Nick Moe, a longtime Democrat turned independent, is running against Democrat Carolyn Hall for the open West Anchorage House seat. I know both of them.
I have known Nick for over a decade. He has been on my podcast a few times and he worked as a legislative staffer in Juneau. I consider him a buddy. I have known Carolyn since 2018 when she was working for the Municipality of Anchorage. Her husband Scott Jensen and I started working together in 2019. Scott and I started a production company, Tudor Road Studios, in 2021. Scott owns 15% of the Alaska Landmine. Scott and Carolyn are both friends of mine.
I had purposely avoided really covering this race for two reasons. One, I personally know both of the candidates. Two, this race is less significant in terms of the balance of power in Juneau because whoever wins will almost certainly caucus with the House Democrats.
For over a month Chelsea Foster, a supporter of Nick Moe, has been repeatedly attacking Carolyn Hall by falsely claiming that Hall owns part of the Landmine. Carolyn does not, and never has. Hall has nothing to do with the Landmine. This has been repeatedly explained to Foster, yet she has persisted with this dishonest and underhanded line of attack.
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Foster has also repeated the tired and dumb argument that I attack progressive women. The truth is that I attack any elected or public official who does something stupid or that deserves scrutiny. Sometimes those people are progressive women, or men. And sometimes they are conservative men or women.
I exposed Republican Kelly Tshibaka’s illegal fishing when she was a candidate for U.S. Senate. I successfully sued Governor Mike Dunleavy (R – Alaska) on First Amendment grounds on access to press conferences. I am currently in litigation against House Speaker Cathy Tilton (R – Wasilla) over the House’s failure to take up veto overrides at the beginning of the last session, something the Alaska Constitution requires. The Landmine broke the story about how then-Mayor Dave Bronson briefly shut off the city’s fluoride supply. That story was picked up by the New York Times, which credited the Landmine.
Until yesterday, all of Foster’s public attacks were on Twitter (X). Which I more or less ignored.
When Nick Moe came on my podcast in early July, he told me before we started recording that he asked Foster to stop attacking Hall by incorrectly tying her to me. Foster, apparently, did not get the message. Yesterday, the Anchorage Daily News printed a letter to the editor by Foster in support of Moe. The letter included:
Nick isn’t just about promises; he follows through with concrete actions that make a difference in our lives. In contrast, his opponent, Carolyn Hall, has a connection to a media outlet known to target progressive women. This raises concerns about her ability to stand firm in her convictions and effectively represent the interests of her constituents. When leadership was needed most, she did not rise to the occasion. Given the stakes, we need a representative who is not only capable but also willing to take decisive action for the betterment of our community.
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The irony here is that Foster claims that I attack progressive women… but it’s Foster, not me, who is attacking the progressive female candidate in this race. And she’s doing so in a dishonest effort to support a well-connected white male candidate. Foster’s attempt to use identity politics has things completely backwards here. And that’s not all.
Let’s focus on the two of the sentences in the above paragraph:
“Nick isn’t just about promises; he follows through with concrete actions that make a difference in our lives.”
“This raises concerns about her ability to stand firm in her convictions and effectively represent the interests of her constituents.”
Since filing in late May, Nick Moe has taken several concrete actions that question his convictions.
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Moe has worked on and off over the years as a legislative staffer for Democratic legislators, most recently for Senator Bill Wielechowski (D – Anchorage). Wielechowski is well-known to support raising taxes on the oil industry. Moe worked to advance legislation from Wielechowski that would have done just that.
On July 1, Anchorage attorney Robin Brena donated $10,416.89 to Moe. This is over a third of the $28,300 Moe has raised so far. Brena is a huge supporter of raising oil taxes. He has contributed big money over the years in support of ballot initiatives and candidates that aim to do so.
There’s nothing wrong with Moe getting support from people like Robin Brena. But let’s just say it’s unclear where Moe’s loyalties lie.
According to Moe’s latest campaign finance report, he paid Trevor Jepsen’s company, Pragmatic Data Solutions, $1,265 for “services.” Jepsen is a petroleum engineer and legislative staffer who works for Representative Tom McKay (R – Anchorage). McKay chair’s the House Resources Committee. McKay and Jepsen are both very pro-industry. Jepsen’s dad is Scott Jepsen, a former vice president of ConocoPhillips.
Nick Moe taking money from Robin Brena and then paying Trevor Jepsen is about as loose as it gets.
