Good morning, it is Tuesday. Current time, 6.06 AM. How was your morning drive, Mr. Dean? Oh, today was one of those days when I truly enjoyed the drive. A glorious sunrise coming up out there. It was nice. Now, a little chilly here in Anchorage compared to the rest of you guys, but still really nice. Well, you know, I'm looking right now. I'm sitting at 40.6 degrees in Palmer.
I'd blow you a raspberry, but it would get stuff on my mic, so I'm not going to. My app says the anchorage is 40. What is it really? Like 38, 39. We're hovering right around 38, 39. Now, if you're in the areas of the swamp, then yeah, you're probably at 40 degrees, but only in the area where it's got the Muskegon stuff. Well, I'm not going to complain because my high today is supposed to be around 56. So, you know, bring on Miss Spring. It is here. It has sprung.
There's rabbits running all around my yard. I have rabbits and moose. Are they hares or are they domestic rabbits? They're hares. That means we're getting towards the middle end of that seven-year cycle. That means you should start seeing a lot of foxes around, too. Yeah, probably so. It is definitely... We've been watching them frolic all over the yard for the past week or so.
They've been pretty active a week, week and a half. So yeah, it's like wild America out here. What can I say? You know why the rabbits are so active now, don't you? So why is that? Because they've all been released from work for Easter. Every one of them doesn't have to work anymore. They've literally got the summer off. So sad. I love it. I love it.
Well, yeah, it is Tuesday, so it's going to be an interesting day, of course. Tuesday being an Anchorage Assembly meeting day, so they'll have their meeting today. So I'm sure there's lots of good content we'll have for tomorrow. But let's start with the Matsubaro, shall we? This morning, the Matsuboro, it says here on their public announcement, they have a 9 a.m. Board of Equalization Appeal hearing.
I also do know they have a 3 o'clock hearing today, too, so I think they just haven't updated their time. But that is happening today. And at 6 p.m. tonight, the Matsubura Assembly has their regular meeting. That, of course, is in the assembly chambers located at 350 East Dahlia Avenue in Palmer. If you want more information on either of these meetings, all you have to do is go to matzugov.us and you'll be able to find it there.
Just a reminder, you have until the end of the month to get your landfill coupon. If you live in the Matsuboro, you can get a $25 coupon. It's basically a free dump pass.
It's good for a year, but you have to apply it's really simple you just need your name your address and your email address and they will email it to you but it's one per household and the coupon will be good for a year so again if you want to get your landfill coupon Just go to matsugov.us and you have to apply by the end of the month.
Once you get to the website, right in the middle of the front page, you'll see it says landfill coupon. Just click on it and it's super easy. It'll take you like less than 20 seconds. Super, super easy peasy. Lemon squeezy. Alright, let's get over to City of Rossella. City of Rossella has a special city council meeting again today.
It's scheduled for 6 to 9 p.m. Again, they're going through the process of consideration of the FY26 budget, doing amendments and potential adoption as they work through their process. Who knows how long that'll take? It just takes how long it takes. to debate all the amendments and to discuss the budget. So that is an ongoing process, but if you want more information, just go to cityofwisilla.gov and you'll be able to find it there.
Moving over to the city of Palmer. The city of Palmer early voting for the special election has begun. This is the recall election for Mayor Steve Carrington. If you want more information, all you have to do is go to palmerak.org. So early voting is May 5th through the 19th, with Election Day being May 20th. You can early vote at the City of Palmer Council Chambers 231 West Evergreen Avenue Monday through Friday from 8 to 5 p.m. There's a lot of election information on the page.
If you go to palmerak.org and then click on the election, little election widget, Then once you get there, go to election information and you actually can see a You can see a sample ballot and it has the pro and con, basically why people want to repeal him and his argument of why not to be repealed. So I recommend that you do that. Again, this is just for the voters in the city limits of the city of Palmer.
All right, moving on to the Municipality of Anchorage. There is no Board and Commission meetings today that I saw, so we will skip on over to there is a regular Assembly meeting today. Starts at 5 p.m. Items for public testimonies start at 6 p.m. That'll be at the Lusak Library, which is, of course, located at 3600 Denali Street in Anchorage.
And that is it for the Anchorage Assembly. If you want to see their agenda, just go to muni.org, click on the Assembly tab, and from there you'll be able to find the agenda. All right, we're going to skip on over to the Kenai Peninsula Borough. The only thing I see on the Kenai Peninsula Borough for today, there's only two meetings. First is the Seldovia Recreational Service Area Board Meeting. That's going to be from 515 to 715 today at the Sea Otter Community Center in Seldovia.
And then at 6 p.m. today, the Canaan Peninsula Borough has an assembly meeting from 6 to 8 p.m. That will be at the Borough Building on the Kenai Peninsula, which is located at 144 North Binkley Street in Saldotna. You know, I'm always impressed, Darrell. Their assembly meetings are scheduled for two hours. And I bet they make the marks too. Two hours. Two hours. That efficiency. I'm loving it.
Unlike Anchorage, they start at 5 and then get over usually at midnight. It's ridiculously late. I was going to say, unless if they don't, well, they still continue half their item. Yes, they do. They don't get to it, so that means they hold it over and it gets continued to the next meeting. Just a personal thing on that, that's called poor scheduling. That's called poor scheduling. You literally should know how much things take.
And you scrunch them accordingly. I have never seen a body that I've literally seen them debate for two hours how they're going to debate an issue. And that's exactly a giant part of the problem. These things should all be set and they literally will spend an hour with an amendment on that. Are you going to recommend that? And you get done and you're literally going, What if they just vote on? They are not efficient. They are not efficient whatsoever. Whatsoever.
Oh, my word. But, you know, we have to commend those bodies like the Kenai Peninsula Borough. Efficiency. I love it. I love it. Two-hour assembly meeting. There you go. So if you want. See, that to me is acceptable. And the other thing, Amy, is is it does take a lot of time to spend hundreds of millions of dollars. Okay, I mean, it takes time to be able to portion out those millions and millions of dollars. And if you come to any of these assembly meetings, like today if you go there,
There's probably, oh, at least four million, I think, on the docket for, you know, getting passed out to people. Maybe even a little bit more than that. So, you know. So painful. So painful. Well, you know, like I said, you know, Daryl's not wrong. Daryl's not wrong with his frustration. But thank goodness we have other communities that are a little bit more efficient with their time. Yes. I will just say that.
Yeah, exactly. So tonight if you want to attend the Kenai Peninsula Borough meeting or if you want more information, just go to kpb.us and you'll be able to find their information relating to their meeting and their agenda, all the good stuff at their website. That's really it. There's no announcements that I saw for the city of Kenai, Sildon, or Homer for today, so it's a pretty light week actually this week. But I do want to remind you of a couple other things. James called us yesterday.
And let us know that the Alaska Filmmakers Meetup is going to be happening Wednesday night. So that's tomorrow night in Palmer. It'll be at Pizza Delphi, which of course is located at Palmer. And again, that's at 7 p.m. tomorrow night. So that's a fun thing to do. And then, of course, there is this weekend, The Alaska Vintage Spring Market and Food Truck Fest at the Palmer Fairgrounds from May 9th to the 11th.
