The Alaska House of Representatives is seen in action on Monday, May 5, 2025. (Photo by James Brooks/Alaska Beacon)
By: Sean Maguire, Alaska Beacon
The Alaska House of Representatives is seen in action on Monday, May 5, 2025. (Photo by James Brooks/Alaska Beacon)
The Alaska House on Wednesday advanced a bill that would boost state funding for a nonprofit that provides free legal aid to vulnerable Alaskans.
House Bill 48 was approved by the House on a 27-13 vote.
Supporters say the Alaska Legal Services Corporation is critical for assistance in housing disputes, financial abuse cases, for seniors, veterans and people with disabilities.
“Those services hopefully keep you housed, keep a restraining order in place, keep children in your custody, (and) help you collect your child support,” said Juneau Democratic Rep. Sara Hannan, the bill’s lead sponsor, before the final vote.
The agency is Alaska’s largest provider of legal aid for civil cases. It is also the largest provider of free legal assistance for survivors of domestic violence and abuse. Alaska has routinely had the highest rates of domestic and sexual violence in the nation.
Keeley Olson, executive director of Standing Together Against Rape Inc., said civil legal aid is “an essential service” for survivors of sexual assault to help them rebuild their lives.
“Sexual assault survivors often face significant barriers to justice, including navigating complex legal systems while dealing with the emotional and physical trauma of their experiences,” she said in support of the bill.
All 21 members of the Democrat-dominated majority supported the bill alongside six Republicans in the minority. All 13 no votes came from minority Republicans who were concerned about its costs.
State funding for the corporation comes partly from filing fees to the Alaska Court System. HB 48 would direct 25% of those fees to the agency, up from 10% currently in state law.
Court filing fees in Alaska are otherwise deposited in the state treasury and can be spent for any purpose.
In 2025, the Alaska Legal Services Corporation received just under $300,000 in filing fees. The Alaska Department of Commerce, Community and Economic Development estimated HB 48 would boost its funding by roughly $460,000 per year.
Although the Alaska Constitution guarantees the right to a defense attorney in criminal trials, there is no equivalent protection in civil cases. The corporation was founded in 1967 to bridge that gap.
The agency received $1.2 million in state funding in 1984, but that dropped below $700,000 in 2024. The number of Alaskans eligible for civil legal aid more than doubled over the same period.
Maggie Humm, executive director of ALSC, told lawmakers last year that roughly half of its applicants for help are turned away due to current funding levels.
Humm said the nonprofit provided legal help to roughly 6,200 Alaskans in 2024. A $400,000 funding boost could allow the agency to help roughly 800 additional Alaskans, she added.
Fairbanks Republican Rep. Will Stapp said that he supported the work of the Alaska Legal Services Corporation, but with Alaska facing a fiscal crisis, additional state funding would come with consequences.
“You’re going to have to fill this hole. Where are you going to fill it from?” Stapp said before Wednesday’s final vote.
Palmer Republican Rep. DeLena Johnson, the House minority leader, said using filing fees to fund the agency was “convoluted.”
“We should just fund it, if that’s what we want to do,” she said.
The funding increase for the agency is supported by the Alaska Federation of Natives, the Governor’s Council on Disabilities and Special Education and other Alaska organizations.
The Legislature failed to pass a similar bill in 2024. After passing the House on Wednesday, HB 48 now heads to the Senate for its consideration.
NOTN- Streets, schools and public safety topped the list of community priorities in the results of the recent city budget survey that, according to city leaders drew an unusually high level of public participation.
Mayor Beth Weldon said 4,400 residents responded to the survey.
“Which is quite unusual, and if you think about that, that’s half of what we usually have for voting on elections. So we did have a lot of people interested in telling us what they prioritize.” Weldon said.
According to Weldon, the number one priority identified by respondents was streets, roads and winter maintenance, followed by schools and public safety.
Rounding out the top 10 priorities were water and wastewater services, Bartlett Regional Hospital, recreation facilities, trails, the airport, national disaster response, libraries and museums.
Residents were also surveyed on areas they viewed as lower priorities or potential places to cut.
Tourism management ranked first among programs seen as candidates for reductions.
“The responses were mainly that they thought we should use more of the Marine Passenger fees to do that, rather than general fund fees.” Weldon said.
Other lower-ranked areas included climate and energy efficiency, economic development, housing development and land use planning, recreation facilities, homeless services, libraries and museums, trails, and the port and harbor.
“It was interesting seeing recreation facilities both on priority and where to cut but it totally was generational. The older you were, the less you prioritize recreational facilities.” Said Weldon.
The most popular option for raising or adjusting revenue was through property tax changes, Weldon said, with support “well into the 50%” range.
“It will be pretty tricky to do that, because one of the ballot measures capped our property tax, so we can’t do a lot there for another year or two.” Weldon said.
Weldon said the city is continuing to collect feedback through budget workshops, the final workshop takes place on March 4.
