Must Read Alaska @MustReadAlaska

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Alaska Supreme Court Hears Petersburg Dan Case; Decision Expected Today or Tomorrow By Natalie Spaulding This morning, June 29, 2026, the Alaska Supreme Court heard oral arguments in the case Dan J. Sullivan vs. Division of Elections, a case concerning the eligibility of a man named Daniel J. Sullivan, Jr. to appear on the November ballot alongside the incumbent Senator Daniel S. Sullivan. Both Democrats and Republicans recognize the race for Alaska’s open U.S. Senate seat as a key race with substantial impacts on both the State of Alaska and the nation. The major players in the race are incumbent U.S. Senator Dan Sullivan (R-Alaska), who has been serving Alaska in the U.S. Senate for 10 years, and Democrat Mary Peltola, who represented Alaska in the House of Representatives from 2022-2024. Recently, a high-profile controversy has resulted from the filing for candidacy of Daniel J. Sullivan, Jr., a teacher from Petersburg with the same first and last name as the incumbent Senator. After concerns were raised that Petersburg Dan filed with intent to confuse the ballot rather than to legitimately run for office, the Division of Elections launched an investigation. On June 15, after questioning Petersburg Dan and reviewing the evidence, the Division of Elections decided that Petersburg Dan did not properly file and could not appear on the August primary ballot. Petersburg Dan appealed the decision on June 22. On June 27, the Superior Court ruled in favor of Petersburg Dan, stating he could not be barred from the ballot. The Division of Elections then appealed the ruling to the Alaska Supreme Court. State’s Argument: Authority to Disqualify for Intentional Confusion Christopher Murray, representing the Division of Elections, framed the case around “first principles”: elections exist to accurately ascertain the public will, and ballots exist to fairly convey voter intent. He invoked Alaska precedent and statutory duties (including the Division’s charge under AS 15.15.030 to facilitate fairness, simplicity, and clarity and to reflect the voter’s intent) to argue that the Division must safeguard ballot integrity when a candidate’s actions threaten to mislead voters. Read all the case details with link in reply! @DanSullivan_AK @MaryPeltola

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Service to My Country: Zack Gottshall, Marine and Army Veteran By Zack Gottshall When I first stepped into the United States Marine Corps in the 1990s, I never imagined the path ahead. For anyone who has wondered about a life of service, my journey took me across two branches— the Marine Corps and later the Army— shaping who I became and what I learned. I retired with a total of 23 years of service, and in sharing my story, I hope to offer a glimpse into the meaning, the challenges, and the lessons that service can bring. In those decades, I faced critical transitions, personal challenges, and enduring lessons. By sharing these lessons, I hope to offer perspective and value to the next generation whether they choose service or another path of purpose. I chose the Marine Corps largely because my older brother was already a Marine. Growing up, I knew if I picked another branch, I would never hear the end of it! But it wasn’t just rivalry. I admired the Marines’ camaraderie and history. Once I joined, it deepened the bond with my brother. For decades now, we have shared the Marine Corps birthday— a tradition unlike any other in my family. The pride, discipline, and legacy of the Corps shaped me, not just as a Marine, but as a brother and a leader. After my discharge from the Marine Corps, I thought my service was over. But after 9/11, the Army gave me a second chance. With different standards, they offered me not only a role I wanted, but a renewed sense of purpose and even a bonus. In the Army, I had the pleasure of serving in the Republic of Korea, in Germany, and with Army Central Command both in the United States and abroad. Those experiences fast-tracked me into leadership roles, pushing me to grow faster than I had imagined. As I advanced in leadership, I ultimately chose to assess for warrant officer in my field. This transition changed everything: my responsibilities, my role, and even how I related to those I once served alongside. I now had to approach the mission with a broader perspective, knowing that my actions and decisions carried new weight. Being selected as a Warrant Officer was one of the greatest honors of my military career, but it was also one of the most difficult transitions I would ever experience. Overnight, my responsibilities changed. I was no longer viewed solely as a leader of Soldiers but as a technical expert and trusted advisor to commanders. That change required me to rethink not only how I approached the mission, but also how I approached people. Relationships with peers naturally evolved, expectations increased, and every recommendation I made carried greater weight. I quickly learned that technical competence alone would never be enough. To be effective, I had to earn the trust of both commanders and the Soldiers I served by remaining approachable, objective, and committed to the mission above myself. As I progressed from Warrant Officer One through Chief Warrant Officer Three, I came to appreciate that the most respected leaders were rarely the loudest or the most authoritative. They were the ones who listened first, remained teachable, and never forgot who they were serving. That realization fundamentally changed my perspective on leadership. I discovered that true influence is earned through competence, integrity, consistency, and humility. It took time for me to mature into that perspective, and now, looking back, I recognize those lessons as some of the most valuable of my career— not only in uniform, but in every aspect of my life that followed. Continue reading with link in reply! @DeptVetAffairs @JBER_Alaska @USVeteransCorps @USMC @USArmy

