It sounds like the beginning of a joke: A priest, an African American woman and a “union thug” walk in to the Sheraton… But, in reality, it’s no joke at all for the hard working hotel workers in Anchorage. First, a little background. Currently, two hotels in Anchorage are under boycott – The Anchorage Hilton [...]

Nothing says political season in Alaska like signs. Sure, sign waving happens in all elections, but Alaskans love our signs more than most. And nowhere in Alaska can you witness the traditional Election Eve battle of the signs like you can in two locations – The New Seward Highway and Northern Lights Blvd., and down the [...]

I’m sitting at the KTUU Gubernatorial (and soon Senatorial) debate at the Alaska Native Heritage Center. You can view it live on KTUU Channel 2, or live streaming at KTUU.com I’ll be watching live, but feel free to blog it in the comments.  I’ve forgotten my laptop, but Mudflatter Writing from Alaska has loaned me [...]

Lisa Murkowski has been the first to complain about the other candidates lying.  She says Joe Miller distorted her voting record (which he did), and she says that Scott McAdams lied about her voting record (which he didn’t). But Lisa Murkowski sent out a nice glossy colored mailer that went out to Alaska households and [...]

  In June of 2009 I embarked on an idealistic journey. Thanks to many Alaskans and folks across the country, I was able to raise enough money so that the State of Alaska would release the Records Request they had been sitting on for months. When the emails arrived and the only “good stuff” was [...]

Rumors have been swirling since the night of the Alaska gubernatorial primary that Republican Bill Walker might launch a write-in campaign after his defeat by current Republican governor Sean Parnell. But, this morning, after measured and thoughtful consideration, he decided against it. “I will not be running as a write-in candidate for governor,” said Walker, [...]

Here at The Mudflats, we take pride in not being party hacks. While the writers on this site clearly have certain political leanings, I don’t think that there is any question that when a politician of any party acts badly, we’ll call them out. Case in point: Ethan Berkowitz and Alaska Hire. Now, I know [...]

The sign wavers have been out en masse today.  The energy and excitement seem to be trending with Bill Walker whose signs and sign wavers are EVERYwhere!  This is only down the New Seward Highway corridor, so others may have showings elsewhere. In my district, Jennifer Johnston was out waving her own sign with one [...]

Until last week, we believed that both Democratic candidates for governor were good choices. We believed that both put the interests of Alaskans first, supported Democratic achievements, and could be effective leaders working across the aisle to pass legislation and to support policy and existing legislation that benefited the people of Alaska. Many of our [...]

(UPDATE:  Another opportunity to “brave the rain” today is by attending the “Town Hall Meeting on Crime.” Put on by the East Anchorage Legislators and Assemblymembers, I’ll be attending to here answers directly from Anchorage Police Chief Mew.  Please be at East High Commons by 7:00 pm!) Those Alaskans prone to a more cynical outlook might say that [...]

Ethan Berkowitz served in the Alaska House of Representatives from 1996 to 2006 as a Democrat. Eight of those years he served as the House Minority Leader. He ran for Lt. Governor with Tony Knowles in 2006, and for the U.S. House of Representatives in 2008. As a state legislator he won national recognition for [...]

No, not even a blizzard could keep me away from the Bartlett Democratic Club luncheon today.  Diane Benson was going to be “announcing her intentions,” which means she decided to run for something, or not run for something, and I wanted to be there to see which it was.  She ran against Don Young 2 [...]

  Security was tight to say the least.  I’d actually never been on Elmendorf Air Force Base before, so I wasn’t quite sure what to expect.  ID, insurance and registration at the gate.  “Please pop the hood, ma’am,” I was asked, after I pulled over as instructed.   My car is fairly new.  Well… new to [...]

~(L-R)  EthaBerkowitz, Hollis French, Bob Poe I listened yesterday to Bob Poe on “Studio 1080″ on KUDO 1080am, and then I listened to Ethan Berkowitz on Dan Fagan’s show on KFQD 750am. Then Sean Parnell announced his plan for a huge scholarship program. Then Rob Rosenfeld stepped out of the race. I’m getting all kinds [...]

The following is an op-ed by Donald Craig Mitchell, an attorney and historian who lives in Anchorage. He is the author of Sold American: The Story of Alaska Natives and Their Land and Take My Land Take My Life: The Story of Congress’s Historic Settlement of Alaska Native Land Claims, which in 2006 the Alaska [...]