Hundreds vote in Fish and Game election

Frontiersman

WASILLA — In a show of local political activism, concerned outdoor enthusiasts turned out by the hundreds at the Matanuska Valley Fish and Game Advisory Committee election Wednesday night, appointing eight members supported by local sportsmen and conservative groups.

The advisory committee is one of 82 around the state that makes recommendations and proposals to the Alaska Boards of Fisheries and Game. The 17-member committee holds elections for new volunteers every year, and voter turnout is usually 80 to 100 people, outgoing chairman Tony Russ said.

Wednesday, the line of voters wound down the halls of Wasilla High School as more than 600 people waited to receive a ballot. Once inside the school’s theater, voters signed their names and addresses to get the ballot with spots for eight write-in votes.

The theater was a forest of camouflage with hunters and fishermen waiting to hear who the candidates were and brief speeches about their stances.

Organizers wanted to give everyone a fair chance to hear the candidates, so the speeches were delayed until everyone checked in. Because of this, voters were given the opportunity to turn their ballots in before the candidates were heard. Many did just that, which had the added benefit of freeing up space in the theater that would have easily been overwhelmed with the 639 people who signed in.

While those who voted early did not hear from the candidates directly, the Conservative Patriots Group and Sportsmen for Fish and Wildlife teamed up to let voters know who they would like to see elected. Members of one group passed out a list of names to everyone who came in, and members of the other worked the crowd inside the theater in addition to sending out e-mail blasts before the election.

Seven of the eight names on the list circulated by the groups received more than 500 votes each, with the eighth getting more than 400 votes. The other three nominees not on the list each received less than 50 votes.

This activism is a direct response to the Anchorage Advisory Committee election last week. Opposing user groups circulated lists of candidates they supported. Those supported by the Anchorage Second Amendment Task Force swept the election, causing the other side to cry foul. The Alaska Wildlife Alliance filed a petition to have the election annulled.

The petition claims that the election process was too loose. Identification was not checked to verify voter eligibility. The ballots were not numbered meaning they could be duplicated. Electioneering was allowed inside a polling place, the group claimed.

There were no significant changes to the process for the vote on Wednesday.

The chairman of the Board of Game, Cliff Judkins, was on hand to help at the election. He said this is the same process the advisory committees have always used, and the elections are usually pretty mild events. With the informal nature of the advisory committees, the voting process can be a little more lax, he said.

“Their vote is strictly advisory. It’s not a rigid, formal thing,” Judkins said.

But that’s not to dismiss the importance of the advisory committees, he said. While informal, the recommendations of the advisory committees carry a lot of weight with the Boards of Fisheries and Game, Judkins said.

That is why the advisory committee is tasked with listening to a wide range of views on issues of fish and wildlife management, Russ said. Every meeting of the advisory committee starts with a period of public comment, and biologists and wildlife troopers are usually there to answer more specific questions, Russ said. Rather than making decisions on political considerations, he said, the advisory committee tries to look at the science and the conditions that are actually happening in the field.

Contact Todd L. Disher at todd.disher@frontiersman.com or 352-2252.

RESULTS

Results of Wednesday’s election of volunteers to the Matanuska Valley Fish and Game Advisory Committee:

3-year term winners

• Andy Couch 612

• Mel Grove 604

• Tony Jones 599

• Dan Montgomery 594

• Steve Bartelli 551

2-year term winner

• Bennett Durgeloh 504

Alternates

• Erick Beckman 503

• Kathy Thompson 435

Not elected

• Don Dygert 9

• Dan Blair 47

• Rick Kinmon 41