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Pro Deo et Patria (For God and Country) By Deacon Dez As our country approaches our 250th Anniversary, there are many celebrations being planned all across our blessed homeland. Many fond memories come to mind as I ponder what this means to those who gave their all to secure and ensure our continued freedom. One phrase that comes to mind is: “Now is the time for all good men to come to the aid of their country.” This phrase once haunted me in my younger years as my sister would say it over and over again as she practiced her typing. Honestly, if you grew up as either a Baby-Boomer or Generation X’er, how can you not remember this from typing class? I cannot remember if I ever registered the words she was repeating nor the meaning of those words at that time, back then it was just annoying but today, as the words reappeared from my memory, the words are much more meaningful and profound. A phrase so simple, used to time the number of words typed correctly, filled with the duty and responsibility of every American who truly loves this country. As I now repeat this phrase in my mind, it serves as a reminder that we are privileged to serve, much more than a duty, but should it ever become a duty, one should embrace it with honor and readiness. From the beginning of time, or close to it, God has called and anointed men, and women to lead armies against His enemies; Joshua, David, Joan of Arc, just to name a few. When we would visit my grandparents, I would see the pictures of my maternal grandfather and all my uncles in their Navy uniforms. Every time I would see those pictures and the pictures of my dad and his brother in their Army uniforms, I would remember that phrase and repeat those words, silently, over and over in my head and think, they came to the aid of their country. Continue reading with link in reply! #America250

5/5 Church members testified the property has been dedicated exclusively to religious use since 2000, leading the BOE to unanimously rule in their favor. Yet, bypassing any public discussion or Assembly direction, the Borough administration appealed to Superior Court. ***Full story available ONLY in the Must Read News and Opinions newsletter*** 🚨 GET THE FULL STORY! 🚨 Don't miss a single update on this developing story. Subscribe to our All In plan now and get daily Must Read News and Opinions to your inbox! Regularly $10/month or $100/year, get it NOW 50% OFF for a limited time only with promo code MRAK50! 👇👇👇 mustreadalaska.com/#WkModal(plans)

4/5 Asper argued AS 29.45.030(a)(3) exempts property "used exclusively for nonprofit religious purposes," noting that the assessor attempted to invent and impose non-existent requirements like "actual," "regular," and "active" use.

1/5 BREAKING NEWS: HAINES PROPERTY TAX DEBACLE TARGETS CHURCH Two years after triggering statewide property tax reform, the Haines Borough is back under scrutiny. The Borough is appealing its own Board of Equalization’s unanimous decision granting a religious property tax exemption to St. Michael’s and All Angels Episcopal Church. #Haines #Alaska #TaxReform