It's going to be $5 for an entry fee. Friday, it'll be from 2 to 7. Saturday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sunday, 10 to 4 p.m. And Sunday is free. So parking is free, of course. Children 12 and under are also free. If you want to look them up, see the vendors, and get more information, you can go to alaskavintagemarkets.com and find the information there. I've been to this a few times. At least a couple times. I don't want to exaggerate. A couple times.
I really enjoy it. They have a ton of vendors there and some creative, creative things. So if you're looking for something fun to do, I mean, and there's food trucks. How can you really go wrong? Got me there. Got me there. How can you go wrong? So again, that will be May 9th through the 11th. So this weekend at the Palmer State Fairgrounds. And you can go online again to Alaska Vintage Market.
All right, we're going to go ahead and take our first break of the morning. When we come back, we are going to hit the headlines of the day. Stay with us. Looking at your Alaska total traffic cameras on this Tuesday morning. Currently light traffic inbound on the Glen Highway. Roads are in good shape out there. While we can't rule out a few spot showers, the better opportunity for any rain will remain for coastal regions. For Alaska's weather source, I'm meteorologist.
Good morning, if you're just waking up at 6.20 on this beautiful Tuesday morning. And news from Alaska. Well, we have lots of news. Let's start with, you know, I have to laugh, Daryl, because Probably since about last Wednesday, every single day my show prep has gone out the window. And you know, because you see the list of it. And I just don't.
You know, I laugh because I roll with it. Sometimes if callers call in and they have a better conversation than I have prepped, I just go with it, right? Well, so at least think of this, Amy. It's not completely going to waste because I do read. Everything. And I read each and every one of those stories that you put up there. Well, that's good. At least somebody is seeing them. But I laugh because...
You know, sometimes, you know, this is a local radio show, and so, yes, we cover national stuff because I think it has a local impact. Especially when we're talking about national security, economic policy, taxes. I've got to tell you, I can probably make just about any issue a local issue. And so that's my bridge. Man, you just get me going on a roll, and I...
I had no intention, it was not in my show prep to lament about the legislature almost every day last week. I couldn't help it. I couldn't stop myself. I didn't want to stop myself because somebody just needed to say it. You know? Somebody needed to say it. Well, I will tell you, there's local Republican Party districts that are starting to say it. And Suzanne had this article up a couple days ago, and I just didn't get to it.
District 27 Republicans passed a resolution asking Governor to veto Big Brother Bill HB 57. You know, this is one of those ones. It just, you know, this is the education spending bill. that we have been talking about for a few days, but I had to laugh because yesterday in Suzanne Downing's Must Read Alaska newsletter, she had a poll out, and the question of the week was,
HB 57 became the legislative vehicle for extra funding for school districts. The House and Senate passed it, should the governor veto HB 57. So, the poll I don't think is closed yet. There's one day remaining in the poll. I voted in it. I voted in it. And the results thus far are not even close. 88%.
of people receiving Mustard Alaska's newsletter, which I will tell you, she has a massive distribution list. I think she has more people that read Mustard Alaska than the ADN, frankly. Oh, I'd put money on that. I'm not exaggerating when I say that. But 88% said yes, the governor should veto. 88%. It's not even close. This isn't even measuring a frog's hair. This is like a blowout.
This is just laughing at my analogies. I'm like the queen of analogies. Sometimes they stick and sometimes they don't. But it's not even close. I'm telling you right now. You know, this is what's so amazing to me, and I'm starting to see legislators back off a little bit. You know, the real sentiment I'm getting from people over and over again is they don't like the condescension coming from their legislators. It is so thick from some of them. I mean, literally, so thick that you're like,
Did you forget that we're, quote, equal? Actually, you're servant to us, and I use the word servant, but... Yeah, they're public servants. Exactly. So we're your boss, and yet you turn around and snidely look at me and tell me I don't know how to read. Really? Basically, if you disagree with us, you just don't know because you're not here in Juneau. Exactly. You just don't know. I mean, the condescension, I mean, look.
The best advice I can give my friends that are legislators, look, we can disagree on issues. I think that's fine. It's going to happen from time to time. But when you treat your constituents like they're dumb, I have no sympathy for that, and you're about to, like, meet reality. And I will tell you, out here in the valley, I'm telling you.
Look, I like Jubilee Underwood. I like Rob Young. I don't really know Alexi Moore. But I'm telling you, there is a concerted effort to find candidates already to replace all three of them. Now, Ravion, it's a four-year term because he's in the Senate. But 2026 is the next election for these two freshmen, and these two freshmen, I'm telling you, people are P.O.'d. They got some ground to make up if they're going to... If they're going to survive this one, we'll see what happens.
You know, I think that the indicators here is, Suzanne has another article out. Attempt to table SD tax fails in house. So this is, she calls it SD tax. We've been calling it the Amazon tax. but it's SB 113, so Mike Prox, who is from North Pole, He is a stalwart as far as a conservative goes. Like, the guy is very conservative and he votes accordingly. And he made a motion to table SB 113. What does that mean? Basically kill it, right? That's what he made. The motion failed.
But interesting in the motion, right here, it's an indication who's probably going to support the tax, right? And of course, look, I got to tell you, I don't think we're friends anymore, to be honest, because I've been super critical of her. But just because I'm critical, look, I'm not impressed with Mia Costello. She has sucked eggs as far as being a minority leader in the House this year.
How did you like that? I'm thinking to myself, yep, yep, you're right. I'm not disagreeing. Terrible in leadership. Terrible in leadership. And she just, look, I mean, I'm just going to say it like it is. I don't think she's done a good job as a leader. I think she's lied her butt off. I think she has made moves that are personally advantageous to her at the detriment of her caucus.
And in the process, I think she's screwed over all of us. So I'm not impressed at all. And I'm going to say that. And I'm happy to say it to her face. I have no issues. I mean, here's the thing you have to know about me. What you get behind the radio is exactly what you get in person. Oh yeah. Like, I'm the same person. And I've had these discussions with legislators back and forth with different legislation. When I don't appreciate their legislation, like, they'll hear it.
When I do appreciate it, they hear it. And I'm not willy-nilly, for no reason, critical. I mean, the reality is I think, as Republicans, we can do better. I mean, that's the reality, but when we look at who voted against killing SB 113, effectively, here's the list. Stravenberg! Jeremy Bynum, Republican from Ketch Can. I told you about this guy, didn't I?
And, you know, my spidey senses were up. My first SEC meeting, I just sat there and listened to him while he was a candidate. And as he was voting, I watched him multiple times voting opposite of me. And I'm like, yep, there we go. He replaced JKT, Jonathan Christ Tompkins, who was an independent from that area.
I'm telling you, he's like, in my view, he's probably a Stuart Stevens kind of Republican. Yeah, that's my, you know, maybe I'm wrong. Look, I leave, especially when I first meet somebody and I'm trying to get to know them. I leave myself open to be wrong. Change my mind. Like, I want people to change my mind. So, you know, have I sat down and had a conversation with this guy? No. Did he come across as being a little bit of a loud mouthy? Yep.