Rep. Andrew Gray, D-Anchorage, speaks Friday, April 26, 2024, on the floor of the Alaska House of Representatives. (Photo by James Brooks/Alaska Beacon)
By: Corinne Smith, Alaska Beacon
Rep. Andrew Gray, D-Anchorage, speaks Friday, April 26, 2024, on the floor of the Alaska House of Representatives. (Photo by James Brooks/Alaska Beacon)
The arrest of a Soldotna family by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, including two teens and a 5-year-old, has prompted a wave of concern and lawmakers to hold an investigatory hearing on Monday on the arrest and detention of minors in Alaska.
“As far as I am aware, the detention of children by ICE in Alaska is unprecedented,” said Rep. Andrew Gray, D-Anchorage, who chairs the House Judiciary Committee. In opening remarks, he questioned if federal agents provided full due process to the family and honored legal protections for children.
“Is Alaska about to see more children detained?” he asked.
ICE agents arrested Sonia Espinoza Arriaga at her home in Soldotna on Feb. 17, and apprehended her three children — ages 18, 16 and 5. Arriaga is married to an Alaskan U.S. citizen and was in court proceedings to gain asylum after fleeing violence in Mexico, according to news reports. The next day, Arriaga and her two younger children were deported to Jalisco, where they remain. The 18-year-old was transported and detained at the Anchorage Correctional Complex and transferred on Feb. 20 to a privately-run ICE detention facility in Tacoma, Washington, according to news reports.
The arrest comes as ICE operations are ramping up in Alaska and nationwide, amid the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown. Gray noted the agency saw a historic funding increase last year and now has a budget of roughly $85 billion.
Anna Taylor with the Alaska Institute for Justice (top left), Rev. Michael Burke with St Mary’s Episcopal Church of Anchorage (top middle), Elora Mukherjee, a clinical professor of law at Columbia and director of the Immigrant Rights Clinic (top right), Rev. Meredith Harbor with the Christ Lutheran Church in Soldotna (bottom left), Rev. Lisa Adam Sherry with the Anchorage Unitarian Universalist Fellowship (bottom center), and Soldotna parent Alison Flack (bottom right) testified to the House Judiciary Committee on Feb. 23, 2026 on the recent ICE arrest of a Soldotna family and detention of minors in Alaska. (Screenshot of Gavel)
Members of the House Judiciary Committee put questions to officials with the Alaska Department of Corrections and Department of Public Safety on the extent of the state’s involvement in ICE operations and detention of minors. They also heard testimony from community members, attorneys and clergy expressing outrage and concern at ICE operations.
Gray said the committee had invited representatives from ICE and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security to testify about the arrest and issues raised, but they declined to appear. He said his office has submitted a list of questions to the agencies, including questions about due process, and have not yet heard back.
Gray said his office will be drafting a committee resolution urging a change in federal policy, and said if ICE fails to answer the committee’s questions, the committee will “look at other options for compelling their testimony.”
State agencies questioned on policy around detaining minors and cooperation with ICE
Jen Winkelman, commissioner of DOC, said the department has an agreement with federal authorities to detain people arrested under federal charges, including with ICE for civil immigration charges.
“Does DOC detain minors?” Gray asked. Winkelman said no.
Winkelman did not say in the committee meeting whether DOC would hold children detained by ICE.
“We have the contract for the federal government to hold individuals that may come in in a non-criminal capacity,” Winkelman said. “When the ICE agents detain somebody, they will bring them to us, the individual and a piece of paper that essentially authorizes us to hold them.”
In the case of Arriaga, her husband, Alexander Sanchez-Ramos, told reporters that initially she and her two youngest children would be held in a hotel in Anchorage and guarded by federal agents, but then he learned they were flown to San Diego the same evening of their arrest, then driven to the Mexico border and deported.
ICE did not immediately respond to questions on Tuesday about the expedited deportation of the Arriaga family and plans and protocols for detaining minors and families in Alaska.
Gray said the committee had invited representatives from ICE and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security to testify about the arrest and issues raised, but they declined to appear. He said his office has submitted a list of questions to the agencies, including questions about due process, and have not yet heard back.
Zane Nighswonger, director of institutions for DOC, told lawmakers that ICE detainees are held in state prisons, but are held separately.
“They’re basically subject to the same security measures we have for our prisoners. We do keep them separate from the prisoner population, as they’re non-criminally charged,” he said Monday. “They recreate separately from other prisoners, have access to their telephone calls separately from other prisoners, and then showers and things like that.”
Nighswonger said individuals arrested by ICE are typically held in Alaska jails and then transferred to federal detention facilities within 72 hours.
The Alaska State Troopers do not participate in ICE enforcement, Leon Morgan, deputy commissioner for the Alaska Department of Public Safety, told lawmakers on Monday. “We don’t coordinate with ICE for immigration enforcement,” he said.
Morgan said for criminal cases Troopers will work with federal partners, but not cases related to immigration enforcement. He said Troopers have a policy to mitigate effects of law enforcement actions when children are involved. “In terms of how ICE does their job, or what they do, that is just beyond or outside the scope of how we operate,” he said.
Rep. Chuck Kopp, R-Anchorage asked what state legislators can do to constrain ICE action in Alaska given federal authority outweighs state law.
Elora Mukherjee, a clinical professor of law at Columbia Law School and director of the Immigrant Rights Clinic, testified that lawmakers can not only speak out, raise concerns and demand answers from federal authorities, but states are also taking action to block ICE enforcement actions and developing new detention centers.
“I think your committee is doing exactly the right thing by inviting officials from the federal government, from ICE, from DHS, to testify about what is happening in Alaska,” she said. “Right now, it seems that in Alaska, as in many states across the country, the federal government does not want local and state legislators to know what they are doing.”
Advocates call arrests and detainments a ‘grave concern’
Attorneys and immigration advocates testified that the avenues for legal immigration are being cut back by the Trump administration at every level — from travel bans, to canceling visa and refugee programs, to petitioning to end birthright citizenship — resulting in more and more people being arrested and deported.
Arriaga had reportedly applied for and was in the process of obtaining asylum for her family. A spokesperson for ICE said she had failed to appear for a court hearing in January, prompting deportation, according to news reports.
Mukherjee testified that ICE is increasingly arresting and detaining children and families.
“From January to October 2025, at least 3,800 children under the age of 18, including 20 infants, were detained by US immigration authorities,” she said, and many are held beyond the legal limit of 20 days.
She spoke about her experience representing children and families held at the privately-run South Texas Family Detention Center in Dilley, Texas, and the traumatizing conditions of detention there.
“Among my other clients at Dilley have been a two year old boy who was breastfeeding in detention. A six year old boy had a leukemia diagnosis. An eight year old girl began wetting the bed. An 11 year old girl lost hearing in one year. A 14 year old girl engaged in self harm. All of these children and their parents were detained despite being eligible for release,” she said.
“ICE has the authority to release these families who are not flight risks on parole as they seek asylum and other forms of humanitarian protections in the United States,” she noted. “None of these children or their parents had a criminal history anywhere in the world.”
A Soldotna mother, Alison Flack, whose daughter attended kindergarten with Arriaga’s five-year-old, testified he was flourishing in school and learning English, and that the community is shaken by his arrest.
“We’re all now faced with the decision of what to tell our children,” she said. “Should I tell her that he moved and just hope and pray that she doesn’t find out the truth? Our state is better than this.
“I don’t want to tell my daughter that the grown-ups have done something so terrible, the ones she’s supposed to be able to trust,” she said.
Clergy members in Anchorage and Soldotna testified that the incident and actions from federal immigration authorities raise grave moral concerns.
“We believe there’s been a serious breach of what we as clergy leaders would consider basic sacred family values,” said Rev. Michael Burke, pastor of St. Mary’s Episcopal Church of Anchorage and speaking on behalf of a multi-faith group.
“We tore a family from their community rootedness in this recent event, and this harm that was done, potential harm to children that will have a lifetime memory of trauma was not caused by any bad actors other than those of the federal government themselves,” he said. “This raises grave concerns as a matter of policy, the rule of law and our fundamental ethical commitments to one another as members of the community.”
Members of the Alaska House of Representatives convene on the first day of the second session of the 34th Alaska State Legislature on Jan. 20, 2026 (Photo by Corinne Smith/Alaska Beacon)
The Alaska House of Representatives advanced a nearly $500 million supplemental budget bill to address the state’s budget deficit — one of the largest budget shortfalls to date — amid debate and scrutiny from Republicans who opposed drawing from a state savings account to pay for it, leaving the bill unfunded for now.
Lawmakers passed House Bill 289, known as the supplemental budget, by a 24 to 16 vote on Monday, which is largely a routine process to address budget shortfalls and fund state government services and programs through the fiscal year that ends on June 30.
Top line items include an additional $40 million for disaster relief, following the devastation of the remnants of Typhoon Halong on Western Alaska; $55 million for last year’s million-acre wildfire season in the Interior of Alaska; $70 million in transportation funding to unlock $630 million in federal matching funds; $130 million for the Higher Education Investment Fund; $20 million for the Alaska Department of Corrections; and millions for public assistance including Medicaid, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, housing vouchers and senior benefits.
But members of the Republican-led House Minority caucus raised concerns and frustration at the “fast tracked” budget bill, as well as expansion of spending and high costs for this year. While some members said a few items may be mandatory like funding disaster relief efforts and transportation, other spending items need further vetting and review.
Voicing opposition, Republican members voted against immediately funding the roughly $490 million budget bill through the state’s principal savings account, the Constitutional Budget Reserve – which failed by a 24 to 16 vote on Monday.
Unlocking the savings requires three quarters of the 40-person House, or 30 votes. Amid higher than expected state costs, and declining oil prices and state revenues, the Legislature must draw from the savings account to fund the state government.
The budget bill is expected to advance to the Senate for further debate and possible amendments. But on Monday, Rep. Mia Costello, R-Anchorage, a member of the minority caucus, requested a re-vote, expected on Wednesday, which may change the final vote tally but is not expected to delay the bill.
Historically, members of the minority have withheld support for the CBR vote until after the Senate approves the bill to maintain negotiating leverage.
Rep. DeLena Johnson, R-Palmer who serves as the House Minority Leader, raised objections to what she called a rushed process in the House.
“A rush through the budget without adequate scrutiny, in my opinion, without transparency, that’s not efficiency, that’s just courting failure, that’s just a rush to failure,” Johnson said. “And history has shown that rushed budgets often lead to unintended consequences.”
