Northwest

There will be a recount Monday of the Democratic primary results for the House district covering the North Slope and Northwest Arctic boroughs.

Representative Benjamin Nageak requested the recount for District 40. Nageak trails Dean Westlake by four votes in the certified count.

Division of Elections Director Josie Bahnke  said the recount will take place in Juneau.

“We’ve got staff and state review board members that will be counting the ballot using four optical scan units,” Bahnke said. “So, both candidates have been informed and are allowed to have one observer at each unit.”

Nageak said he’s hopeful about the recount.

“If it came to be that it was, you know, positive for my campaign, I think it would be great,” Nageak said. “We’ll never know until we do it. I mean, it’s only four votes.”

Nageak caucuses with the Republican House majority.

Republican officials have raised concerns about the handling of ballots in the Kobuk River village of Shungnak. Voters were wrongly given ballots for both the Republican primary and the primary for all other parties.

Westlake received 47 votes in Shungnak and Nageak received three, according to the certified results.

Nageak has hired election law attorney Timothy McKeever to advise him. Nageak said all options are on the table for pursuing a legal challenge to the results.

“There’s a lot of stuff that happened during the election, not only in my area but … a lot of places in the state,” Nageak said.

Some Republicans in the North Slope Borough and elsewhere have said they weren’t allowed to vote in the Democratic primary, or were required to file questioned ballots.

The Democratic primary is open to all voters.

Bahnke didn’t provide a timeframe for when the recount would be completed.

Westlake couldn’t be reached for comment.

The outcome of the disputed primary contest between Rep. Benjamin Nageak and Dean Westlake is uncertain. Whoever wins, it may unsettle what’s been a unique tradition in Alaska politics.

Democratic legislators have a long history of joining Republican-led legislative majorities.

To understand why Alaska is so different, it pays to go back to the 1960s. Democrats had dominated Alaska, but a resurgent Republican Party disrupted that. Regional divisions prevented a single party from forming a legislative majority, so they turned to partners across the aisle.

Willie Hensley is a Democrat who caucused with members of both parties in the House and Senate in the 1960s, ‘70s, and ‘80s, representing Kotzebue and the North Slope. He said rural legislators were able to accomplish much during periods of bipartisan politics – they worked to allow village children to attend locally controlled schools, improve rural access to affordable power, and build local housing authorities.

“Partly because we were able to put ourselves in a position of influence with these various coalitions, that enabled a lot of that to happen,” Hensley said.

Rural lawmakers became powerbrokers in the legislature. For example, in 1981, then-Rep. Al Adams of Kotzebue led a mid-session revolt in which rural Democrats joined with Republicans to switch control of the House. And every Republican-led House majority since then has had at least one Bush Democratic caucus member.

But by the late 1990s, Bush legislators had become fragmented, with members split between the majority and minority caucuses. Mary Sattler represented Bethel from 1999 to 2009, and chose not to caucus with the majority.

“My focus was really on building the Bush Caucus back up to where it had been in the ‘70s and ‘80s,” Sattler said.

Sattler says that even minority-caucus rural lawmakers were able to build relationships that led to capital projects in their districts.

“One of the kind of hallmarks of rural legislators – you know, it’s a lot like rural Alaskans, where we tend to be very non-confrontational,” Sattler said. “We much prefer governing with consensus. And being confrontational and combative doesn’t work really well if you’re from a small town and intend on living in a small town.”

The rural lawmakers have faced challenges in recent years to maintain their influence. Alaska’s population is increasingly urban, which means fewer rural seats in the legislature.

And as the drops in oil prices and production have shrunk the state’s capital budget, rural lawmakers haven’t been able to bring home as many state dollars to villages with small economies.

Now it’s the Republican Party that usually leads in state politics. And all four Democratic House members from northern and western Alaska have caucused with the Republicans since House Speaker Mike Chenault invited them to join in 2008. Chenault said this has allowed the caucus to include a broader range of voices.