And so we'll see. We'll see. But Jeremy Bynum, so not surprising. Who else voted against the internet, tabling the internet tax? Ashley Carrick, liberal, not surprising. Mia Costello, Republican. Joy Colum, Republican. Maxine Divert, Bryce Edgeman, Ted Eishid, Zach Fields, Neil Foster, Elise Gavin, Andrew Gray, Carolyn Hall, Sarah Hannon, all liberals here. Rebecca Hamschuk, Kai Holland, Nellie Jimmy, Andy Josephson, Chuck Kopp.
Republican who's a turncoat who gave the Democrats power in the legislative session. Donna Mears, Genevieve Mina, Alexi Moore from Los Angeles, Republican, David Nelson, he is a Republican from Muldoon. Justin Ruffridge, not surprising. Calvin Schrage, Will Stapp, Andy Story, Louie's suit, and... Will Stapp.
Yep, that's not surprising at all. And Jubilee Underwood. Will Staff is a Republican from Fairbanks. And Jubilee Underwood is a Republican from Wasilla. But what you're seeing here, and this is just, this is the personal dynamics. And look, Jubilee and Alexei have been childhood friends. They're like BFFs, right? So they both get elected at the same time as freshmen. But they're little like, they're little shadows of Rabiot.
So when you understand the personal dynamic, you understand what's happening. Yeah, Big Brother said vote for this. Yeah. So, I mean, I'm just saying, so right now, what does that mean? You know, you had some stronger Republicans that are frankly thinking on their own. that voted to kill it, right? And that was Jamie Allard, Bill Elam, Delaina Johnson.
who I wouldn't necessarily say is a stalwart Republican, but she's afraid of her own shadow in her district, and she rightfully should be. Kevin McCabe, Mike Prox, George Rousher, Dan Sadler, Rebecca Schronke, Kathy Tilton, Frank Tomaszewski. What was the numbers again for the two sides? I didn't actually count. I just read them all off. I didn't count the number. I was just trying to figure out how many of the Republicans would have needed to actually voted as a Republican.
If it would have had a difference or if it had just been brought it close. That's the main thing I was curious about. It would have brought it close. Okay. Not one Democrat, because remember, it's 21-19 in the House. And with students and cop, and students and cop are of course going to vote that way. So, you know, what do we have here? We have a bunch of Republicans that are now voting basically for a digital online tax.
That's what you have. You have a handful that stood firm and said no new taxes. But you had, and this is the danger of what has happened. And I've thought about this a lot because everybody knows I'm friends with Rob Young. I like Rob Young. I just disagree with him on some of his policy positions he's taken this year.
And I don't appreciate the way he calls everybody basically stupid if you don't agree with him. Don't appreciate that. He didn't use the word stupid, but he said if, you know, you can't read basically if you disagree with him on HB 57. I don't appreciate that. I feel like I can read, and I disagree, and so that irritates me, but it's fine. You know, I just am like, you know, it's not going to play well with your constituents, but... as I look at how these are shaping up, it's just,
I don't know, Daryl. I just sit back and I think... The most dangerous thing that has happened, I think what has happened, is Rob is a business guy, right? He's built his own business. He's a home builder out here in the valley. Very successful, very smart. He did sensational, frankly, on the Matzuborough Assembly. And then he goes to Juneau, and I think he wants to be like Trump. I think he wants to be a dealmaker.
I think that's exactly what you're seeing based on conversations I've had with him off air, just knowing Rob. He's an alpha male, right? Very, very, very confident individual. Let's put it that way. I think he thinks he can go to Juneau and just cut all these deals. I think that's what we're seeing right now. Because remember, Daryl was on the hunt the other day for some of Rob Young's audio clips from when I interviewed him.
He appeared to be a low-tax, no-tax kind of guy going to Juneau, and that's not what we're getting. He proposed the Hillcorp tax to raise taxes on Hillcorp, the oil and gas company. And now he's advocating for SB 113, which is a digital online tax. And again, there is never a tax that has been levied on a business that the business doesn't pass through to its customers, right? I mean, that's It's the standard practice. You're in business to make money. Whatever your business costs are.
you have to recoup that in the product you sell. I mean, it's business 101. I just had a thought about this whole thing about the digital one. So you know me, I am like virulently against this tax. and for multiple different reasons on it. One of the reasons is They don't have enough information on it. If they didn't table it, they should have at least before voting on something as massive as this tax actually is going to be. This needs a good six months of people studying what's going on.
This is the Alaska legislature. that passed a house operating budget. Without it being fully funded. I mean... Common sense went out the door weeks ago. So, I mean, there's where we're at. We are a little bit late for our break, so we're going to take a quick break. When you come back, we will take your calls. We will continue this conversation. If you'd like to call in, 522-0650.
Voting is underway in a special recall election against Palmer's mayor. Voting opened yesterday in the election asking residents whether Mayor Steve Carrington should be removed from office. The petition to recall Carrington accuses him of abusing executive power in connection to last year's resignation of Palmer City Manager Stephen Jones.
even Jelly. Jelly was rewarded six months severance despite only working in the position for less than two months before resigning have been controversy over allegations of trying to take over the city government residents have through may 19th to vote alaska's democratic party has a new executive director jenny marie striker takes over for lindsey cavanaugh who stepped
in january after serving in the role since 2019 the 30 year old striker is currently the political director for the alaska center and the denali highway is open for the season the alaska department of transportation and public facility says the 135 mile seasonal road is now open to the public for the summer officials say Drivers should use caution on the road and watch out for soft spots and rough patches. That's the latest. I'm John Fink.
happens next happens here. News Radio 650 KENI. Looking at your Alaska total traffic cameras on this Tuesday morning. Currently light traffic inbound on the Glen Highway. Roads are in good shape out there. All around Anchorage traffic is looking good also. If you see traffic problems on the road, dial pound 250 on your cell, say total traffic. From the Swicker and Chevrolet Anchorage Traffic Studios, I'm Daryl Dean. This report is sponsored by Alaska CyberKnife.
When you have a cancer diagnosis and radiation therapy is part of your treatment, the accuracy of the It's Amy. On News Radio. Welcome back, current time, 6.40. You know, I actually have to make a correction. Bynum replaced Ortiz, not JKT. Okay. You know, it was Ortiz that was replaced by Vynum. And, you know, when I was still right, though, it was Ketchikan. It's District 1 that he represents. I mix up some of these Southeast people.
But, you know, JKT was a very, I actually, I got to meet him a few times when I worked in the governor's office. Very nice, kind individual. You know, we didn't agree on politics necessarily all the time, but a very respectful young man. And I always laugh because he looks so young. Do you remember him? I do, actually. And like you said, the suit looked wrong.
