State Rules On Ruedrich Complaint Against Bieling

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Alaska Division of Elections Director Josephine Bahnke has ruled that State House candidate Ross Bieling is eligible to run for office in Alaska this fall.

Former Alaska Republican Party Chairman Randy Ruedrich on June 13th filed a complaint with the State of Alaska alleging that Bieling, who is also a Republican, hadn’t lived in Alaska long enough to meet the state’s three-year residency requirement.

Ruedrich provided several documents to prove his accusation including correspondence between Bieling and the Federal Elections Commission related to his run for a Florida Congressional seat in 2010 and an Alaska in-state fishing license application Bieling filled out listing a different date he started living in Alaska.

In her ruling, Bahnke states that neither of those documents outweighed Bieling voter registration history and physical residence in the district:

“I find that a preponderance of the evidence supports Mr. Bieling’s eligibility as a candidate for State Representative in House District 28 because his voter record and declaration of candidacy indicate he has established a residence at a specific location within the House district for one year and has maintained residency in Alaska for three years.”

Bieling faces former Anchorage Assemblywoman Jennifer Johnston in the Republican primary for House District 28 on August 16.