“It made our caucus stronger, because at that point in time, we represented all areas of the state, from Barrow to Nome to Adak to Ketchikan, and all areas in between,” Chenault said. “And it made us a better caucus, in our opinion.”

Rep. Nageak’s predecessor, Reggie Joule, said that after having spent 12 years in the minority, he chose to join the majority in 2008. He said this gave rural lawmakers a say in the budget, including the capital budget.

“You know, I tried throwing rocks before and sometimes we were quite effective,” Joule said. “But when you’re inside the tent, you can make your case inside the tent on what’s important, and still stay true – I think – to many of the values that you hold dear.”

Voters generally have re-elected rural Democratic legislators who crossed party lines, and they have faced few primary challenges from other Democrats.

That pattern changed this year, with state Democratic leaders supporting Dean Westlake over Nageak, as well as Zach Fansler in his successful bid to unseat Bethel Representative Bob Herron.

Joule said the extended and special legislative sessions cut into the time that the incumbents had to fundraise and campaign. He says this made it difficult for them to dissuade challengers, like rural Democrats have in the past.

“At one point when the Democratic Party would try to assert itself in rural races, I think the Bush Caucus did a pretty good job of keeping people out of those races – but we would go right to people and have a direct conversation with them,” Joule said.

Former University of Alaska Southeast political scientist Clive Thomas said it appears that the party is more willing to assert itself in challenging rural Democrats who break with the party.

“They definitely I think are saying enough is enough in that regard and they’re trying to do something about it,” Thomas said.

Thomas said the drop in the capital budget may be causing the changed approach.

“Maybe now there’s no capital money, capital budget, there’s nothing in it for the Democrats to keep quiet about it,” Thomas said.

It isn’t just Democrats who are challenging sitting legislators who cross caucus lines. For the first time since Chenault invited the Bush Democrats to join the House majority, one Bush Democrat is facing a Republican challenger. Dillingham Representative Bryce Edgmon is challenged by William Weatherby, who’s receiving support from state Republican leaders.

Opinions are split over whether the primary challenges and increased competition will lead to long-term changes in how rural Democrats choose to caucus. But as Democrats aim to build a bipartisan coalition that would include moderate Republicans, it could have an effect on the next legislature.

The Democratic primary results for the District 40 House seat grew closer Tuesday.

Dean Westlake remains ahead of incumbent state Rep. Benjamin Nageak, but Westlake’s lead was cut to four votes, from 21. The district includes North Slope and Northwest Arctic boroughs, as well as nearby precincts in the the Unorganized Borough.

The state election review board certified the results in Juneau, adding absentee ballots and adjusting other returns. Nageak picked up 17 votes, while Westlake’s total didn’t change. Westlake leads, 819 votes to 815.

Nageak or 10 qualified voters have five days to ask for a recount. The state pays for any recounts in elections where the margin is 20 or fewer votes.

Nageak has caucused with House Republicans. Alaska Republican Party Chairman Tuckerman Babcock criticized the Division of Elections for certifying the results. He cited irregularities in how the election was conducted in some precincts.

“It’s an absurdity that the review board or the Division of Elections director can claim that they can certify who actually won that election,” Babcock said.

But Division of Elections Director Josie Bahnke said she wanted to certify District 40 to resolve a potential recount sooner.

Nageak has hired Seattle-based lawyer Timothy McKeever to advise him. McKeever said a recount request is likely. Westlake couldn’t be reached for a comment.

Much of the concern has focused on the results in Shungnak, where voters were allowed to vote in both the Republican primary and in the primary for all other parties.

Westlake received 47 votes in Shungnak, compared with three for Nageak. Westlake lost one vote while Nageak gained one in Shungnak as a result of the election review.

 

ANCHORAGE — John Schaeffer Jr., an Inupiat Eskimo elder and tribal leader in northwest Alaska, has died. He was 77.

Schaeffer was the first president and CEO of the NANA Regional Corp.

NANA Chief Operating Officer Lori Henry says Schaeffer died Aug. 25 in Kotzebue, his hometown. He will be buried in Kotzebue on Wednesday following a memorial service at the high school gym.