It's just the face in the suit. It was just like, no, that doesn't look like a teenager. He was very kind and he was very nice. But that's why I was in my mind. But it was Ortiz apparently that bite him. But it is Ketchikan, so he does replace it. But this is my thing. Look, there's been times in my life where I met somebody, didn't get the warm and fuzzies, and then it turned out I became great friends with them, and my initial impression was not on point. I leave myself open.
to changing my mind. I think that's probably... You know, what makes me, I think, effective in a lot of things is because I don't walk in and think I just have all the answers to everything. You know, I walk in, I've done my research, I believe this is where I'm going to land, but I'm always open to people giving me more information. change my mind, right? I give you the opportunity to change my mind. And, you know, if you can't make your case, you can't make your case. And so,
You know, I don't know. I've just never been a person who is going to pull punches. And when you're talking about taking money out of my pocket, which you did with HB 57, When you talk about taking money out of my pocket, and I'm not talking a little amount of money, I mean, if your PFD, let's just for round number sake, say your PFD is going to be
$3,800 by the statutory formula. Now, do any of us really believe the Alaska legislature run by Democrats is ever going to let us have our full PFD? Probably not, right? So we have to be honest about that. But the reality is, is the functional effort, you just passed a massive spending bill with no accountability. I don't care how you spend it, there's no accountability in this bill.
And, you know, I've had legislators try to make the case to me, you know, and I shut up and I listened. I let them try to make the case to me. They didn't make it. I left them the door open to change my mind. They didn't do that. They fell short. And so I still believe this is a massive spending bill with no accountability, which effectively is going to cut your PFD from $3,800 per person down to $1,000. They have to pay for it somehow.
Right? And that's where they choose to do it, because Lord help us if they actually make cuts in the budget. And that's what's getting me right now is I keep hearing from the other side. They've made substantial cuts. They've reduced the deficit to almost nothing. We've done such a great job. We've reduced that deficit. We've got a balanced budget.
You reduced it by taking my money. Okay? It's not your money. It's not. It is literally the citizens of Alaska. And you get, well, we're using it for their good. You're not. Okay? That is not. A lot of these things they're throwing this money for. It's not for my good, okay? It is for your... It's not going to improve. Do you honestly believe this education is going to improve educational outcomes? And I think you were about to say it, Daryl.
This is all about 2026. This is about covering their tails to try to defuse the NEA in the next election. Anybody who says otherwise, I'm just sorry. I think... I think you're trying to BS me because I know the game. I know the conversations that are happening behind the scenes. And everybody's talking about 2026. That's what they're talking about. And so, you know, again, I just, I get to the point. I don't know. Look, I understand the argument that
Republicans should do a better job of, you know, chastising our own in private and, you know, not dividing the party. But I will say this. If you take your vote in public, you should expect feedback in public. Exactly. The bop on the head. That's Amy's motto. And look. You know, maybe I'll calm down by the time the next election cycle comes around. Probably not. But maybe. Maybe. But, you know, like I said, the first thing I did after HB57 is I pulled my APOC.
I pulled my Alaska Public Offices Commission. I wanted to remember, who did I donate to in the last year? And I will tell you, I printed off that list, and I have a whole lot of red lines throughout, people that I will not donate to again. Did you by chance find any that you didn't donate to that were done in your name? No. No, I didn't. And I looked at the FEC website, too.
I looked at the FEC website, too, because I go by cycle, you know, so election cycle. But here's my point. You know, and I said this to a legislator. I'm an over-engaged person. I have personal relationships with many of these legislators where I know them. I like them. You know, I've given them money when they ran. I've given many of them advice when they call. And, you know, I'm like, you want my opinion? I'll share it with you. Whether they take it or not, that's a whole different thing.
But you know, and I'm at the point where I'm done. I'm done. So can you imagine, like, what does the average person who doesn't have a personal relationship with these people I mean, if you lose me and I have like, you know, I have a personal relationship with you, I'm actually giving you money. When somebody is donated to a political campaign, You usually have them hook, line, and sinker. Invested.
Invested, that's the best word, right? Because they've taken their time and their treasure, and they've put it behind you saying, I support you. I'm going to put my name behind you. Go forth, right? Yet, when you turn off somebody like me, Now, think about, I mean, I can't even tell you how many people have called me, texted me, have been absolutely disgusted over the past week and a half, two weeks. And you're never going to get those voters back. They're done. Because they're not as invested.
as maybe somebody who, like me, who knows them a little bit more closely. And that's the challenge. And this is why I say The analogy I've used is AO37, right? And I try not to use this name off the air, but I'm just going to say it. I really, really, really like Adam Trombley. I'm a fan of Adam Trombley's, but AO37, he made a massive strategic error. This is what I call the AO37 mistake, where you advocate for a significant policy. Your base supports that policy.
And then you basically recant, right? He offered the repeal of AL-37, and he vetoed Mayor Sullivan's defense of it when they tried to repeal it. And my conversation during that time was, you know, You're going to lose your pay. The AFL-CIO is always going to come after the Republicans that vote like Republicans.
They're always going to put money after you. They're always going to put candidates up against you. The NEA is no different. They're always going to come after Republicans that vote like Republicans. They're always going to come after those districts because, I mean, they're just going to do it. And the thing that these legislators aren't realizing, they made the AO 37 mistake.
Because if you turn your back on your base, and you have a fundamental policy which is fiscal restraint and accountability, and you turn your back on that, You don't have to worry about the NEA coming after you. You don't have to worry about them putting up a candidate against you. Because even if you have nobody else run against you, you've turned off your base and they're not going to show up and they're not going to vote for you. You're going to lose anyway.
You know, and that's exactly what I see happening right now. That's why I say one of the most devastating things that has come out of this is Zach Fields has successfully He has successfully split the Valley delegation. Yes, with his manipulations and, hey, I've got this. Come on, come on. Yep, it's the first time I've seen this in 20 years.
where you have such a significant number of Valley legislators, I mean, the Valley delegation is absolutely fractured at this point. And I will say, if not for the pushback, I don't believe, I mean, look, Delana Johnson voted right. Right? But do I believe for one second that's where she would have voted without pressure? Not a second. Not a second do I believe it.
But, you know, this is the power of public pressure is sometimes you can get these people to actually toe the line and do what they say they're going to do when they ask for your vote. So we'll see what happens. Maybe voters will calm down by the time this happens. But there's another bill that we all remember where they lost their base. Everybody remembers SB 91, the crime reform bill. There's many legislators that were longtime legislators. John Coghill.
You know, Lynn Gaddis, there was a lot of them that lost their seats because they voted for the soft-drawn crime bill and it violated the values of their base. and their base said uh-uh. So that's why I say, you know, the thing these legislators have to think about is you don't have to worry about the NEA.
You have to worry about the confidence. Just because you're a Republican from a Republican district, do not think for one second your base is going to tolerate you betraying them on fundamental core principles. I'm going to tell you, you're going to go the way of these legislators that have made these critical errors. And I hope people take time to reflect because they think they're smarter than their constituents. Not all of them, but some of them. And the constituents are paying attention.
All right, let's take a quick break. When we come back, we'll get into the headlines. We have some big breaking news. We will get into that in just a minute. Looking at your Alaska total traffic cameras on this Tuesday morning. Currently light traffic inbound on the Glen Highway. Roads are in good shape out there. All around Anchorage, traffic is looking good also. If you see traffic problems on the road, dial pound 250 on your cell.
say Total Tropic. From the Swicker and Chevrolet Anchorage Tropic Studios, I'm Daryl Dean. This report is sponsored by Compassion International. Every day a child in poverty waits for a sponsor as another day of hopelessness. There are thousands of kids who've been waiting over a year in their wake. sponsor a child with compassion today. Just text the word radio to 83393.