Members of the multipartisan House Majority caucus called for lawmakers to support the budget bill, as requested by Dunleavy, and pay the state’s bills now.
Rep. Andy Josephson, D-Anchorage speaks on the supplemental budget bill on the House floor on Feb. 24, 2026. (Photo by Corinne Smith/Alaska Beacon)
“These obligations must be paid,” said Rep. Andy Josephson, D-Anchorage, who chairs the House Finance Committee, speaking on the House floor on Monday. “There’s nothing unusual. The size is unusual, but the fact that they were requested and filed is not unusual. They are obligations of the state. They are effectively binding contracts that must be paid. And the question is, when.”
Dunleavy first introduced the supplemental budget in December, and requested additional items up to last week, including $35 million more for disaster relief if the state fails a federal appeal and is denied a request for the Federal Emergency Management Agency to fund 90% of costs for the first three months of the typhoon disaster in October.
Some items, like the $70 million federal transportation match, replace funds that Dunleavy vetoed last year — to the alarm of some lawmakers, union and construction industry groups because the money unlocks hundreds of millions of federal dollars. Lawmakers say it is time-sensitive to fund it in order to support the summer construction season.
“I would say these are actually precise invoices, not a blank check,” said Rep. Chuck Kopp, D-Anchorage. “They’re ones that were already on the books, and we’ve already taken the responsibility to pay.”
Some Republicans questioned departments spending over what the Legislature appropriated last year, particularly the Alaska Department of Corrections, calling for more thorough oversight and transparency.
“We have departments who have come with us, who actually spent like drunken sailors last year,” said Rep. Jamie Allard, R-Eagle River. “We need to make sure that they’re reined in.”
Other lawmakers pushed back against critics for holding up the budget bill process.
“I feel like I’m in the Twilight Zone,” said Rep. Andrew Gray, D-Anchorage, on the House floor on Monday, in response to Republicans’ criticisms of Dunleavy’s budget request and administration spending. “And what I’ll say is that sometimes we just have to put our differences behind us. We have to collaborate, cooperate, and do what’s best for Alaska.”
Following the House votes on Monday, House Speaker Rep. Bryce Edgmon, I-Dillingham, pointed out that the governor has not been involved in supporting the budget his administration has requested. “It’s quite interesting if this is a governor’s bill and the governor’s not involved at all in terms of promoting his own bill,” he said.
Rep. Jeremy Bynem, R-Ketchikan, a member of the minority, raised concerns on the House floor but ultimately voted to support the budget bill and the savings draw. “It was a difficult, challenging vote for me,” he said of voting against his caucus.
“I absolutely did not love the process we went through to get to where we were today. There are items in that (bill) I still have questions on,” he said. “The reality is that many of these items are things that we will have to take up and pay for.”
A spokesperson for Dunleavy’s office did not respond to a request for comment on the criticisms raised and lack of support from Republicans on the governor’s requested budget.
“The Alaska Constitution grants appropriation powers to the legislature, and that includes the CBR draw,” said Jeff Turner, communications director for Dunleavy. “The governor’s office is not part of any negotiations between the house caucuses.”
Meda DeWitt holds up a plant in this undated photo provided by the candidate. (Handout photo)
By: James Brooks, Alaska Beacon
Meda DeWitt holds up a plant in this undated photo provided by the candidate. (Handout photo)
Six years ago, Meda DeWitt was seeking to recall Gov. Mike Dunleavy from office. Now, she’s looking to take his position.
Last week, DeWitt became the 17th person and second independent to file a letter of intent for Alaska’s gubernatorial race.
Speaking by phone, she said a majority of the candidates in the race are Republican and all working off the same talking points.
“We need somebody who isn’t owned by a specific party and required to use those talking points shared among all of the party, and really listen to Alaskans and get the job done,” she said.
DeWitt is a lifelong Alaskan, born and raised in the state. She is Tlingit from the Naanya.aayí clan in Wrangell, she is senior state manager for the Wilderness Society in Alaska and president of Yak-Tat K̲wáan Inc., the village corporation for Yakutat.
A traditional healer, she has 20 years of experience as a community and political organizer.
“I have experience in working with the different components that a community needs to thrive,” she said. “And I believe that our state has some hard realities that we need to address. You know, we need to address climate change. We have 141 communities that are going to have to be relocated.”
DeWitt said the state’s budget will need “some tough love” but that the next governor should also be prepared to support the base needs of what the state is supposed to provide its residents.
Asked why she believes she’s the best person to organize that, she said, “Well, Alaska needs a mom. My elders that I work with have asked me to run. Communities have asked me to run. My children have asked me to run. They believe that I can make a difference, and so I personally may never have just chosen on my own to step up into that space, but when you have your elders in your life that matter, your children in your life that matter, and your community in your life that matter, that ask you to do it, then you have to take the time to honor that.”
The recall campaign against Dunleavy launched in 2019, after the governor proposed sweeping budget cuts. It alleged a variety of illegal and incompetent acts.
“He cut safety, he cut education, he cut elder benefits, he cut all of these things that underpin being able to live here and survive,” she said, recalling the campaign. “Alaska is hard to live in.”
