraeducator” | 250.00 |
| 12/31/21 | Michael Gallagher, Retired Laborer’s Union Bus Mgr | 250.00 |
| 12/31/21 | James Metcalf, ASEA/AFSCME Union | 250.00 |
| 12/31/21 | Marcie Obremski, Bus Mgr IBEW Local 1547 (Palmer) | 250.00 |
| 01/05/22 | Sydney Morgan, Doyon Utilities (FBX) | 250,00 |
| 01/06/22 | James Palmer, Retired | 250.00 |
| 01/12/22 | Brenda English, Juneau School District Office Support | 250.00 |
| 01/12/22 | Eric Runyan,Lineman for Chugach Electric Assn. | 250.00 |
| 01/13/22 | Aaron Schutt, Executive-Doyon Limited | 250.00 |
| 01/13/22 | John Skidmore, Attorney-State of Alaska | 250.00 |
| 01/14/22 | Randy Golding, Sheet Metal Workers Local 23 | 250.00 |
| 01/14/22 | Steve Nerland, merchant | 250.00 |
| 01/18/22 | Leon Morgan, Deputy Commissioner, AK Div if Pub Safety | 250.00 |
| 12/31/21 | Brandon Calcaterra, President/Asst Bus Mgr Laborers Local 341 | 200.00 |
| 12/31/21 | Pat Falon, Anchorage retiree | 200.00 |
| 01/12/22 | Ray Lee, retiree | 200.00 |
| 12/30/21 | Pat Smutz, former Alaska Union Official (WA) | 100.00 |
| 12/31/21 | Andrew Ryan, Business Rep, IBEW Local 1547 | 100.00 |
| 12/31/21 | Frank Kelly, (Willow) | 100.00 |
| 12/31/21 | Matt Shasby, University of Alaska athletic coach | 100.00 |
| 12/31/21 | Jennifer Yuhas, Executive Coach Local 71 | 100.00 |
| 01/03/22 | Suzanne McCarthy, AK Laborers Training School | 100.00 |
| 01/04/22 | Michael Mead, CPA CliftonLarsonAllen (WA) | 100.00 |
| 01/05/22 | James McMilon, Business Rep. Teamsters Union (FBX) | 100.00 |
| 01/08/22 | Tiffany Lund,Media/Marketing Integrity Environmental.com | 100.00 |
| 01/12/22 | Margaret Cicharack, Br Ops Mgr Pacific Power Group | 100.00 |
| 01/12/22 | Steven Geraghty, Const. Mgr. Great Northwest, Inc. (FBX) | 100.00 |
| 01/12/22 | Larry Mooney, Real Estate Business | 100.00 |
| 01/13/22 | MaryAnn Ganacias, Ast. Exec Dir., ASEA/AFSCME Local 52 Union | 100.00 |
| 01/14/22 | Preston McKay, ENI energy company | 100.00 |
| 01/15/22 | Mike Remington (FBX) | 100.00 |
| 01/16/22 | Alicia Siira, Exec Dir, Assoc General Contractors of AK | 100.00 |
| 01/17/22 | Fred Brown, Ex Dir. Pacific Health Coalition | 100.00 |
| 01/17/22 | Barbara Tuckness, retiree | 100.00 |
| 01/14/22 | AK State Medical Assn PAC | 100.00 |
District l: Watch Candidate Joe Wright!
Educating on the Issues
We have five top issues that change but the top three are pretty consistent, explained Davidge.
Education, Homelessness, Healthcare have proven to be the top three issues at this time, according to books published by this organization. Other issues being prepared for publication include: Food Security, Private Property Rights, and others.
These books are available at the modest amount of $10 each.
We have a book on Crime in Anchorage about ready, said Davidge, and David Morgan is leading the workgroup to produce the Healthcare book. Cost of Alaska Healthcare is out of control.
Morgan was featured in a previous story: The Threat of Competence
I also wrote about Sen. David Wilson’s concerns about the Certificate of Need scam in October. Sen. Wilson’s bill SB 26 can be reviewed here: https://www.akleg.gov/basis/Bill/Text/32?Hsid=SB0026B
Davidge: We have also done a book upgrading the status of Alaska Defense, and it’s still at the federal Department of Defense (DOD). Alaskans need to know about developments since the Cold War, but I know better than to write a book and publish it to have DOD come after me. So, it’s been submitted to DOD, but unfortunately, under the Biden Administration, it’s sitting there waiting for them to come back and tell me there are no classified secretes revealed. Sen. Dan Sullivan, is helping move that along, but it’s taking some time.1
The books are updated every year.
The Education book was previously featured on this website in the referenced overview of AK Roundtable.
Another related book we’re working on is regarding Blaine Amendments.2
We have two US Supreme Court cases now that say, you cannot block use of public funds for education because of a school’s religious affiliation, continued Davidge. And we’re now looking at 11 to 13 States coming together to force another court decision. The Supreme Court has to make a very specific and clear statement that Blaine Amendments are unconstitutional. The problem is Alaska won’t do anything about the Educational Industrial Complex under our current Governor and Legislature.3 ((Espinosa Decision ruled that the state of Montana cannot exclude religious schools from receiving tax credit-funded scholarships under its school choice program. https://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/19pdf/18-1195_g314.pdf))
Rebuilding America’s Republic, is update on a book previously published by Davidge based on the idea that America was established as a Republican form of government, not a democracy, and how that has changed beginning with Jimmy Carter.
Davidge: Barack Obama exploded it; when he came out with the statement “I’ve got a pen and a phone.” What he told Congress: “I’m not going to wait for you, I’m not going to agree with you, I’m just going to go do it.” We can show now that the federal government has no constitutional authority anymore. That’s not my opinion, these are opinions of the US Supreme Court in multiple cases. The Department of Environmental Conservation is probably the most egregious example. The US Department of Educationis another one. This book will focus on what mjust be done in the first 100 days in the administration of the next president. You saw it with Biden, he came in and started doing executive orders immediately. Now the courts have said: “You can’t do that–you haven’t authority to do that.”
The next Republican president will have 100 days to implement a series of actions. He is the CEO of the administrative part of the government, and he has the right to reorganize. He can trim, trim, trim–to a point where the EPA will just go away since all states already have their own departments of environmental conservation.
Our schools are breaking down from the Stranglehold of the federal government, mandating what to do and how to do it—particularly in Alaska. As you know, I spent a couple of years working in the Department of Interior for Ronald Reagan; we will have an opportunity in those 100 days to make huge differences in Alaska.
Time to Get Involved!
- Nike Site Reflections from the Cold War https://donnliston.co/2017/07/nike-site-reflections/ [↩]
- Institute for Justice, Blain Amendments https://ij.org/issues/school-choice/blaine-amendments/ [↩]
- Janus Decision: https://donnliston.co/2019/10/a-teachers-dilemma-2019-donnliston/ [↩]