You heard the news. News is why we can't rule out a few spot showers, the better opportunity for any rain will remain for coastal regions. For Alaska's weather source, I'm meteorologist Aaron Morrison. Welcome back. I'm going to go straight to the phones. And Roland is with us. Good morning, sir. Good morning. You know, you've got a good rant going and I can't blame you. The statement is, our politicians, they are so insulated because they're down there in Juneau.
until we get them where we can actually talk to them because, you know, a phone call really doesn't do it and text messages don't do it and we need them on the... a road system so that we can actually they can actually talk to us or we can talk to them because they're so insulated down there that they're
They don't have to listen to us. And the thing is, how long is this money that we have banked right now, how long is it going to last? It ain't going to last the way they're spending. No, no, it is not. It is hot. We're attached to the yin-yang, and the thing about this is, with the inflation and everything else, we don't have the money that we... You know, the people don't have the money to take these taxes.
Yeah, I think you're right. I think the legislative session should be held on the road system. I say repeal ranked choice voting. That has to happen. We have to be able to go back to a closed Republican primary. And then the second part is you need to move the legislative session. And they will never do it on their own because the Juneau bubble is strong. They're insulated. They're down there.
You know, there's some legislators that keep in touch with their district during legislative sessions and I think have a good pulse on what's going on in their district, but it's very difficult when you're down there. Look, I've seen them. They go in in the morning. They're there, especially towards the end of session. Some legislators practically live in their offices.
I mean, and it's, they're talking to each other and they're talking to the lobbyists that are down there and they're talking to the people that can afford to go to fly to Juneau and actually make an appointment and talk to them. So it's a limited amount of people that can influence them. It's not their constituent that they see at the grocery store. You know what I mean? I mean, I think...
I think you're exactly right, Roland. I think those two things together would make a world of difference in keeping legislators connected. with a common voter who is, you know, watching but doesn't really have a chance to take time off work and fly to Juneau to be able to talk to them face to face.
Yeah, you're right. Like I said, they are passing this massive spending bill this year. But wait for two years when the money runs out of the PFD. And then they say, well, we can't cut education because if we do that, you're hurting children. Never mind.
the fact that they increased it to a point that it's unsustainable. I mean, you make an excellent point. Roland, thank you for the call this morning, and thank you for your patience. I appreciate you holding for me. All right, I'm hitting the top of the hour, so I'm going to take a quick break. When we come back, we will continue. continue with your calls, 522-0650, and I will get to this announcement, I promise. for the very latest. expressed on this show. Thank you for listening to NewsRadio.
Drive Radio on NewsRadio. Welcome back to our show. broadcasting live in and local every weekday morning from 6 to 8 a.m. right here on 650 a.m. if you're listening to the radio. If you're streaming us, there's two different ways to do that. You can download the iHeartMedia app or... You can go to our website, 650keni.iheart.com in both locations, both on the iHeart Media app and our website. You can also find our podcast.
If you are not an early riser and you don't listen to us live, you can always catch us on repeat. And I will tell you, I know a lot of people, thousands of people every day. get to listen to the show, and we appreciate that very much. Whether you're listening live or you're listening on repeat, we appreciate you listening. and being part of the conversation. And talking about being part of the conversation, I am very excited to welcome back to the show my friend Bruce. Good morning, sir.
Hey, morning, Amy. Morning, Daryl. I'm out here in Kodiak for work, but I'm listening online, and, uh, of course, you got me going out here with your previous comment. It seems like our freshman representatives and freshman senator, along with others in Juneau, seem like, like you said, they want to make friends with NEA and these people that could care less. They're never going to support them, ever. but it's to the detriment of losing all our supporters.
and You know, it's pretty sad when you have a freshman senator gone. And call me and my wife stupid after we read a bill and you're going to expect me to support you again. I'll never support them ever again. And I'll put that out there. And our two other representatives. Because they're falling in line, why would I support you ever again? You're too worried about these unions and the NEA. It's a dejecturement of me and my family and the rest of Alaskans. And I think about...
These people, how much of a $3,800, nearly a $4,000 PFD would help a lot of hurting people that are out here. And you're slapping them all in the face. And the other thing I'll say, you know, you made a comment earlier about Senator Rob Young being an alpha. I would say calling everybody stupid does not make you an alpha. That makes you a tyrant. You're not an alpha. You're not doing that.
And the other comment I'll make is there's been two representatives that I've seen in Juneau that have stuck, and I've talked about this, about the Trump-MAGA playbook, and that's the playbook of Lynn going forward. And that's Rep Tilton and Rep Allard. They have consistently been on there. And these other ones are a huge disappointment, and I will not support them again.
You know, I will tell you, as I hear your frustration, and you're speaking as a constituent of some of these legislators in the Valley, You know, Daryl and I were talking during the break, and Daryl has something he wanted to read. And I want him to start to read it because this is the difference between what people say when they run for office versus what they do when they get in office. This is a perfect example.
Because I wanted to get your take on this, because this is from your senator. So go ahead, Daryl. Okay, so this is from Rob Young. for State Senate website. Specifically, it's titled Fostering Alaskan Prosperity, a case against state taxes. Alaska stands at a critical juncture in its economic trajectory, with discussions once again swirling around the potential of a state income or sales tax.
This conversation came to a head in Juneau almost a decade ago, culminating then with Governor Walker deciding to be a good idea to start stealing large portions of the PFD without a vote of the people. One need only look at the struggles of other states post-income tax implantation to understand the pitfall. Residents and businesses alike have been fleeing to more tax friendly environments like Texas and Florida, eroding the tax base, creating monetary strains.
a bit closer to home, and it's no wonder Anchorage has had his credit ratings lowered multiple times in recent years. So he goes on commenting about how Anchorage constantly is borrowing. I'm going to jump down one more paragraph. History teaches us that overtaxing residents
often yields unintended consequences like stifling economic growth and burdening residents. Instead, Alaska's focus should be on reducing or at the very least capping state spending while at the same time nurturing economic expansion through responsible resource development. technological innovation, and reducing the many bureaucratic hurdles slowing private enterprise. One last one here, just another one here. So he goes on to talk about how we've got all this immense...
We have all this potential with our timber, our mineral, and it keeps going on through all these different things that we have. Crucially, Alaskans hold dear our personal freedoms. Imposing additional taxes would infringe upon these liberties. Taxes not only diminish disposable income, but represent a governmental overreach that contradicts Alaska's ethos of independence and self-reliance.
Policymakers should prioritize investing in infrastructure, mineral development, and reducing red tape. By staying true to our values of personal finance, freedom and and self-determination, Alaska can chart a course towards a vibrant and resilient economy for generations to come. So, you know, this is on his webpage, which is still up, robionforalaska.com.
And this is the conversation when he ran for office that him and I had on air. We were talking about low taxes, resource development, individual freedoms and liberty. You know, as a constituent in this district, Bruce, as you hear those, you know, those talking points, I would say you probably agree with them. But how does that jive with what you're seeing in Juneau this year? So this is exactly what we, unfortunately, as a lot of conservatives have...
