gosh and gee dad blam! it couldn't happen here...

[cleofus1]

this is an excerpt from the ADN "Alaska ear"

"MORE LADDIES THAT LUNCH ... And what were Ethan Berkowitz and Andrew Halcro talking about Monday at the Pantry in the Hotel Captain Cook? Halcro, a former Republican House member, plans to run for governor as an independent. So, was it a chat about a fusion ticket, or a pitch like: "Don't you run this time, let me?" Or maybe Ethan is going on vacation and looking for a break on a rental car. Or maybe Andy needs a lawyer. Earwigs love reading tea leaves."

my head would explode...who would you vote for....eric croft....or a ticket with Ethan and andrew...keep in mind, most people including re-pugs think Andrew is a closet democrat...i think he is too...

damn...proboblywouldn'thappenhere...but i would love to see it...

[cleofus1]

1. our two boys

Ethan


Andrew

[Blue_In_AK]

2. That's a tough one...

I love Ethan, he's my guy.

[cleofus1]

3. they are both really great guys

Ethans a hell of a guy!

And you know andrews cool too...you can tell becouse the republicans hate him so much...they call him a rino...and do everything they can to make his life miserable...

[Blue_In_AK]

4. Well, I certainly hope the Democrats can take back Alaska...

Frank's shenanigans are probably helping us immensely. He's such a joke.

[cleofus1]

5. yes

may the monkey god hear our prayer!

[snowbear]

6. Hey Cleofus... did you see tonight's news? :o)

Ethan made it official !! :bounce:

Problem is.. (according to what's his face up in Fairbanks..) if Halcro runs as an Independent, and Berkowitz as a Democrat, they'll make it easier for the Rethug to win by splitting the liberal to moderate vote.

If that's true.. kinda makes you wonder what that lunch with Berkie and Halcro was all about... :crazy:

Ethan would be an AWESOME Governor!! Then again, if the rumors of a Halcro/Palin "Independent ticket" are true.. I hope that doesn't water down Ethan's chances too much?

Maybe Halcro should stick to his damn car rentals and support Berkowitz!! :toast:

[snowbear]

7. Ahhhhh... one more thing to Cleofus..

:hug:

MaybeEeEeee... Just maybe Berkowitz and Halcro "WILL" team up?

If they did.. WOW.. talk about a sweep! :bounce:

[cleofus1]

8. yeah...

but who gets top billing on a Berkowitz/Halcro ticket?

or for that matter a Palin/Halcro ticket?

I love Sarah...she's very honest and has a ton of integrety...but she is as conservative as they come....

[Ken Burch]

11. Maybe Halcro could be in the cabinet.

He'd be good at any of several positions.

Or, he could stand for the Legislature as an independent and Ethan could be arranging for the Dems to back him as a Coalition speaker.(remember, Berkowitz almost pulled off a coup against the Harris GOP organization last session.)

Just stirring the pot here.

[Blue_In_AK]

9. I think I'd vote for Ethan, although Eric Croft would be fine, too...

A Berkowitz/Halcro ticket would be awesome. Really, ANYTHING to get Frank out of there. I've disliked him intensely ever since I spent a year working on the Sitnasuak case back in '85, and he just gets worse and worse with each passing day.

[Ken Burch]

10. Will Croft run, now that Berkowitz is in the race?

I can't see them facing off against each other.
Eric could try Lt. Governor.

Are "fusion" tickets allowed in this state?

[Blue_In_AK]

12. I'm not sure about that...the fusions

And as for a face-off, you're probably right that they would work something out. Democrats need to be very united at this point in time. With the Republicans wobbling, we could see a big turn-around here. I think Ethan is an excellent candidate. He's smart and has a good temperament, and he's my representative. I've enjoyed talking with him when he's come by during his campaigns.

[cleofus1]

13. no no fusion tickets

they all run independantly of each other...

sooooooo, they have to make their minds up right now....governor or lt. gvn.....


my wife is Sitnasuak...could you give as much background as you can...

[Blue_In_AK]

14. Cleofus, I'm surprised you don't know about this...

...or maybe you know it under a different name, how Frank when he was head of ANB, frisked Sitnasuak and the regional corp by encouraging and overseeing some extremely risky investments which resulted in the corporations losing a ton of native claims settlement money. I was working for the native corps' attorneys as a freelance paralegal at the time and spent months and months listening to tapes of meetings, transcribing much of Frank's bullshit, and typing memorandums of law. It all resulted in a civil trial lasting eight months -- which up to that time was the longest trial in Alaska's history, and may still be. The bank ultimately went down after a $14 million judgment was awarded. Here's a pretty good link I found a while ago.

http://juneaualaska.com/between/bering.shtml

[cleofus1]

15. what you just described

i knew in a basic form...frank let his cronies use huge amounts of cash from his bank on risky business ventures and of course they lost it all and the bank went belly up...along with the money from those native corporations...

of course I've only been here about 14 years so i missed the show as it happened...of course Bering straits and sitnasuak are both in dire financial straits right now and many I've talk to say that they're problems all started with the loss and no growth of franks money management...plus the carpetbaggers that have taken advantage of these corporations financial naivety...

but most of the natives I've spoken to don't seem to have any of the details...and of course the repugs aren't talking....

[Blue_In_AK]

16. There doesn't seem to be much left on the Internet

about it. The attorneys who represented Sitnasuak are Jermain, Dunnagan & Owens and Middleton & Timme (or that's what their incarnation was back in those days). Lead attorneys were Howard Trickey, with a lot of help from George Freeman, and Collin Middleton. If you're interested into digging into more of the details, and given your personal connection, I'd advise giving them a call. I'm sure they could at least give you the case number so you could do your own research if you wanted. What I remember specifically about that case was that it was such a huge document case and it lasted for so long that it had it's own room down at the courthouse for storing everything during the course of the trial. Watch for a PM from me.