“The recall, even though we didn’t recall him, we did hold him in check. He knew that that was always looming there in the background for his entire eight years,” she said.
The next governor will have to deal with tough issues, DeWitt said.
“We have to talk about ferries in Southeast,” she said. “We have to talk about coastal erosion on the West Coast, we have to talk about our oil and gas dependency and how that’s not healthy for us. Also, who’s talking about the fact that we ship in 95% of our food and goods?”
DeWitt sees her campaign as one focused on issues that people are talking about.
“I think that this is a people’s campaign that’s going to take people power to do it, and I look forward to working with Alaskans in the process,” she said. “And I humbly ask for their support and their vote and to be given the opportunity to serve.”
This symbol is inside of the Alaska Department of Corrections office on Sept. 7, 2022, in Douglas, Alaska. (Photo by Lisa Phu/Alaska Beacon)
The Alaska Department of Corrections spent over $24 million more than the budget approved by the Legislature last year, with a large portion for staff overtime, raising alarm from lawmakers.
DOC officials submitted their additional budget request to the Legislature earlier this month, part of a routine budget process to account for state spending over the past year — but this year’s price tag for the state’s prison system is at a historic high.
The department requested an additional $20 million for staffing and overtime for last year at the state’s 13 prison and jail facilities.
According to department data provided to the Senate Finance Committee on Thursday, there were 15 correctional staff that earned over $100,000 each in overtime pay last year, on top of salary and benefits.
Two correctional officers at the Anchorage Correctional Complex worked over 2,000 hours in overtime last year — one officer topped the list working 2,770 hours of overtime, to earn a total of over $225,000 last year.
DOC officials did not respond to questions about the department’s policies around overtime and mandatory overtime on Thursday, but a spokesperson said the department’s current vacancy rate is 11.5% statewide. In budget documents, DOC officials noted the additional funding was needed for minimal staffing requirements for “24/7 operational readiness.”
Sen. Bert Stedman, R-Sitka and co-chair of the Senate Finance Committee, said while the rising costs in DOC are well-known, going millions over budget is a problem as lawmakers grapple with declining state oil revenues and a growing list of state funding needs this year.
“Their budget has been growing exponentially,” he said Thursday. “It’s not fair, because those funds that are being channeled in that direction could go elsewhere.”
DOC’s budget has seen increases year-over-year throughout Gov. Mike Dunleavy’s term, unlike other agencies who have sustained cutbacks. Since 2019, the state budget for DOC has increased 46% to over $437 million last year, according to state data.
The $24 million in additional funds the agency requested also included $1.1 million for community residential treatment centers, or halfway houses, and $2.95 million in health care costs last year.
Sen. Mike Cronk, R-Tok, also serves on the Senate Finance Committee and expressed surprise and concern at the overtime hours presented to the committee on Thursday.
“That’s literally 100 hours a week. All year long,” he said, and questioned if people were running up overtime for a short time in order to retire or leave the department. “So it’s very concerning. You know, obviously I don’t blame anybody for it, but we have to figure out why this is happening, and we just have to do better. We have to be more efficient and make sure that we’re doing everything we possibly can to keep costs down.”
Stedman questioned the state’s contracts with the union representing correctional officers, the Alaska Correctional Officers Association, in accounting for the extensive overtime.
“My concern is maybe they ought to haggle a little bit better when they do their labor agreements, because this is definitely not appropriate for the public treasury to put up with, and it’s got to get corrected,” he said.
Representatives with the union did not immediately respond to emailed questions about lawmakers’ concerns on Thursday.
Last year, over 9,800 people entered DOC custody in institutions or on supervised release on probation or parole, according to state data.
Matanuska-Susitna Borough Mayor Edna DeVries looks up at fellow Alaska Republican governor candidate Matt Heilala during a candidate forum on Feb. 11, 2026, in Juneau. (James Brooks photo/Alaska Beacon)
By: James Brooks, Alaska Beacon
Matanuska-Susitna Borough Mayor Edna DeVries looks up at fellow Alaska Republican governor candidate Matt Heilala during a candidate forum on Feb. 11, 2026, in Juneau. (James Brooks photo/Alaska Beacon)
An Anchorage doctor and his wife have put almost $1.3 million of their own money into his campaign for Alaska governor, an extraordinary act that puts him atop early fundraising totals in figures published this week by the Alaska Public Offices Commission.
With more than $1 million remaining in the bank after early spending, Republican candidate Matt Heilala stands out among a field of candidates that expanded to 17 this week with the entry of community organizer Meda DeWitt.
State law requires political candidates to disclose their financial support on an irregular basis; the next report isn’t due until July, so this week’s figures represent an early look at who might be a competitive candidate.
Campaign fundraising doesn’t guarantee success at the polls, experts say, but it can act like gas in a car’s tank: Even a campaign with a high-powered engine can fall short if it doesn’t have enough gas in the tank.
‘Zero chance’ of getting elected without money
“Money is the mother’s milk of politics,” said Jim Lottsfeldt, an experienced Alaska campaign consultant. “I didn’t coin that phrase, but it is true. If you’re not raising sufficient money to float an organization, you have zero chance of getting elected.”