Come to almost expect. It's like the elephant in the room. If you say all the right things, and I heard him say it. He came to our district meetings, he said it, and I believed he was a solid dude. But now I put him in the same camp as a Murkowski. Say what he ever has to say to get elected, throw him a few bucks, and then when he goes there, we see the true deal, right? All he's done is throwing out new bills to create taxes. taking the PFD, he's in the Murkowski camp, and
It's unfortunate that he decided to do that, but he made that decision. We see where his real loyalties lie, and it's not with his constituents in the Valley. and his other freshman representatives seem to be falling right in line with him. And it's a big disappointment because like you, I like them personally. But their decisions that they're making on the field in Juneau are the incorrect ones.
You know, I think this is the part that I think being in Juneau, in the Juneau bubble, you know, as Roland was talking about them being so insulated in Juneau during the session. I don't think they're in touch with their constituents because what I'm seeing over and over again is constituents that are absolutely disheartened, disgusted, and they're getting to the point where they are going to take action.
in order to replace them in the next election. That's what I think is going to happen. And, you know, we'll see what happens. If Dudley actually vetoes HB 57 or not, if he vetoes it. They have an opportunity for redemption to uphold that veto and start over. Like, they have an opportunity for a do-over. Those don't happen very often in politics, but they have an opportunity for a do-over.
Yeah, go ahead. But then, Amy, like I get what you're saying, but they voted for it. Oh, I know. Like overwhelmingly to vote for this. Now the governor vetoes it. Now the Democrats are going to, what are you going to do now? So everything you said was crap. Right? Yeah. If you uphold the veto. then that even reinforces me more to believe that I can never believe anything you say or ever do. Never. I can never support you.
I can't remember which bill it was, but last year they were in the situation where they overwhelmingly passed a bill and the governor vetoed it and they had to basically uphold his own veto. I can't remember which bill it was last year, but there was a bill that they were in this situation.
And here's the thing that I'm confident happened in this legislative session. Behind the scenes, these conversations were happening that, hey, it's very likely the governor has said he's going to veto this. If these things aren't in there for him, he's going to veto. And I think there was this arrogance that
Well, if there's enough of us that just vote for it and just cover each other, then the governor probably will back off and then we can give each other cover. I don't know that that strategy is going to work because, again, The rose-colored glasses are off, and Bruce, you see clearly what's happening, and to your point, you know, maybe there isn't going to be that grace. Even if they uphold a governor's veto, the damage is done is what I'm hearing you say.
A thousand percent, because on the national platform, we have the Trump playbook. President Trump. And Representative Begich, they're trying to cut taxes, bring resources here and everything. And then what we see our so-called Republicans doing here, the exact opposite. And it's very disheartening and disappointing. And they've lost my support.
and I don't see how I could ever support them in the future ever, and I know I'm not the only one because I talk to a lot of people because unlike them, I'm not in the Juno bubble. Yeah, exactly. Well, you know, I said this to a friend of mine the other day. You know, Alaskan voters overwhelmingly voted for the Trump agenda. And what we got in Juneau was a bunch of Liz Cheney's.
Yeah, yeah, Liz Cheney and the Murkowski. And the two that we can depend on, Representative Tilton and Representative Allard. And those two, I wish the other Republicans would follow their lead. Well, I will tell you, this is from my sources in between said that But when this first came up, HB7, I know there was just a handful of people that were going to be hard no votes. And I will say, I think McCabe was in there. I think Tilton was in there.
I think Allard was in there, and I think Prox was in there. Now, I can't say if there was others in there for sure, but what I will say is there was a few of them. that were initially very skeptical. You know, who knows? Who knows how many? You know, our numbers grew, and I think our numbers grew because we started talking about it publicly, frankly. And I also want to do a huge shout out to you.
and social media because your last caller, Roland, I think I was, talked about the assembly being on the road system. They need to be on the road system. And we get talked about, oh, we shouldn't criticize our party.
Well, we never get to see you. There's never any town halls. Our only platforms are social media or your radio station where we get to voice our opinions and concerns because I know they're listening. And, It's extremely frustrating as a voter, and I hope I express that today, because everybody I talk to, or I shouldn't say everybody, majority that I talk to are not happy at all.
Yeah, no, I hear you, and that's what I'm saying. You know, I've had a lot of conversations the other night before I actually started talking about HB 57 before they voted. I mean, I spent five hours on the phone with legislators. Five hours. Like, it was a long time. But I thought it was important for me to hear from them before I was going to publicly comment on it because I thought, well, I'm going to let them have that. But you know what?
The commentary hasn't died down, and this is what I've tried to express to many of them. is when I get off the show, throughout the last week and a half, my phone has been nonstop with everyday constituents texting me, calling me, expressing their frustration. And I think... You know, like AO 37, like SB 91. Look, I have told my friends that are legislators, I can't tell you how many elected officials I have helped in their first campaigns, I have mentored, I have given advice to.
It only takes one bad vote. to absolutely lose your career. You shouldn't be worried about the NA. You should be worried about losing your base. And, you know, we saw it with AO 37 in Anchorage. We saw it with SB 91, the crime bill at the state. Multiple legislators are not there today because of the votes they took on SB 91. That's a fact.
And it takes one bad vote to absolutely, look, when you start to diverge from a core principle of your base, and if you're a Republican, that is fiscal responsibility. If you divert from that and you take thousands of dollars from every single family and there's no accountability for that, I would say that's a core problem. Party.
platform that you are absolutely violating. And Alaskans are paying attention. I don't know about you, Bruce, but when I think about a $3,800 PFD and then I see it go down to $1,000, for what? What are we actually getting for that? I think every Alaskan starts to ask themselves, what could I have done with that money? How could that have helped my family?
Yeah, you're exactly right. I can't tell you how many times I've been out somewhere and you see a family and you can tell a family that's struggling. You see them at Walmart. You see it at Target. You see it here. And imagine that $4,000 per person. Okay? Not everybody is making six figures. Not everybody owns their own business. Not everybody can vote for their own pay raise in Juneau, okay?
And they have slapped everybody in the face. And it's not welfare. This is a product of a dividend that is owed to Alaskans because we have been stripped away of our mineral rights. It's a compensation. And you guys have decided to... give the middle finger to all Alaskans. I don't know how else to say it by calling everybody stupid, adding other taxes, and immediately taking away our PFD. I don't know why people would want to stay here.
Yeah, I will tell you, the frustration that you're feeling, I know, is felt across Alaska right now. A lot of people are frustrated, and that's why I think when you look at the Mustard, Alaska poll, and you see 88% right now are telling the governor to veto. veto HB 57, it's not surprising to me. Because people are hungry for leadership. They're hungry for common sense. And frankly, right now, we're just sitting back waiting for it. We're waiting for it. So we'll see.
Hey, Bruce, I'm running a bit late on my break, so I've got to let you go, but thank you for calling this morning. I do appreciate it very much. More percent right now are telling the governor to veto HB 57. It's not surprising to me because people are hungry for leadership. They're hungry for common sense.
And frankly, right now, we're just sitting back waiting for it. We're waiting for it. So we'll see. Hey, Bruce, I'm running a bit late on my break, so I've got to let you go. But thank you for calling this morning. I do appreciate it very much, more than you know.
