Dems question District 10 candidate's Oxford claim

By Matt Hickman

Frontiersman.com

WASILLA — The Alaska Democratic Party on Thursday issued a press release accusing District 10 Republican House Candidate David Eastman of lying on his Official Election Pamphlet.

They say his claim on his resumé of “University of Oxford, Graduate Fellowship, 2009, Law-Jurisprudence” is false. The party received an e-mail from the distinguished university in Oxford, England on Wednesday saying it has no record of Eastman ever attending.

“Based on the information provided, we can find no record to indicate that a Mr. David Eastman attended the University of Oxford as an undergraduate or postgraduate student or attended any non-degree courses offered by the Department of Continuing Education. ‘Graduate Fellowship’ is not a phrase we recognize,” wrote Max Todd, Assistant Registrar and Freedom of Information Act official for the University of Oxford, in an e-mail forwarded from the Alaska Democratic Party in response to its FOIA request.

Eastman, who defeated Republican incumbent Wes Keller in the Aug. 16 primaries, is locked in a general election battle with Democrat Patricia Faye-Brazel for House Seat 10, a district which includes northern portions of Wasilla and north beyond Talkeetna.

The conflict over the listing regards Eastman’s participation in a Summit Oxford Study Centre, a program run through Summit Ministries. The Summit Ministries website said the program ‘runs concurrently, and in tandem with Oxford tutorial studies provided through the Oxford Study Abroad Program.’

Eastman lists a degree in apologetics from Biola College, an Evangelical Christian university in the Los Angeles area.

On his LinkedIn page, Eastman writes under his University of Oxford entry: "Selected as one of two fellows to study at the Summit Oxford Study Centre during the fall 2009 term; Studied philosophy and jurisprudence at the University of Oxford."

Attempts to reach Eastman through phone and e-mail were unsuccessful, though at 1:30 p.m., Eastman responded with a text message saying he had not seen the press release and would like to comment, but was traveling on his way to a flight and had poor cell phone reception.

Later, GOP State Chairman Tuckerman Babcock said the candidate was traveling with his family and did respond in Eastman’s defense.

"I think the Democratic Party is trying to throw up flak wherever they can make accusations. They’re willing to make accusations that are unfounded,” Babcock said. “I invite anyone to go to Summit Oxford.com to see the program. He was a graduate fellow at New College, from August to December 2009.”

Babcock said that Alaska Democrats worded their Freedom of Information Act request in precisely such a way that the only response they would get back would fit their narrative. Babcock said that the University of Oxford wouldn’t have a record of Eastman’s attendance because the University is simply an ‘umbrella’ over the numerous colleges, including New College.

“If the Democrats wanted to do an honest investigation, they would have contacted New College,” Babcock said. “Their complaint is spurious.”

Todd responded to the FOIA request that the university acknowledges no such partnership with Summit Ministries, but acknowledged that some of the colleges may.

“We are not aware of any formal relationship between this organisation and the University. It appears to have a relationship with some of the colleges, possibly in connection with a summer school, but we have no detail as to the nature of the relationship. Colleges are independent of the University and separate legal entities,” Todd wrote.

On Eastman's 2012 Official Election Pamphlet he did not use the word 'Fellowship' when referring to his Oxford Experience, but rather, "University of Oxford, Graduate Certificate, 2009, Law/Jurisprudence".

“There may be paperwork at end of term — a certificate,” Babcock said. “I don’t see any relevance one way or another.”

On neither entry Official Election Pamphlet does Eastman mention New College, nor does he on his LinkedIn profile.

Babcock assured that Eastman was in no way trying to mislead, and anyone who participated in such a program would likely list it the same way.

Eastman and Faye-Brazel are scheduled to be part of a forum featuring all Senate and House candidates on Tuesday at Mat-Su College in Palmer on Tuesday, but forum organizer, Dr. Pete Praetorius, said that Eastman was one of two of the 16 candidates invited to have informed him they won’t be attending.

The other is House 9 Republican candidate George Rauscher, who is up against Constitution Party candidate Pamela Goode on Nov. 8.

Praetorius said he is hopeful both Eastman and Rauscher participate on Tuesday.