Downing now officially a full-time resident of Florida; did not file for 2021 PFD

CORRECTION: An earlier version of this story indicated that Downing and her husband purchased a house in Florida in 2019, which would have made her 2020 filing for Alaska's PFD problematic. The purchase and application for Florida's Homestead Exemption, in fact, took place in 2020, which would only have created a conflict with her PFD filing if she had filed for the 2021, which Downing said she has not. We apologize for the error.

Suzanne Downing’s image in Alaska is everything to her and she has carefully crafted that image. Her website and business, ‘Must Read Alaska’, was once the Alaska GOP newsletter used by the Alaska Republican Party to produce questionably sourced attack articles on political opponents.

In 2016, the Midnight Sun noted that the Alaska GOP “appeared to be distancing itself from the publication,” and that Suzanne Downing listed herself as Editor at Must Read Alaska and not as the Communication Director of the Alaska Republican Party during that time.

Downing writes of herself on the Must Read Alaska website that she “moved to Alaska in 1969,” a statement that is widely regarded as true; Downing has not however remained in Alaska consistently, just like many other Alaskans who travel out of state to escape the winter, or for various other reasons.

As Downing was taking Must Read Alaska in a “New Direction,” in 2016, Save Anchorage alumni and former Alaska journalist Maria Athens wrote that Downing was leaving Alaska:

“Alaska Republican Party Spokesperson Suzanne Downing is set to leave her position, following November’s elections, according to published reports. Downing intends to maintain her political blog ‘Must Read Alaska’. The GOP Spokeswoman’s husband has accepted a position in Florida. However, Downing will preserve her in-state residency, and will spend a portion of her time in the Last Frontier.”

On the same day Athens made note of Downing’s transition to Florida — July 21, 2016 — the Florida Times Union noted that Downing’s husband Patrick Yack had accepted a job as the executive director of Florida Public Broadcasting service.

Homestead Exemption

In 2020, Downing and her husband purchased a home in Tallahassee, Florida. Both she and Yack applied for and received a “Homestead Tax Exemption” for that property according to the Leon County Property Appraiser.

According to the Leon County Property Appraiser, you qualify for the Homestead Exemption:

“If you own and occupy property in Leon County and the property must be your permanent residence as of January 1st you may qualify for homestead exemption which could reduce the assessed value of your property by up to $50,000, resulting in a tax savings of approximately $800 annually.”

The Homestead Exemption was granted, applied and is reflected under the listed Property Information which indicates the “Exempt Value,” as $50,000.

According to the online application for Homestead and Related Exemptions, “permanent Florida residency (is) required on January 1,” which, loosely translated, means that the individuals who filed for the Homestead Tax Exemption must spend a majority of their time in the State of Florida to qualify as residents and thus the Tax Exemption.

Somewhere In Alaska

Back home in Alaska, as word of her time in Florida has circulated across social media, some have questioned the validity of Downing’s Alaska residency, where she is registered to vote, and her eligibility to apply for and receive money from the Alaska Permanent Fund.

According to the Alaska Permanent Fund Database, Suzanne C. Downing applied for PFD’s many years back, but what some Alaskans want to know is whether Downing applied for recent year PFD’s. According to Alaska State records, Mrs. Downing did.

On January 1, 2005, SB 284 became law. This law ensures the confidentiality of applicants' addresses for those who have filed for the PFD. However, full names, including middle initials, are listed and appear in the state database.

For the 2020 PFD application, the Alaska Permanent Fund Database lists Suzanne C. Downing as a filer for that year's PFD. The database for 2021 filings, the deadline for which passed yesterday, are not yet available, but Downing has stated she did not file for the 2021 dividend and has produced visual evidence.

Likewise, Downing’s name appears in the PFD database for the years 2019, 2018, 2017 and 2016. (Full disclosure: I have not checked every year of the database which tracks applicants back to the year 1990.)

To qualify for a Permanent Fund Dividend, you must be able to answer yes to all of the following statements:

I was a resident of Alaska during all of calendar year 2020;On the date I apply for the 2021 Permanent Fund Dividend, I have the intent to remain an Alaska resident indefinitely;I have not claimed residency in any other state or country or obtained a benefit as a result of a claim of residency in another state or country at any time since December 31, 2019;

I was not:

Sentenced as a result of a felony conviction during 2020;Incarcerated at any time during 2020 as the result of a felony conviction; orIncarcerated at any time during 2020 as the result of a misdemeanor conviction in Alaska if convicted of a prior felony or two or more prior misdemeanors since January 1, 1997If absent from Alaska for more than 180 days, I was absent on an allowable absence; andI was physically present in Alaska for at least 72 consecutive hours at some time during 2019 or 2020.

Note: Alaska’s best Conservative Nate Crawford began looking into Mrs. Downing’s Florida activities out of an inquisitive nature and has, over the months, collected a trove of information he has shared widely. Over the weeks and months we have corresponded and, contrary to the belief of some, neither he nor I are the same person. Full credit for the background on this goes to Mr. Crawford, the details of which I have verified. — The Blue Alaskan