State GOP committee dumps incumbent Colver

WASILLA — The Alaska Republican Party has endorsed an opponent to a sitting Republican legislator for the Aug. 14 primary race.

In a press release issued Monday, party officials said the State Central committee had unanimously endorsed George Rauscher for the seat currently occupied by Rep. Jim Colver (R-Palmer) seat. The committee’s endorsement comes after Republcan committees in Districts 7, 10, 11, and 12 supported the District 9 committee ruling, according to the press release.

A quote attributed to District 9 committee chair Carol Carmon branded Colver with a common party slur.

“I’m thrilled the ARP is moving to the right, is backing conservatives and is willing to get rid of RINO’s (Republicans in name only),” Carmon said.

Colver said the endorsement was triggered by his opposition to bills he said favored special interest groups over the interests of taxpayers and constituents. Colver dates his break with the party establishment to a letter he and several legislators sent to the party leadership during a protracted special session in 2015. The letter asked the leadership not to divert money from the Permanent Fund earnings. The letter was intended to be confidential but made it into the public realm, Colver said.

“That letter was leaked to embarrass us,” he said.

He cited his opposition to HB 81, which would have prevented the sale of newly constructed houses for two years without the permission of the state government, HB 370, a bill that would have removed a five-year limit on property tax exemptions for “some types of economic development property.”

“You could drive a truck through that definition,” he said.

Colver offered an amendment to HB 370 that exempted service areas — a common method of collecting property tax for unincorporated areas — from the bill, which ultimately passed the House, but did not make it through the Senate.

Colver also opposed an unpassed measure that would have increased the local contribution to the Public Employees’ Retirement System and Teachers’ Retirement System (PERS and TRS, respectively), and SB 125, which would have appointed legislators as nonvoting members of the board of directors of the Alaska Gasline Development Corporation.

Colver said he opposed SB 125 in particular because it could violate the state constitution, which in turn would open any decision the AGDC board made up to a legal challenge.

“We had a number of bills that had constitutional issues with putting legislators on executive branch boards,” he said.

Colver has also been associated with the Musk Ox Caucus, an informal gathering of legislators from more rural communities.

The bills went straight to their respective committees without a prior review by the House Finance Subcommittee, evidence that special interests had greased their passage, Colver said.

In general, Colver said the endorsement of his challenger was about control.

“What’s going on is, you know, they just can’t control me,” he said. “I’m not going to vote to hurt the people I represent.”

Colver’s opponent said he was thankful for the nomination, but declined to comment on Colver or the use of the RINO term.

“I think that I’m still excited about winning, and I don’t know whether it will help or not, but I’m sure it wouldn’t hurt,” Rauscher said.

Barring a last-minute write-in challenge, the primary will likely determine the fate of the District 9 seat. The district has not drawn a certified Democratic opponent, according to the state Divison of Elections.

Contact reporter Brian O’Connor at 352-2270, brian.oconnor@frontiersman.com, or on Twitter @reporterbriano.