Is Knowles considering running for governor again?

[Ken Burch]

IF so:

1)what do folks here think about that?

2)would he have a good shot at the nomination?

3)on balance, do Alaska DU'ers think Knowles was good or bad for the party when he was last governor?

(Also, since he's already served two full terms, would Knowles be constitutionally eligible to run again?)

[Ken Burch]

1. The constitutional point would be his greatest hurdle.

When Bill Egan ran for reelection in 1966, (after winning in 1958 and 1962)he claimed he had not technically served two FULL terms because he had spent the first six or seven weeks of his first term in a Seattle hospital fighting a case of hepatitis which nearly killed him.

This didn't work. Egan lost to Hickel by less than 100 votes. Because Egan lost, Hickel was able to appoint Ted Stevens to the Senate when Bob Bartlett died at the end of 1968(the Republican legislature having changed the Senate vacancy law when Stevens was House majority leader to remove the requirement that appointments to vacant U.S. Senate seats in Alaska be made from the same party that had held the seat when it fell vacant due to death or resignation.
Later, of course, they changed that back when it served their purposes to do so.)

[snowbear]

2. SoOOooOOoo...

I'm not sure what you're getting it Ken. Tony has served 2 terms.. just as Hickel had served two.

Hickel later came back and served a final (last) third term. If Tony ran, he'd legally be able to serve one more term, right? :-)

Thanks for any clarification!! :toast:

[cleofus1]

3. he can legally run again

i believe that you can't run over two terms consecutively...tony can run again if he's a glutton for punishment...if he's the candidate for the democrats i will vote for him...i may disagree with him at times re native issues...but i have chatted with him a few times over the years and all things being equal...he's a good man...in my opinion...

[Ken Burch]

4. Thanks for clarifying the legal/constitutional thing.

I hope Knowles doesn't run again. They Democrats need a gubenatorial candidate who will also work to elect a Democratic legislature, or at least to reduce the GOP majorities to a size where they can be forced to compromise with us.

Knowles didn't want the Dems to gain seats in the legislature the whole time he was governor, and his senatorial campaign drained away money that could have improved the legislative situation immensely.

It should have been easy to at least get a 10-10 tie in the State Senate, and in my view, the Knowles campaign bears a large responsibility for preventing that.

Time for somebody else to have a shot. A real Democrat.

[cleofus1]

5. well ken

i agree that tony is not my first choice...but so far all i know of are berkowitz and croft...

i started off liking berkowitz but now i'm leaning towards croft...but i don't know how everyone else feels about croft as he is a moderate and a huge supporter of the nra...

it goes without saying that i will vote democrat across the board...no matter who the candidate is...(i know you hate it when i say that...);-)

[Ken Burch]

6. Thanks for the croft info

didn't know about the NRA thing(although it's getting to the point up here where that may be compulsory if you're going to win
statewide-remember Fran in her Elmer Fudd outfit?). I used to work on the camera crew for Gavel to Gavel and in my observation there Croft and Berkowitz didn't seem to have a lot of differences on the issues.

Would you say Eric is to the right of his dad, Chancy?

Like you, I'd vote for either of them at this point.
I think it will be a tough race no matter who we nominate, as the GOP has a large group of people here who will always be captivated by its form of Confederate tantrum politics.

[Ken Burch]

19. Actually, Hickel was elected for one term in '66, quit part way through it

to become Nixon's Interior Secretary, got fired for saying that Nixon should listen to the young antiwar activists(the one thing Hickel ever said that I actually admired him for) ran against Hammond in the '74, lost, challenged Hammond TWICE in '78(in the GOP primary and then again as a write-in candidate) lost twice, ran again in the GOP primary in '86, lost(after Hammond endorsed Hickel's main opponent, State Senator Arliss Sturgelewski, and then was elected in '90 as the ALASKA INDEPENDENCE PARTY candidate(their actual nominee, John Lindauer, withdrew after the primary and let Hickel take his place so that right wing Republicans who thought Sturgelewski(who'd been nominated again) was too liberal could have another choice. That makes two terms. Hickel, who rejoined the GOP after winning the election, declined to seek another term.

And yes, this WILL be on the test.

[snowbear]

7. I ran into Governor Knowles at New Sagaya this weekend!

He was buying some fresh seafood... Dayum he looks good !!!

<-----Picture this with a Patagonia shirt and blue jeans on.. :P

I wanted SOOooooOOo bad to ask him if he was running again, but I didn't have the nerve.. I did give him a hug and told him he was the best Governor in the world. He appreciated that a LOT :hug:

I kinda figured that if I asked him if he was running.. he was just going to give me one of those canned responses...

In any event.. it was great seeing him!!

[snowbear]

8. Oh... and as far as our next Governor....

I still can't make up my mind between Berkowitz and Croft.. :crazy:

Now that we know Palin is running.. I have a feeling she'll give the Dems a good run for their money.

I suspect anyway? Isn't she popular with Independents?

Who do you think the Republicans will pick.. Palin or Seekins? :shrug:

[AlaskaHippie]

9. I wish Palin..

..Had tossed her hat in as an Independent. Then I could've voted for her with a clear conscience. As it stands now I 'm just hoping Ulmer runs again.

[Blue_In_AK]

10. I think Sarah is quite conservative, though...

Even though, surprisingly for a Republican, she seems to have ethics.

[AlaskaHippie]

11. Labels are the

downfall of this country these days.

Sarah did a great job as Wasilla Mayor, and her ethics are admirable especially considering she has shown no fear in butting heads with the good ole' boys club up here.

I don't agree with ALL of her ideas on the issues (she is Pro-Life for example), but I do admire her chutzpah and honesty.

Sadly the choices here reflect the national trend, choosing the lessor of 2 evils.

It's early yet, and I'll reserve my choice until after the deadline to file.

[newyawker99]

15. Hi AlaskaHippie!!

Welcome to DU!! :toast:

[AlaskaHippie]

16. Thanks!

Nice to be here.:bounce:

[cleofus1]

12. sarah palin is as sweet as honey and....

is as conservative as anyone in the race. i would never vote for her becouse of that...but she is honest and ethical...a strange creature for a republican...

and larissa you seem to have this thing for tall older men...:evilgrin:

and i do agree tony is an attractive man...i still don't think he'll run...i'm leaning towards eric croft right now...who is to the right of his old man...but still liberal enough for me...

[Blue_In_AK]

13. I really like Ethan personally,

but my guess is Eric would have a better chance of winning just because he seems more "Alaskan," whatever the hell that is.

[Ken Burch]

14. Is Halcro still thinking of running as an independent?

If so, who does our distinguished panel think he'd take most of his votes from, the R's or the D's?

My basic take on Halcro is that his politics are basically Goldwaterite(that is, conservative but without supporting the Religious Right social agenda)and that his ambition is to be the McCain of Alaska.

Could he successfully present himself as a centrist, a la Hammond?

[cleofus1]

18. heh

the democrats hope halcro will take votes from the repug center and the conservatives hope he'll take votes from the democrats...only time will tell...

so far croft is the man for me...

[roguevalley]

17. Sarah Palin won't get republican support or money due to her

shafting them over their unethical behavior earlier. She already has acknowledged that.