All right, and I thank you for your guys' show on the platform. You guys have a great day. All right, well, I'm going to go to a break. When I come back out of the break, I promise I've been teasing it. The announcement's coming. I will tell you what that is right when we come back.
Look at your Alaska total traffic cameras on this Tuesday morning. Current hours, the better opportunity for any rain will remain for coastal regions. For Alaska's weather source, I'm meteorologist Aaron Morrison. You're listening to live, local, and always insane. on NewsRadio. now by calling 9-0 Welcome back. Current time is 727. 727. I almost messed it up there, Daryl. Well, that's okay. You're dealing with a hard situation.
Yeah, yeah, we had a little technical difficulty while we were on break here. So we are limping through, but we will make it. It will be fine. So the big news coming out, last night it happened. We had two Republicans that have filed to run for governor of the state of Alaska. It's not going to be a surprise to many. We expected these two to file. Nancy Dahlstrom, the lieutenant governor for the state of Alaska, has filed to run for governor. So has former state senator Click Bishop.
According to Must Read Alaska, the two are the first to file since the official filing period opened on Monday morning. Dahlstrom obviously ran for Congress in 2024, but she pulled out to clear the field for Nick Beggett. After the primary, she's the first of three of Mike Dunleavy's cabinet to file. That's what's being expected. Many people expect that Adam Crum will file, as he is right now, that revenue commissioner.
And others are expecting Trent Taylor, who's the attorney general, to file as well. So we will see. But right now, as we see this field start to shape up, we expect it to be a crowded field for governor in 2026. I think many are expecting Senator, well, I should say Mayor, he's Mayor now, Mayor Machicky, from the Kenai Peninsula borough, they expect him to file as well.
We will see. There's other rumors out there that Senator Hughes is considering a run. There's other discussion. I think Bernadette Wilson, there's a lot of people that are pressuring her to run. So the field has not yet solidified. Remember, legislators cannot campaign while they're in session. So we are expecting after this legislative session closes out.
We expect that there will be a flurry of activity over this summer with people filing with probably some of the late filers will come in the fall. So do I think we're going to see a solidified field anytime soon? No. Who is going to go, who are they going to put up on the left? Many are suspecting and maybe Mary Peltola. There has been Senator Begich has often, Tom Begich has often expressed it sounds like an interest in running for governor. Will he pop up? Who knows?
You know, who might it be? Lisa Murkowski, some are speculated. Daryl still thinks she's going to run for president in 2028. Yep. But may she potentially put her in a run? Potentially, we'll see. But it'll be a little bit before we actually know what the race is going to look like. All right, let's go to the phones. And Ken is with us. Good morning, Ken.
Hey, are you trying to make me slit my wrist or what? I anticipate about a 15% turnout at this rate. Good grief. Don't do that. Don't do anything. If you feel like you need help, there's always places you can go. I would say start with District 26 meeting on Thursday. Yeah, you know, when you read the thing from Yacht, here's what we found over and over and over again, and with all the candidates you just read off, they know the right thing to do, and that's their...
It's costume conservatism, and they never act like that. And their real constituents are special interests. And you'll hear them use filthy words like stakeholders. And there are no stakeholders, they're citizens. And there's a representative republic. But they do go down there and capitulate to each other. They're caucus. It's faction above citizens. And that's what we have to deal with. And I just want to make quite a simple observation. That's all I have seen over and over again with a few.
Well, I will tell you, you know, look, you know, this is the hard part for me because I'm probably... Do I agree with anything? I think Rob Yon... ran on a platform that he wasn't going to raise new taxes. He was going to expand economic development through resource development. I think that's a platform. Well, I will tell you, you know, look, you know, this is the hard part for me because I'm probably...
Do I agree with anything? I think Rob Yunt ran on a platform that he wasn't going to raise new taxes. He was going to expand economic development through resource development. I think that's the platform he ran on, and that's a platform that I support. I do think just from having conversations with him, I still stand by my earlier comments.
I think what we're seeing is somebody who thinks he's like Trump. He's going down there in Juneau. He's going to cut all these deals, and he's going to be the hero. I think, you know, and this is the thing. Look, I genuinely like Rob Young. But I think Rob Young is a very confident young man. I think he is somebody who frankly thinks he's one of the smartest people in the room and he's going to cut these deals.
I think that's what we're seeing. We're seeing a very... ...to do with it and added, that's not me that did it. I have no idea where it came from. Maybe it was AI, but I know nothing. Welcome back. We worked out the gremlins. Daryl's a magician. It happened. Yeah, that was technologically rough, but we know it's true. So, you know, as we're talking about who's potentially going to run for governor in 2026, we have two candidates now that have filed.
Lieutenant Governor Nancy Dahlstrom and Click Bishop. And, you know, here's the interesting thing as I see this race, as I see it starting to kind of develop. You know, you're going to have Machiki, who is going to likely run. That's what all indicators are that he's probably going to run for governor.
And I would argue at this point, he's probably going to be one of the strongest contenders. The challenge you have is you have a lot of people that are going to be vying for the middle, right? And so when I look at Dahlstrom and Bishop and I look at You know, whether it is Machiki, whomever else might get in.
You start to say, where's their constituency? Where's the math? Now, Machiki's going to be strong simply by geographic region. Look, he's been mayor of Silvatna. He's mayor of the Canine Peninsula Borough. He represented the Senate down on the Kenai. He has a voting bloc that has voted for him over and over and over and over again. And I would say there's a lot of people out there that say he's not, I would say, as moderate as a...
as a Stevens, or maybe he is, but as astute. He's not like a lefty, but he's definitely a moderate. I'd put him in the, like, Kevin Meyer kind of situation, you know, right there. Very strong when it comes to development, oil and gas, that type of thing. But he was Senate President down there, and he knows how the games in Juneau are played. I think there's going to be, he's going to be probably, as I look at it, he's going to be a very difficult candidate.
for any of these other candidates to overcome simply because of the constituency he comes to the table with. And now, will the base respond with an excitement with Machiki? I don't know that they will. And this is a challenge these candidates have to overcome if they're going to win. You can't win by moderating to the middle and constantly. Look, the Democrats are never going to vote for you. So you have to be able to excite the base and pull enough of the middle along.
to say, yeah, this is the guy or gal that I'm going to get behind. It's going to be an interesting race. Because, you know, we don't know all the players yet. But what we do know is Dahlstrom and Bishop have been sending indications for a while that they're likely going to run. They both filed yesterday.
So, Click Bishop from Fairbanks. Nancy Dahlstrom lives in Eagle River. She's the current Lieutenant Governor. Click Bishop, former state senator. We'll see. Both in the past have received support from labor unions. Click Bishop's big labor union guy. So we will see how this plays because, again, will that resonate with me? I mean, that's the challenge. And we don't know now. Because ranked choice voting is there, we don't know who their running mates will be.
Right? We don't know. They have to make it through the primary, basically. And then, you know, we'll start to figure out who their running mate is going to be. So what they need to think about is how do you develop a ticket? that not only satisfies the base, but also will pull along the, what I call the Chamber of Commerce Republicans. Those that are in the middle. Those that are not necessarily...
