Questionable ads draw ire

DARRELL L. BREESE

Frontiersman reporter

WASILLA - Last-minute advertisements from a pair of local political organizations have led to cries of unfair campaigning from candidates for the Mat-Su Borough Assembly and have drawn attention from the Alaska Public Offices Commission for possibly violating state campaign laws.

The Mat-Su Property Owners Association published a flier in the Anchorage Daily News on Sept. 26. In the flier, the group endorsed candidates for the Borough Assembly and School Board, in addition to addressing its position on several ballot propositions.

The Valley Republicans also ran a sticker advertisement in the Sept. 29 Daily News endorsing candidates as well.

Brooke Miles, APOC executive director, indicated that while there have been no official charges completed with the office, APOC is investigating both cases. She said state law requires organizations supporting candidates to file reports disclosing their contributors and are much tighter than the regulations for politically active organizations.

Neither group had filed the required reports with APOC before running their ads, a fact that troubled assembly candidate Cindy Bettine, who is running for the District 5 seat against Jay Nolfi, one of the candidates supported by the group.

"It seems odd to me that groups led by a candidate for office in Houston and the chairman of the Republican Party in the Valley don't know the rules," Bettine said Monday. "They've been in politics a lot longer than me and should know the rules."

Link Fannon, candidate for the Houston City Council, is the president of the Mat-Su Property Owners Association. Steve Colligan is the chairman of the Republican Party of Alaska's District 14 in the Valley and serves as the party's campaign director for the Mat-Su area.

Bettine believes she is not alone, as several voters with whom she has spoken during her campaign expressed concern.

"Everyone is telling me that they are tired of the politicians and political organizations who believe that they don't have to follow the rules," Bettine said. "It is very unwise for these groups to think that they are above the laws governing campaigns."

Fannon said he had a member of his group call Nancy Freeman, financial disclosure administrator with APOC, about its advertisement to determine if there would be a problem with it. But Freeman did not recall the conversation and said that if they did call and identify themselves as a non-group entity, as required, she would have referred them to Miles.

"I don't deal with non-group entities," Freeman said. "So I would not have responded to their question had they identified themselves. If it was an unidentified caller with a general question, I might have commented. I get so many questions and calls. But I don't recall having a conversation with anyone from their organization about the ad in question."

Mary Kvalheim, incumbent candidate in Assembly District 4, who is being challenged by Greg Koskela, another candidate supported by the questionable campaign ads, said she didn't want to comment on the issue.

Nolfi pointed out that she had no involvement with the ads and has tried to play by the rules during the campaign.

"I have made sure to follow all the rules and regulations personally," Nolfi said. "Whether or not the ads violated APOC rules, I don't know. But I believe that everyone should play by the rules set forth by APOC. The people deserve a fair election."

APOC rules stipulate a penalty for violators of the law requiring registration of campaign contributions. According to Miles, each violation carries the possibility of a $50-per-day fine for not filing reports.

"Right now there is no violation, just an investigation," Miles said. "We're looking into it, and it will be heard before the commission in December."

Neither organization is registered with APOC, and between now and the December meeting will have the time to file the necessary forms.

Contact Darrell L. Breese

at 357-2267 or darrell.breese@ frontiersman.com.