Lottsfeldt hasn’t signed a contract with any candidate in the race but was planning to personally host a fundraiser for Democratic candidate Jonathan Kreiss-Tomkins.
Former Alaska attorney general Treg Taylor, another Republican candidate, reported having more than $724,000 in his campaign accounts as of Feb. 1, the reporting deadline for the information published this week. He also made a significant contribution to his own campaign — records show a $250,000 donation from Taylor to his campaign.
Both he and Kreiss-Tomkins stood out from the field in terms of dollars available to spend: The only other candidates who reported having more than $226,201 available were Heilala and Democratic candidate and current state Sen. Matt Claman.
Kreiss-Tomkins said in a news release that his campaign had raised more than $750,000 since entering the race this month; because he entered the race after Feb. 1, those figures were not included in this week’s APOC reports.
It also wasn’t clear how much of that total he has already spent. Several candidates reported that they had already spent much of the money they raised since starting their campaigns.
Republican businesswoman Bernadette Wilson has raised almost $306,000 since becoming the third candidate to enter the governor’s race, but she has spent more than two-thirds of that total. Similarly, former state Sen. Click Bishop has spent more than half of the $283,605 he reported raising since he started his campaign last summer.
Anchorage doctor seeks to fill a niche
Heilala, the self-funded candidate, spent more than any other candidate in the early going but still has the largest stockpile of campaign cash.
By phone on Wednesday, he said he hopes to fill a niche on the ballot.
“A lot of people claim they want a non-politician, non-bureaucrat, but how do you raise funds if nobody knows who you are?” he asked.
He said he and his wife have “worked our tail off” in their lives and have enough financial freedom to afford their spending.
He said that while he is a podiatrist, he also is “a fairly diverse business guy.”
“And that’s where my success has come from — investing and property developing and a lot of other things,” he said.
Self-funding the campaign to such a large degree means they can’t be swayed as much by donors, he said.
Heilala is a member of the state medical board but hasn’t served in public office before. At a candidate forum in Juneau, he praised President Donald Trump and said that he and his wife are golfing buddies with the president.
That they’re willing to spend so much of their own money shows they’re serious about their campaign, he said.
“From this point forward, it will be a little easier to get larger donors,” he predicted.
Matt Larkin is president of Dittman Research, which conducts polls and advises candidates in Alaska. Early fundraising figures can “serve sort of the same function as a primary” election, he said.
“When you have this many candidates … it’s really hard for donors to make a decision on who they’re going to support. And what you’ll typically see is donors will kind of support maybe multiple candidates at this stage in small amounts, but they’re really kind of waiting to see who emerges,” he said. “And so, this first fundraising update, I think will probably narrow the field some.”
Among well-known candidates, incumbent Lt. Gov. Nancy Dahlstrom, a Republican, reported having just $4,880 in cash on hand, less than Matanuska-Susitna Borough Mayor Edna DeVries, another Republican candidate.
Former state Sen. Click Bishop reported $130,258 in cash on hand, putting him in the bottom half of candidates, but his list of donors was an unusually multipartisan list that included former state Sen. John Coghill, a conservative Republican from Nenana, and current state Sen. Jesse Kiehl, a progressive Democrat from Juneau, among others.
Former state Rep. Joe Hayes, a Democrat, was a donor, as was Leslie Hajdukovich, a Republican who unsuccessfully challenged Hayes’ current employer — Democratic state Sen. Scott Kawasaki — in a 2024 Fairbanks Senate race.
In Alaska, there are no limits on donations — for now
Alaska has no limits on the amount of money an individual can donate to a political campaign. The state’s prior limits were eliminated by the U.S. 9th Circuit of Appeals in 2021, and the state declined to appeal the decision.
Those new limits would take effect after the November general election.
Several third-party groups registered with the public offices commission last month to support various candidates, but none have reported significant spending or donations.
In the 2022 race for governor, Republican Mike Dunleavy’s campaign spent more than $2 million. A supporting campaign backed by the Republican Governors Association, added almost $3 million in a parallel effort.
Gara said that with early fundraising numbers, “you can get a sense for how hard somebody’s working, and I think that’s the most important thing.”
In general, Lottsfeldt said, “the reason you want this money is you need to spend it mostly when people are paying attention and are going to cast a ballot. And so that is really, mid-July through the third week in August.”
“Unfortunately for all the guys and women running for governor,” he said, “there’s this U.S. Senate iceberg floating in the middle of the channel.”
Lottsfeldt expects that the U.S. Senate race between Democrat Mary Peltola and Republican incumbent Dan Sullivan will take up most of the available TV and radio ad slots because those candidates will have more money and be able to outbid governor candidates.
For that reason, he thinks a successful governor candidate will invest in things like yard signs, supporters going door-to-door, and other parts of a “field game.”
“It’s funny: Yard signs don’t win campaigns, but it is a marker of, ‘oh, that campaign is active. There’s people behind that. There’s enthusiasm. … Whether it’s a door stop, a yard sign, word of mouth, that is going to be huge when we have 16 people who are running.”
Even as Lottsfeldt talked, that number had already increased by one.
The deadline to sign up as a candidate is June 1. Candidates may drop out of the race as late as June 27.