You know, abortion is not their issue. Maybe some of the more hardcore fiscal issues. Usually taxes are their issue when it comes to the Chamber of Commerce. They're usually adverse to taxes. Yeah, so we'll see how, but, you know, the conversations we're hearing in the background is there's discussion about where is Natasha Von Imhoff going to pop up? Is she going to pop up?
There was a whole lot of discussions about her potentially in Click Bishop. And again, I think a ticket that battles for the middle is not going to be a winning ticket. I think what you're going to... And look, and I've never seen the bottom of a ticket carry a tickle. You have to excite the base. Let's think about Trump. J.D. Vance did not carry the Trump ticket. No, he did not hear the song. Good thing there, yeah.
Exactly. Kevin Meyer did not carry the Dunleavy ticket in the first go-round. And I would argue neither did Nancy Dahlstrom in the second go-round. I would say Dunleavy is the one who carried the Dunleavy ticket. You know, the base was excited about Mike Dunleavy being the governor. And so the challenge is going to be, how do they split the math to satisfy both constituencies to get them over the hurdle?
You know, it's interesting. Typically speaking, in a primary, the person who's just to the right usually will win the primary here in Alaska. And, you know, so how are these people going to shape up? There's going to be a lot of conversations about tax policy. There's going to be a lot of conversations about education. and, you know, what it means to partner with the Trump administration. I mean, those are going to be the main, I think, three points.
Because when you partner with the Trump administration, it brings in oil and gas taxes, it brings in resource development, mining, all of those things come to play. So this is going to be very exciting, but again, this is just early, and these two candidates that are filing can file. But legislators who are considering filing can't file yet because they're not allowed to campaign during the legislative session. Which I think is also a big chunk of why we don't have...
or why we have this push by our legislators to get out of there. Let's just solve all of this. No special sessions. Let's just punch through all of this stuff. That's why it's because they want to get out and start campaigning. And if you saw in my face just a minute ago the melancholy look I had, I almost had a tear in my eye. It's because As you were saying Mr. Machicky's name,
Yeah. The voice of Dan Fagan came up in the back of my head and said, you mean Mr. Machicky-icky? Machicky-icky. Oh. Machicky-icky. You know, I think of Lynn Gattis, because she used to say, cheat, cheat, cheat, cheat, cheat, pants. And I laughed because, you know, look. I don't care what anybody says. Like, at this point, like, look, I would say Mitchick is definitely more moderate than I am. I would say that.
But you watch how he's operated as mayor, and he has done a fantastic job in management. He has. He actually has. His management skills are there. There's no doubt about it. And I've seen some legislators that honestly, they campaign well, they have a good rhetoric, but they get into management roles and they suck completely. 100% suck.
I mean, exceptionally bad at management. It doesn't mean their policy ideas aren't good, but they're just couldn't manage. I mean, I've witnessed it firsthand not that long ago. And so, you know, it'll be interesting to see how this race shapes up. You know, and the real question is going to be,
Who can catch fire with the base? Because typically speaking, the person who runs just to the right is usually the one that comes out victorious in a Republican primary. We don't have that now. Now we have ranked choice voting, right? And there were rumors, I don't know if it's true or not, but there were rumors out there that Cliff Bishop has indicated no matter where he comes up in the race, he's not getting out. That means it would pull votes. It would pull votes.
from any other Republican who stays in the race. So there's, look, this is where leadership comes back into it. Whether it is, you know, people in elected office, people that are chairs of Republican districts. the Central Committee for the Republican Party, the party leadership, y'all better be on your game. Y'all. all, myself included, because I am a Republican Party district chair.
You've got to be willing to elicit the pressure in order to funnel this down to one Republican at the end of the primary. Whoever that is, we have to be able to get behind one Republican at the end of the primary. That's the secret. That is the secret. That's the secret. And who we put on matters. There are some people that potentially would jump in this race that are totally unelectable. We've got to make sure those people don't even get in the race.
Because at the end of the day, the goal here is to have some sanity in the governor's office. That way when this nonsense like what we've seen in Juneau this session happens, the governor can put them in check, right? We'll see. We'll see how it shapes up. But as of now, the governor's race has begun. 2026 is the race. And so far, we have two Republican contenders that have filed for Governor, Lieutenant Governor Nancy Dahlstrom and former State Senator Click Bishop. and the race
is on. We're going to take a quick break. We'll be right back. Looking at your Alaska total traffic cameras on this Tuesday morning. Still steady traffic around the Anchorage Bowl. No major stop is Starting to see those big yellow school buses out, so expect some slowdowns around our local 24-hour victim helpline at 877-MAD-HELP.
or visit mad.org. Dryer conditions to be expected today with partly cloudy skies. We'll see those temperatures warming into the low to mid-50s. While we can't rule out a few spot showers, the better opportunity for any rain will remain for coastal reef. For Alaska's weather source I'm meteorologist. local and Welcome back. I'm going to go straight to the phones. And Jerry is with us. Good morning, sir. Good morning, Jerry.
I think I lost Jerry. Oh, no. Did we lose him? Jerry, are you there? Mr. Oklahoma. Jerry was calling in from Oklahoma. I think we lost Jerry. Well, we appreciate you listening, Jerry. He's listening online, so we appreciate him listening from Oklahoma. You know, Daryl, I said this the other day, the greatest political troll... of all times is Donald J. Trump. Did you see where he's talking about reopening Alcatraz now? Hilarious. I don't know that it's feasible, but it's still funny.
Yeah, let's try Jerry again. Good morning, Jerry. Good morning. Hey, I gotcha! Yeah, well, I'm calling from Oklahoma. I used to live there in Alaska, but I'm back in Oklahoma now. Just wanted to say hi. Well, good morning. How's the weather in Oklahoma? Hot? It's been raining. It's been raining all morning. We had about two inches.
Oh, boy. Oh, boy. We can use some of that, Jerry. We can use some of that. It's been pretty dry up here, to be honest. In my weather today, right now, I'm looking at my weather station, 41.9 degrees in Palmer. We're actually warmer. A little bit warmer. We're about 55. Oh, sounds beautiful. A little rain never hurt anybody. Well, Jerry, we love that you're listening. Let's go ahead.
I'm just going to say rain's good in Oklahoma. Amen. Amen to that. Well, we love hearing from you. Thank you for listening. And I will tell you, hopefully we keep you entertained. You're down. All right, Terry, thank you so much for your call. I love hearing from you all the way from the great state of Oklahoma. That's fantastic.
I gotta tell you, Daryl, it just warms my heart when people, you know, especially people who lived, once you lived in Alaska, there's a part of you that's always in Alaska. Always in Alaska. So we love hearing from people. have moved away, but they still have a loss on their heart, so they still want to We appreciate it so much, Jerry. Thank you for following this morning. for you and I. We made it through this No, we made it. We made it. We made it. It's going to be a great one. Exactly.
In today's talk, Have a Mexican twice in a week, can it be bad? It can't be bad, it only means there's I mean, come on. It's got to be a great week. All right, everybody. Well, I hope you have an awesome. forget to stay tuned on deck is Clay Travis and Buck Sexton followed by Sean Hannity at 11 and of course the great Mike Piccaro is every weekday from 4 to 6 in the afternoon right here on this station. Daryl and I will be back with you tomorrow morning. Until then, stay safe.
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