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Moe also paid Rose Larson’s company, De La Rose Management,$1,524 for “consulting services.” Larson is a legislative staffer who has worked for several Republicans, including Representative Jamie Allard (R – Eagle River) and Representative McKay. She currently works for Senator David Wilson (R – Wasilla).
Moe has enjoyed support from several Republican staffers and one Republican representative. All of these staffers work for Republicans who have vocally opposed raising oil taxes. Some Young Republicans have even been doing lit drops in the district to support Moe.
Moe has taken accepted donations from the following people:
Craig Valdez – $52.40. Valdez works for Representative George Rauscher (R – Sutton).
Bernard Aota – $72.19. Aota works for Representative Will Stapp (R – Fairbanks).
Dawson Mann – $104.48. Mann works for Senator Robb Myers (R – North Pole).
Katie McCall – $51.35. McCall works for Representative Dan Saddler (R – Eagle River).
Forrest Wolfe – $100. Wolfe works for Representative Stanley Wright (R – Anchorage).
Joe Byrnes – $49. Works as legislative liaison for the Department of Natural Resources. Previously worked for former Republican Representative Bart LeBon.
In addition to donating money to Moe, most of these Republican staffers were listed as co-hosts for a Nick Moe fundraiser, along with Brena and several progressive Democrats. Awkward.
Former Senator George Jacko also donated $49 to Moe’s campaign. I wonder what Chelsea Foster – who is so concerned with protecting progressive women – thinks about Nick Moe taking money from a guy who was formally censured for harassing female staffers? From a 1993 LA Times article titled, “Sexual Harassment Flap Tops Agenda of Alaska Lawmakers:”
The whole thing started with a 4:30 a.m. call to police.
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An Alaska state senator, George Jacko, was on the line. He said he was a state legislator and wanted the police to help him get into the motel room of a female legislative aide. The dispatcher asked why.
“It’s confidential,” the senator said. “It has to do with state government . . . . It’s kind of an urgent situation.”
The skeptical dispatcher said there was nothing she could do. Jacko, who had been knocking on the motel door and trying to persuade the desk clerk to give him a key to the woman’s room, “reeked of alcohol,” the clerk said.
Moe and Jacko actually might have one thing in common. Moe has indicated to some Republicans that he’s open to caucusing with them if elected, while assuring Democrats he will not. From the 1993 LA Times article, “Elected as a Democrat from a rural district the size of Oregon, Jacko angered his party by joining Republicans in a new coalition, giving the GOP a one-vote majority. He was appointed chairman of the Rules Committee.”
In her letter, Foster said, “Given the stakes, we need a representative who is not only capable but also willing to take decisive action for the betterment of our community.” West Anchorage voters should ask themselves what kind of “decisive action” Nick Moe intends to take if elected. Will he listen to the guy who donated a third of the funding for his campaign–or all the Republicans who donated to and did boots-on-the-ground work to help get him elected?
Two commercial troll fishing boats pass each other on June 2, 2020, at Mountain Point in Ketchikan, Alaska. (Dustin Safranek/Ketchikan Daily News via AP, File)
A three-judge panel at 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has overturned a lower-court decision that could have temporarily halted troll fishing for salmon in Southeast Alaska.
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The appellate court decision, announced Friday, clears the way for the region’s troll fishery to continue. It had been threatened by a lawsuit from the Washington-based Wild Fish Conservancy, an environmental group.
The group filed suit in 2020, arguing that National Marine Fisheries Service rules applied to the fishery were inadequate when it came to protecting endangered killer whales that live in Puget Sound.
A U.S. District Court judge in Washington state agreed with the group, ruling in May 2023 that the biological opinion — a document that underpins fishing rules — was inadequate. Southeast Alaska’s troll fishery would be shut down as a consequence.
The ruling shocked Alaskans. Troll fishing in Southeast Alaska happens on a small scale, with individual fishermen and small groups working by hook and line. The state, tribal groups, local fishermen and even Alaska environmental groups — who have praised the troll fishery’s low impact on the environment — all filed documents urging the 9th Circuit to pause the District Court ruling.
During oral arguments in July, comments from the three-judge panel hearing the issue made it seem as if they were inclined to rule in favor of Alaskans.
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On Friday, the panel confirmed that inclination, ruling that the District Court had “abused its discretion” and “erred by overlooking the severe disruptive consequences” of its action.
SalmonState, an Alaska-based conservation group, was among the groups opposing the lawsuit. Tim Bristol, the group’s executive director, said in an emailed statement that the ruling “shows the Wild Fish Conservancy’s attempt to shut down all Chinook fishing by Alaska hook and line trollers was the wrong diagnosis and the wrong prescription for the endangered Southern Resident Orca’s future survival.”
