Assembly Report for March 18, 2008

TRAIN WRECK IN MIDTOWN: Long term Assembly member Dick Traini's campaign for re election jumped the tracks yesterday afternoon when the superior court ruled he is ineligible to seek a fourth consecutive term under "term limits imposed by the Home Rule Charter. The Charter limits terms of assembly members to three consecutive terms but does not say whether the terms served must be full terms or, in Trani's case, include the remaining year of his predecessor's term Traini was elected to complete in 2001. The court's ruling effectively ends Traini's bid for re election at the April 1, 2008 municipal election, leaving only one qualified candidate, Elvi Grey-Jackson, on the ballot.

Central to arguments made in favor of Traini's candidacy were two prior instances in which candidates for municipal office were apparently allowed to run for a fourth consecutive term where each had completed only a portion of their predecessors' terms. The court apparently gave little weight to those actions because neither had been challenged or adjudicated in court, giving rise to some sort of precedent current officials could rely on.

City Clerk Barbara Guenstein, who was named defendant in the lawsuit for technical reasons and who is represented by the Municipal Attorney, has announced she will file an immediate appeal with the Supreme Court of Alaska and ask for an expedited ruling before the April 1, 2008 municipal election. Details on the implementation of the court's order, should it be affirmed by the Supreme Court, are not yet known.

The news of the court's decision could not come at a worse time for the Traini campaign: Dick's re election bid got off to a slow start in Midtown, with his opponent, Elvi Grey Jackson raising ten times the money he received in campaign contributions reported as of January 1st. Moreover, Trani's name was mentioned as a recipient of campaign cash "doled out" by Assembly chair Dan Coffey who himself faces charges filed by the Alaska Public Officies Commission that the money was collected and distributed unlawfully.

DAN SULLIVAN'S VERSION OF CLEAN ELECTIONS: An ordinance proposed by departing West Anchorage Assemblyman Tuesday night would prohibit campaign contributions from individuals and business "engaged in ongoing business that requires ratification and approval by the Assembly and School Board". AO 2008-43 would effectively prevent virtually anybody associated with a labor union who represents municipal employees from contributing to candidates for the Assembly or school board. This ordinance effectively ends the role of organized labor in municipal and school board elections. Included also are owners and operators of businesses that sell goods and services to the municipality and businesses that are engaged in certain land transactions with the municipality.

Curiously, Sullivan's ordinance does not cover or restrict contributions from businessmen, whose daily activities are regulated by the municipality such as land developers, small business owners who are a frequent source of campaign contributions to municipal campaigns. The ordinance is also rather vague as to what constitutes "current municipal business" that would trigger its prohibitions.

Citing the Board's slow progress on a recent ethics ordinance, the Assembly voted 6-5 not to refer Sullivan's proposal to the city's Board of Ethics for review and comment before public hearing. Instead, AO 2008-43 will be reviewed by the Assembly's own "Ethics Committee" which is, of course, chaired by Dan Sullivan.

A public hearing on Mr. Sullivan's ordinance is scheduled for April 15, 2008, after Assembly members elected in the April 1, 2998 city election take office. Although he won't get to vote on the ordinance because he is leaving the Assembly, as an announced candidate for mayor, Sullivan will gain some advantage over other candidates who could no longer count on financial support from city unions in local elections.

CLEAN ELECTIONS RESOLUTION STALLS, AGAIN: Assembly members once again delayed action on AR 2007-300, a rather simple resolution that would support an initiative measure adopting a system of public funding for state elections. Seemingly unaffected by recent revelations that two or three of its own members are involved in various shenanigans with campaign donations to local races, Assembly voted 10-1 to delay action on the measure until April 15th. Only Allan Tesche dissented.

CATCH A FALLING STARR: Despite all of the media attention and controversy over disclosure of the infamous Coffey-Starr recording that was "butt dialed" by mistake to Allan Tesche on February 12, 2008, absolutely nothing public has been said by either Dan Coffey or Bill Starr about the substance of what the tape revealed. With their own words Coffey bragged about his success as a bag man rounding up campaign contributions to keep his conservative pals on the Assembly and "doling out" the money to ensure members voted his way. Starr, agreeing with Coffey's brand of city politics countered with his own astounding story: a recent effort to shake down the Chief of Police for an endorsement from the "rank and file" police officers for his campaign in exchanges for his continued support of the location of a police shooting range in an Eagle River neighborhood that is costing him support from within his district. Not one word. Not even a single letter of explanation, apology, or a mea culpa that Republicans are getting famous for has been offered by the pair to explain their actions to the public they are supposed to serve. If Richard Nixon could stonewall as well as Dan Coffey or Bill Starr, he'd still be president.