In Alaska, the top four finishers in the August primary, regardless of political affiliation, advance to the November general election, where voters use ranked choice voting to sort the candidates in order of preference and pick a winner.
Larkin, of Dittman Research, doesn’t have a contract with any candidate but has done polling on the governor’s race. While money is important, he said, “how you use that money is more important.”
“Increasingly, it’s the message that these candidates will go with will end up being the difference,” he said. “… I think the candidate with the best ideas is going to win this race, bottom line.”
U.S. Sen. Dan Sullivan, R-Alaska, leaves the Alaska Legislature on Wednesday, Feb. 18, 2026, after his annual address to state legislators. (James Brooks photo/Alaska Beacon)
By: James Brooks, Alaska Beacon
U.S. Sen. Dan Sullivan, R-Alaska, leaves the Alaska Legislature on Wednesday, Feb. 18, 2026, after his annual address to state legislators. (James Brooks photo/Alaska Beacon)
Facing a potentially difficult re-election campaign, U.S. Sen. Dan Sullivan came to the Alaska Legislature with praise for President Donald Trump’s administration and damnation for Democrats.
The Republican senator endured a gauntlet of protesters before he delivered his annual address to state lawmakers, saying his theme was an “Alaska comeback” brought about by the change between the Democratic presidency of Joe Biden and Trump’s Republican administration.
“We’re now beginning to see the beginnings of a real comeback and real progress on goals we’ve dreamed about collectively for decades,” he said, referring to the way the Trump administration has opened more parts of the North Slope to oil and gas drilling, and its stated support for a trans-Alaska natural gas pipeline.
Sen. Lyman Hoffman, D-Bethel, leads U.S. Sen. Dan Sullivan, R-Alaska, through a group of protesters in the Alaska Capitol on Wednesday, Feb. 18, 2026. Hoffman has endorsed Sullivan in this year’s U.S. Senate elections. (James Brooks photo/Alaska Beacon)
That plan calls for multiple oil and gas lease sales in Alaska, new military and Coast Guard construction in the state, and large personal tax cuts.
It also offered large one-time health care funding grants to compensate for a cut to Medicaid, cut federal food stamps and imposed work requirements for both programs.
More Alaska-specific benefits in the Big Beautiful Bill were objected to by Senate Democrats and removed before the bill’s final passage, including a Medicaid increase that Sullivan had sought.
In his speech, Sullivan repeatedly criticized Democrats in the U.S. Senate.
“Alaskans should know who wants to help us and who wants to hurt us,” Sullivan said.
One of the legislators listening in the audience was state Sen. Forrest Dunbar, D-Anchorage.
“That was the most partisan speech I’ve ever heard a member of the congressional delegation give in the Alaska Legislature,” he said afterward.
“There was no critique of what the Trump administration has done in canceling projects in Alaska. There was no critique of what Trump has done, whether it comes to rule of law or democracy,” Dunbar said.
U.S. Sen. Dan Sullivan, R-Alaska, receives applause from the Alaska Legislature on Wednesday, Feb. 18, 2026, during his annual address to state legislators. (James Brooks photo/Alaska Beacon)
Also listening was state Sen. George Rauscher, R-Sutton. Afterward, Rauscher said he always appreciates the volume of Sullivan’s speeches and the range of subjects.
Did it feel like a campaign speech to him?
“If it felt like that, there’s probably a reason,” Rauscher said.
Until Sullivan was prompted by reporters and lawmakers, he didn’t address some of the nation’s most inflammatory issues, including the actions of Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers nationwide.
Rep. Alyse Galvin, I-Anchorage, asked Sullivan about the incident. He responded that he hadn’t heard about it.
Answering reporters’ questions after his speech, Sullivan voiced soft disagreement with ICE policies nationwide, saying he supports deporting illegal immigrants with violent criminal records.
“I think that should be the focus of the administration’s efforts,” he said.
About ICE’s violent tactics in Minnesota, Sullivan said, “I put out statements, but also, importantly, weighed in with senior folks in the administration, saying, look, it’s really important to bring the temperature down on both sides — which ended up happening — and then very much that ICE needs to refine its techniques and tactics.”
Sullivan said he doesn’t believe protesters killed by ICE agents are “domestic terrorists,” as the White House has claimed.
“American citizens have the right to their Second and First Amendment rights, and I don’t think they should be targeted for that reason,” he said.
Wooden gavel with books in background. Law and justice concept
By: James Brooks, Alaska Beacon
Wooden gavel with books in background.
Alaska’s legally required campaign ad disclaimers do not violate the First Amendment, the state supreme court ruled Friday, deciding a six-year-old dispute between the Alaska Policy Forum and state campaign regulators.
Justice Dario Borghesan wrote the 61-page decision on behalf of the court, which ruled unanimously and upheld minor fines against APF that were issued by the Alaska Public Offices Commission five years ago.
At issue were a series of news releases, opinion pieces and a video embedded in the group’s website, all opposing ranked-choice voting.
“We uphold the agency’s decision, concluding that the cited publications had to be reported and required a ‘paid for by’ disclosure,” Borghesan wrote. “We also hold that the statutory standards are not unconstitutionally vague because they give fair notice of what kind of speech must be reported and must contain a disclosure. And we conclude that the First Amendment challenges to these laws are unavailing.”
APF organized with a variety of groups across the country to produce the video embedded in its website, the opinion notes.
“APF did not just happen to find a video on the internet and share it on social media. APF engaged in discussions with organizations around the country to create a national coalition that developed or gathered content on ranked-choice voting and allowed APF to republish that content. Such efforts required significant time, and someone paid for that time. Alaskans have a genuine interest in knowing who,” the opinion states.
The case dates from 2020, when Alaskans voted to approve Ballot Measure 2.
That measure installed open primary elections, required disclosure of some political donations and installed ranked-choice voting in general elections.
That system remains in place today but has been challenged by a new repeal initiative. A prior repeal effort failed in 2024.
In September 2020, Alaskans for Better Elections, a group that supports the current voting system, filed a complaint with the commission, stating that APF was violating state law because its statements on ranked-choice voting did not list their three top contributors, something required for campaign communications.
APF contended that its statements were about ranked-choice voting in general, not about Ballot Measure 2 in particular, because they didn’t specifically name the Alaska measure.
APOC commissioners disagreed and cited APF, requiring it to file disclosure forms but waiving fines. APF appealed to Superior Court Judge Frank Pfiffner, who ruled in the commission’s favor, finding that the commission “reasonably concluded that APF’s activities amounted to an express communication that was an exhortation to vote against (Ballot Measure 2).”
Pfiffner rejected technical arguments against the commission’s actions, the argument that state laws were improperly vague, the idea that the First Amendment gave APF a right to publish its material without a disclosure, and APF’s challenge to a state law that requires political groups to disclose contributions starting with the “first dollar” they spend.
Individuals are not subject to the same disclosure requirement.
APF appealed to the Supreme Court, which heard oral arguments in September 2023 and ruled more than two years later.
In Friday’s order, Borghesan repeatedly refers to past rulings by the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, which holds jurisdiction over Alaska.
Relying on that precedent, the court concluded that given the context and language of APF’s communications, there was no other way to view them than as urging a particular vote in the 2020 campaign.
“In the context of an upcoming election in which ranked-choice voting is on the ballot,” Friday’s order states, a “video’s reference to a ‘push’ by ‘interest groups’ for ranked-choice voting and its call to ‘SAY NO TO RANKED CHOICE VOTING’ is a clear, albeit indirect, reference to voting against the Initiative.”
The Alaska Supreme Court’s ruling could be appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court.
“APF is disappointed by the decision,” said attorney Stacey Stone, who represented the group in court. “The ruling allows the state to treat protected educational speech about public policy as regulated campaign activity. That approach threatens to chill core First Amendment expression. We are reviewing the opinion carefully and evaluating our options.”
Attorney Scott Kendall represented Alaskans for Better Elections.
“Alaskans for Better Elections has been focused on campaign finance transparency since its founding. This victory affirms those values,” he said, explaining that the group is “very pleased with this outcome.”
Kendall noted that Alaskans have an interest in knowing who is funding ads in their elections.
“Hopefully, the Policy Forum will now comply with the law and disclose its donors, as it should have done years ago,” he said.
Erin Jackson-Hill outside the Capitol, speaking to a group of protestors
Protesters gathered outside the Alaska State Capitol this morning, calling on U.S. Sen. Dan Sullivan to oppose what organizers described as growing authoritarianism at the federal level.
“Juneau for Democracy is a group of Juneau residents who get together in care and resistance.” Said Volunteer Anjali Grantham, “We really are a network of people trying to live our democracy and protect our democracy.”
The rally’s theme was “We the People Do Not Consent.” Participants held signs and delivered speeches criticizing Sullivan’s positions on immigration enforcement, federal spending and voting requirements.
“We are finished with the silence, we are finished with complicity, we demand a leader who will fight for us, we demand courage.” Said Erin Jackson-Hill of Stand up Alaska.
Grantham said protesters were urging Sullivan to support additional congressional oversight of immigration enforcement agencies and to oppose policies they believe undermine constitutional rights, such as the deployment of federal officers in U.S. cities, and increased funding for the Department of Homeland Security.
“We’re going to make sure that Sullivan knows it’s despicable that he has voiced support for the SAVE act.” Grantham said, this is federal legislation that would require voters to provide proof of citizenship, like a passport or birth certificate, to cast a ballot.
“Can you imagine what that would mean for Rural Alaskans? In addition to many women who have changed their name after getting married.” She said.
Voting by noncitizens has been found to be exceedingly rare nationwide and in Alaska.
“He’s an attorney, and he has not only watched but actually facilitated the erosion of our First Amendment rights, our Fourth Amendment rights, our Fifth Amendment rights and our Eighth Amendment rights. He’s a military officer, but he’s also justified the deployment of troops to U.S. cities. He’s a senator, and he’s totally abandoned the role of the legislative branch. He’s had the audacity to tell Alaskans that we should be grateful to the regime, meanwhile, the federal government has become predatory on its own people.” Grantham said.
The rally was held before Dan Sullivan delivered his annual speech to the Alaska Legislature.
“We want him to be someone who is standing against authoritarianism and not paving the way for authoritarianism.” she said.