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Analysis: The True Aim of the AK LNG Project That Legislators Won’t Say Out Loud By Dana Raffaniello Natural gas is a commodity. It trades on volume and proximity to market, not on scarcity or specialty value. Qatar, Australia, the U.S. Gulf Coast, and a dozen other suppliers compete on the same global spot price, and the margins on commodity LNG are thin by the standards of any other energy investment. Glenfarne’s own consultant told the Alaska Senate Finance Committee on May 27 that gas “is not the driver” of this project’s economics and that it “is not worth much.” Nobody followed up. Nobody asked what was worth much instead. That single exchange should have ended the urgency argument the day it happened. Instead, the governor and the operator have spent the special session telling Alaskans the opposite: that a market window is closing, that delay is costly, that the legislature must act now or lose the opportunity. If the commodity itself is not the driver, the market-window argument is being made about a product nobody involved says is actually driving the deal. That is not a minor inconsistency. It is the entire justification for the speed at which this bill has moved, collapsing under testimony supplied by the people asking for the speed. What the governor has said, and not said... Continue reading with link in reply! #AKLNG @GovDunleavy

Bottom Line The decade’s failure is not that every proposal was malicious. Some were sincere. The real problem is worse: Alaska’s political class repeatedly chooses temporary fixes and institutional self-protection over reform, then transfers the future cost to families, taxpayers, children, and grandchildren. Without a governing strategy tied to measurable results, the Legislature will keep doing what it does best: redistributing state money through grants, programs, and favored institutions that then become political constituencies for the same legislators who fund them. Continue reading: mustreadalaska.com/opinion-review…

2025 – More Spending, More Control, Less Accountability The Legislature pushed education increases without enforceable performance reform, advanced election-law changes under the banner of modernization, drifted toward energy policies that risk higher costs, and again treated the statutory PFD as government’s balancing account. 2026 – The Pattern Continues Public-pension revival efforts, unresolved election reform, reduced PFDs, and continued fiscal avoidance show the same governing pattern: short-term relief, institutional protection, federal dependency, and procedural games instead of structural reform

Opinion: Reviewing the Record Reveals Clear Progressive Trend in Alaska Politics Despite Republican Leadership By Michael Tavoliero Why are we Republicans, conservatives, libertarians, and the remaining thoughtful groups that are sick and tired of being sick and tired with Alaska politics not telling Alaska’s political leadership to stop this fool’s parade and seriously approach a winning strategy for the legislature? Keep in mind: A Decade of Failure by Incompetence: 2015 – Medicaid Expansion by Executive Action Governor Walker expanded Medicaid without direct legislative approval, and the Legislature failed to stop it. Alaska inherited a larger permanent entitlement structure, future state costs, and a deeper health-care bureaucracy. 2016 – Education Funding Without Reform Lawmakers continued funding the existing education system without requiring performance accountability, administrative reform, school choice, consolidation, or measurable student outcomes. #akpol

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Rebuttal to @adndotcom: Anchorage’s Ice Arenas deserve Facts, not Politics By Steve Agni, Head of O’Malley Ice and Sport When O’Malley Ice and Sports replied as the sole Company willing to manage Anchorage’s ice arenas, we did not expect the contracts to make money. We understood they were aged facilities with structural deficits, deferred maintenance, and complex politics. Our goal was simple: Use our experience to restore the skating community after COVID and bring some normalcy back to Anchorage by returning the “Sully” to its original purpose: a venue for hockey and community events. Everyone agrees we succeeded on both accounts! It is now painful and undeserved to see our work described in ADN coverage with phrases like “mismanagement,” and a narrative built on partial truths and omissions, not the full record. I was not “unavailable for comment.” I have checked my call logs and cannot find any attempt by the ADN to reach me. More importantly, framing our contract as a “Bronson-era deal” ignores what actually happened the past several years. Under our contracts, O’Malley did not receive start-up funding or operating subsidy. We took over Ben Boeke and Dempsey Anderson having to carry all operating risks. Even so, they became cash flow positive to the MOA, We increased their utilization, and transferred more than $570,000 to the MOA in maintenance subsidies, capital reserves, revenue shares, and other payments; while also funding repairs and replacements in the buildings. That is not “mismanagement.” Continue reading with link in reply!