Tag: alaska
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Alaska Supreme Court Justice Joel Bolger retires
Alaska Supreme Court Justice Joel Bolger retired on June 30. Former Gov. Sean Parnell (R) appointed Bolger to the state supreme court in 2013, and voters retained him in 2016 with 57% of the vote. When he retired, Bolger was the court’s chief justice, a position he had held since 2018. Bolger is the only…
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Alaska legislature confirms Treg Taylor as attorney general
A joint session of the Alaska Legislature voted 35-24 to confirm Treg Taylor as the state's attorney general on May 11. Gov. Mike Dunleavy (R) appointed Taylor as acting attorney general on Jan. 29 after Ed Sniffen resigned following allegations of sexual misconduct. Before Dunleavy appointed Taylor attorney general, Taylor served as deputy attorney general…
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Anchorage mayoral race remains uncertain as ballots continue to be counted
The outcome of the Anchorage, Alaska, mayoral election remains unclear after preliminary results posted by the city showed Forrest Dunbar leading Dave Bronson with 50.8% of the vote. As of the posting, at least 6,600 ballots had not yet been counted, and mail-in ballots continued to arrive. Mail-in ballots postmarked no later than election day,…
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Alaska ends coronavirus state of emergency for second time
Alaska Gov. Mike Dunleavy (R) lifted the state’s coronavirus emergency order on April 30. Dunleavy’s emergency powers originally expired Feb. 14, causing his emergency declaration to end. But the emergency order’s expiration prevented the state from accessing an additional $8 million of federal food assistance benefits for April. In response, the legislature passed House Bill…
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Anchorage, Alaska local ballot measure recap
Unofficial election results indicate that voters in Anchorage, Alaska approved nine measures and defeated two measures on April 6. Anchorage voters defeated Proposition 1, a $6.9 million bond measure for construction and renovation of local facilities, with 53% against and 46% in favor. Proposition 2 was approved with 54% of the vote. Proposition 2 authorized…
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Anchorage mayoral race remains undecided
Preliminary results from Anchorage's April 6 mayoral election show Dave Bronson and Forrest Dunbar in the lead. As of 4:30 p.m. Alaska Time on April 7, Dunbar had 33% of the vote and Bronson had 32%. A candidate needs 45% of the vote to win election as mayor. If no candidate receives 45% of the…
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Mayoral election in Anchorage, Alaska to be held April 6
The city of Anchorage, Alaska, is holding a nonpartisan general election for mayor on April 6. Fourteen candidates are running. Media attention has been focused on six candidates: David Bronson, Forrest Dunbar, Bill Evans, Bill Falsey, George Martinez, and Mike Robbins. These candidates also lead in endorsements and fundraising. Heather Herndon, Jacob Versteeg, Joe Westfall, Albert…
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Who funded the campaigns for and against ranked-choice voting ballot measures in 2020?
Voters in Alaska and Massachusetts decided statewide ranked-choice voting ballot measures in 2020. Alaskans approved an initiated statute to replace partisan primaries with open top-four primaries and establish ranked-choice voting for general elections, including the presidential election. Voters in Massachusetts rejected an initiative to adopt ranked-choice voting statewide. The top-two donors to the campaigns…
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Alaska House organizes under multi-partisan coalition control
On Feb. 18, the Alaska House of Representatives organized under the control of a multipartisan coalition caucus, voting 22-17 to approve a plan of organization placing members of the coalition in charge of committees. Since the start of the legislative session on Jan. 19, the House was split evenly between a Republican bloc and a…
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Alaska House of Representatives elects speaker for 2021 session
On Feb. 11, twenty-four days after the 2021 legislative session began on Jan. 19th, the Alaska House of Representatives elected a permanent speaker of the House. Members elected Rep. Louise Stutes (R) in a 21-19 vote. Since the start of the session, House members had been divided between supporters of a Republican-led majority and those…