Friday in the Sun!!! (June 10)

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Rugby Fumble — Last Saturday Lisa Murkowski had a big fundraiser up at the Alaska Mountain Rugby Grounds. If you have not been, let me tell you it is B-e-a-utifull!!!! The BBQ was amazing and notable attendees included Jennifer Johnston, Ross Bieling, Jim Lottsfeldt, Mead Treadwell’s kids, Jeff Landfield –who came with Amber Brophy — Ryan McKee, Sam Moore, Elisha Waugh, Andy Holleman, Rick Rydell, Robin Phillips and Kevin Kastner. The fun of the evening happened when Lisa spoke and said, “Is there a more beautiful soccer field anywhere in the world?” After a round of friendly gasps and boos from the rugby folks, the Senator tried to make it better by correcting herself and saying “now I’m gonna have to do the walk of shame.” Hmmm, not better.

On The Market — One of Sen. Murkowski’s staffers is back on the market. After spending 8 years working for the Senator as the comms guy on the Senate’s Energy and Natural Resources Committee, Robert Dillon left in January to take over Strategy 360’s Washington D.C. office. That pairing didn’t work out so Dillon is back on the market. Word in the wind is he may be returning to Alaska politics here very soon. Dardin Doosy — Word is anti-fluoride activist and perennial candidate for pretty much everything Dustin Darden is none too happy with Hillside candidate for state house Ross Bieling. Apparently when running for Congress in Florida, Bieling promised to do what he could to support Floridians. Darden will have none of that. Good Times — The Alaska Republican Party is holding their State Central Committee meeting Saturday and it promises to be a lively one. Several sources have told me a group of the more conservative committee members plan to introduce an anti-Lisa Murkowski resolution. Some say the resolution is an attempt to endorse Mayor Dan Sullivan in the primary while other say it’s a resolution chastising the Senator for being too liberal and baring the party from using any of their resources to aid in her election. Aside from all of the craziness such an item will cause, this should be a pretty good opportunity to gauge how well the party’s newly elected leadership stick together and can handle such fracases. There Goes The Neighborhood — Also at the same meeting the Alaska Republican Party will take up a proposal to move their office to space next to Rep. Don Young’s campaign HQ on Fairbanks St. That means the Alaska Democratic Party and Alaska Republican Party HQ’s will be about 50 yards apart on the same street. Maybe on election day they can jointly throw a block party or have a Jets vs Sharks style dance fight. Midnight Sun On The Air!!!! — Master of Morning Radio Rick Rydell (AM 650 KENI) has asked us to come on every week and share Friday in the Sun with his audience. So listen for our inside scoop every Friday morning at 7:35. Fundraiser No No? — Last week we posted a flyer for a Republican House and Senate Leadership fundraiser happening tonight. Some in the media raised questions about the propriety of such a fundraiser with the legislature still in session. The party leadership told me they have had the fundraiser scheduled for months and the timing of it had more to do with holding it the night before the SCC meeting when many of their committee members would be in town. Having worked at the party I have to say that explanation is totally in line with how the party operates, so there doesn’t appear to be anything to see here. Bye Bye Becky — Little noticed in the media this week was that Executive Director of the Alaska Support Industry Alliance Rebecca Logan withdrew her bid to run for the House District 24 seat being vacated by Rep. Craig Johnson’s run for the State Senate. Logan’s departure leaves former Kenai Police Chief and aide to Sen. Fred Dyson and Sen. Peter Micciche Chuck Kopp as the only Republican left in the race. The district is super conservative so Kopp is pretty much the shoe in to win now. I worked with Kopp at the City of Kenai and can say there are few more professional, earnest, and dedicated that he. He’ll make a great legislator. Alaskans For Bernie — Alaskans might get to vote for Bernie after all. No, not that Bernie, Bernie Souphanavong. You probably know him better as the titular gentleman of Bernie’s Bungalow Lounge in Downtown Anchorage. And now he has thrown his hat in the ring for Congress. I know you are dying to know, is Bernie an R or a D? Neither. He is running as a non-affiliated candidate. Word is he still has to gather over 3,000 signatures to gain a spot on the ballot, but that should be no problem. I am more than willing to stop by his fine establishment and consider signing. Of course, some hospitality in the way of a complimentary Stella Artois would really expedite my decision-making process. Cacy’s World — South Anchorage Democratic Senate candidate Roselynn Cacy shook up her campaign this week. Jodie Dominguez, who ran unsuccessfully for state house in 2010 and 2012 has taken over as campaign manager. Her former campaign manager — and son — Rob Cacy will move over to Communications Director. One Last Lesil — Maybe my favorite elected official of all Lesil McGuire is retiring and with the Legislature set to possibly adjourn next week this may very well be her last mention here for awhile. The single item I’ve had sent to me the most this week was this posting from Sen. McGuire’s Facebook page. It shows her, former husband Tom Anderson and their son traveling in Germany Tuesday. Now it makes no difference to me mind you, but the many who flooded my inbox with mention of it made note of the fact that the State Senate hasn’t yet adjourned and the Permanent Fund restructure bill she has been working on for years is struggling in the State House and she is traveling around Europe. Some think that is noteworthy. Just Making Sure You Read The Whole Column — I am told this challenge to the residency eligibility of Ross Bieling to run for State House was filed last night by Randy Ruedrich.  Fly Into The Sun — If you have morsels you’d like shared in this column please email us at [email protected]. Some Upcoming Events You Can Find On Our Political Calendar —