The National Marine Fisheries Service is already at work on a new biological opinion, which is scheduled to be released before Dec. 1.
A new round of lawsuits is possible after that.
Emma Helverson, director of the Wild Fish Conservancy, said this week’s ruling is “disappointing, to say the least.”
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“We will continue to take every action necessary to ensure the management of this fishery will not continue to harm salmon recovery, ecosystems, coastal communities coastwide,” she said by email.
Originally published by the Alaska Beacon, an independent, nonpartisan news organization that covers Alaska state government.
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Two Alaska State Troopers who pepper-sprayed, beat, stunned and used a police dog on a man in a case of mistaken identity have been charged with assault, authorities said Thursday.
Charging documents said the troopers — canine handler Jason Woodruff and Sgt. Joseph Miller — thought they were dealing with Garrett Tikka, a man wanted for failing to serve a 10-day sentence for driving with a revoked license, on May 24 when they checked out an SUV parked in the Kenai Peninsula community of Soldotna, southwest of Anchorage.
Instead, the man inside the vehicle was Garrett Tikka’s cousin, Ben Tikka, according to the charges filed Tuesday by the Office of Special Prosecutions in the Alaska Attorney General’s Office. The arrest left Ben Tikka bloodied and in need of surgery to repair muscle lacerations. He also suffered a fractured shoulder, cuts to his head and an open dog bite on his left upper arm.
During a news conference Thursday announcing the charges, authorities said they would not release body-worn camera video that captured the arrest until after the criminal case is resolved. But James Cockrell, commissioner of the Alaska Department of Public Safety, said he had never seen anything like it in his 33 years with the department.
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“I was totally sickened by what I saw,” Cockrell said.
Woodruff’s attorney, Clint Campion, did not immediately return a message seeking comment. Online court records did not list an attorney for Miller, and The Associated Press was not immediately able to find valid contact information for him.
Miller, 49, is a 14-year employee of the Alaska State Troopers, most recently assigned as a shift supervisor in Soldotna. Woodruff, 42, has been with the troopers for 16 years.
They were each charged with one count of misdemeanor assault and are due to have an appearance at state court in Kenai on Sept. 10. Both have been placed on administrative leave, Cockrell said, and the department is reviewing some past cases they have been involved in for possible policy violations.
The case began with a call about possible illegal camping in a vehicle at a dog park in Soldotna. The troopers had been advised that the SUV was associated with Garrett Tikka, but they failed to confirm who was inside it before telling the occupant he was wanted on an outstanding warrant and ordering him out, the charges say.
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Ben Tikka responded that he was not the subject of any such warrant, and he did not immediately exit the vehicle.
Miller smashed a rear window with a baton and then fired pepper spray inside. When Tikka got out, Miller kicked him in the shin, punched him in the back of the head or neck, and stepped on his head.
He then repeatedly used a stun gun on him as another trooper, who was not charged, tried to handcuff him — at one point, Miller accidentally stunned the other officer, according to the charging papers.
As Tikka, lying face-down, placed his hands behind his back, he was repeatedly bitten by the police dog, named Olex, which had also bitten its handler, Woodruff, minutes earlier, the documents say.
Tikka tried to move away from the dog and Woodruff commanded it to continue biting; the dog did so, attacking Tikka even as Tikka, covered in blood, complied with commands to put his hands up and begged, “Please stop the dog. Please stop the dog.”
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The dog has been taken out of service, Cockrell said.
Only as Tikka was being taken to a hospital did another trooper confirm he was Ben Tikka, not Garrett.
The troopers arrested Ben Tikka on several counts, including fourth degree assault for placing troopers in fear of physical injury. The Kenai District Attorney’s Office later dismissed the case.
Deputy Attorney General John Skidmore said the state has previously filed excessive use of force charges against police officers in Bethel and Anchorage, but he couldn’t recall such charges being filed against a trooper in the 25 years he’s been with the state.
According to charging papers, Miller told investigators that no force would have been used if Tikka had simply exited the vehicle and complied with commands. When asked if the force used by officers in this situation was reasonable, he replied: “From my understanding, yes.”
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The investigators, with Alaska Bureau of Investigation, said Woodruff told them he was following his training in using the dog on Tikka. He described Tikka as “super pissed” when he got out of the vehicle.
“Was he throwing punches or anything like that? No. However, he was still resistant,” the charging papers quoted Woodruff as saying.