A cause of death was not disclosed.

Schaeffer joined the Alaska Army National Guard’s Eskimo Scout battalion in 1957, serving as the adjutant general of the Alaska National Guard starting in the mid-1980s until 1991. Guard officials say he was among the leaders in the state’s response to the 1989 Exxon Valdez oil spill.

Earlier this month, Schaeffer attended a dedication of a Guard hangar named after him in Kotzebue.

The Alaska Division of Elections is still working to certify the results of the House race for the district that includes North Slope and Northwest Arctic boroughs.

Division director Josie Bahnke said on Tuesday afternoon that the division’s office in Juneau was waiting for the ballots to be mailed in from four precincts in District 40: Selawik, Browerville, Anaktuvuk Pass and Ambler.

Bahnke had said the election review board was aiming to certify the results on Monday, but that action is delayed until the division receives all of the ballots.

Bahnke still expects to certify the results by Friday.

“Right now, it’s just a matter of the mail service,” Bahnke said.

Dean Westlake leads incumbent Representative Benjamin Nageak by 21 votes, according to the last vote count.

The trailing candidate or 10 qualified voters will have five days after the review is completed to ask for a recount.

Legislators called on state elections officials Monday to delay certifying the results in a district that covers North Slope and Northwest Arctic boroughs. Those calls are based on concerns about how the recent primary election was handled in some precincts.

But Division of Elections director Josie Bahnke said a state election review board would certify the results for District 40 today, because of the closeness of the race there.

At a Senate State Affairs Committee meeting in Anchorage, Anchorage Republican  Sen. Lesil McGuire said the Division of Elections should correspond with the U.S. Department of Justice about federal Voting Rights Act concerns.

“If this is certified and the person it is certified in favor of ultimately does not prevail in a future special election, or future audit, I think the impact on voter morale and confidence (would be) devastating,” McGuire said.

Legislators focused on three precincts:

• In Shungnak in District 40, voters were allowed to vote in both the Republican primary and in the primary for all other parties, in violation of state law.
• In Newtok in District 38, there was a discrepancy between the number of ballots counted and a separate tally that election officials wrote down. State officials said this was a data entry error, and didn’t affect the ballots.
• And in Chefornak in District 38, a somewhat similar discrepancy occurred.

The difference between the candidates in District 38 is too large to be affected by the precincts in question.

In District 40, a recount is likely and any change could affect the outcome. Dean Westlake of Kotzebue was leading incumbent Rep. Benjamin Nageak of Barrow by 21 votes, before the certification.

The division’s core mandate is to ensure that every qualified voter has a meaningful opportunity to cast a ballot and have his or her  vote count, Bahnke said.

In Shungnak, the election official didn’t attend election training.

State law doesn’t penalize those who miss training.

“We as a division, really need to do a better job educating our voters about the two-ballot system,” Bahnke said.

Some residents who attended the meeting at the Anchorage Legislative Information Office said they’re concerned about the results.

Luke Welles of Barrow said he wanted to vote in the open-ballot primary for Democrats and other non-Republicans, but election officials told him and other Republicans that they could only cast a questioned ballot in the open-ballot primary.

“It seemed as if the Republicans were being – the focus was on not letting them vote the open ballot in this situation,” Welles said.

Senate President Kevin Meyer, an Anchorage Republican, questioned whether it’s appropriate to certify the results.

“How do you certify an election that was not legal?” Meyer asked.

Alpheus Bullard, a lawyer for the legislature, said that if a challenge to the District 40 election results occurs, it’s not clear what the outcome would be.

“It’s a violation of our statutes and what ballots need to be provided,” Bullard said. ” I don’t know whether the necessary bias is there, or what a court would find. This is not a situation the specifics of which have been addressed by an Alaska court before.”

The defeated candidate or 10 local residents can request a recount within five days of the completion of the state review. It’s not clear what day the review will be finalized.

As of late Monday afternoon, the review committee was still meeting.

Correction: An earlier version of this story misspelled  Luke Welles’ name. The current version of this story corrects the error.