Author: kfskadmin

It looks like the race for the District Two house seat will be between incumbent republican Peggy Wilson of Wrangell and democratic challenger Lilly Herwald of Sitka. Wilson and Herwald won by large margins according to the unofficial results from yesterdays primary. But as Matt Lichtenstein reports, a shortage of official republican ballots in at least two precincts means there are still a substantial number of votes to count before the unofficial results become official.

As Alaska’s primary election drew near last week, candidates for state and federal office travelled the state and worked the phones……making their final rounds with voters and contacting media outlets for interviews.
On Friday, KFSK had phone conversations with Alaska senator ted Stevens and one of his republican opponents Vic Vickers.
Vickers, an attorney and business owner, is a very recent transplant to Alaska. He and his family moved to anchorage from Florida in January, but Vickers says he has been coming to the state regularly for the last 38 years, and he says his “spirit” resides in Alaska. He spoke with Matt Lichtenstein about his background and why he’s running:

As Alaska’s primary election drew near last week, candidates for state and federal office travelled the state and worked the phones, making their final rounds with voters and contacting media outlets for interviews.
On Friday, KFSK had phone conversations with Alaska senator Ted Stevens and one of his republican opponents Vic Vickers.
Stevens is the most senior Republican in the Senate and has won strong voter support in each of his elections but this is arguably his toughest, considering he is awaiting trial on criminal charges that he lied on financial disclosure forms.
Stevens has maintained he has done nothing wrong and he remains outwardly confident about the upcoming trial and about continuing his work in the senate. He spoke with Matt Lichtenstein Friday about several Alaska issues.

Local proponents of public campaign financing have been campaigning in Petersburg, hoping to build support for the voter initiative which is on this month’s primary ballot.
If it passes, ballot proposition three would create a system of public funding for state candidates who gather enough signatures accompanied by five-dollar contributions. The concept is already in use in several states and it’s won bi-partisan support from some big names in Alaska politics. That includes former republican governor Wally Hickel and democratic governor tony Knowles as well as the last surviving signer to Alaska’s constitution, Vic fisher.
Known more commonly as the clean elections act, the program would be voluntary. Candidates who did not want to accept public funds could still choose to fundraise for themselves and run traditional campaigns.
Matt Lichtenstein spoke with local initiative supporters Polly lee and Brian Paust in Petersburg: