The Swami eats crow for dinner

We’re fresh off another election and as I review my predictions I missed five out of nine races and propositions. So, I will oven roast a little crow, or since we are in Alaska, a little raven and eat every piece. While the bird is resting I’ll return my crystal ball to WalMart. It’s obviously defective.

Starting with the gizzard, which would be the quickest to get down, I’ll chase it with the fact that I did get the race for Mat-Su Borough Mayor correct. Vern Halter won easily over Bruce Walden. Unseating Halter would have been a tall task for anyone.

Now to the wings with no sauce, no spicy rub and no flavor but I will eat every piece and swallow my pride along with it. Tam Boeve and Jesse Sumner not only proved me wrong in my prediction, they did it in convincing fashion.

In Boeve’s Mat-Su Borough Assembly District 7, I thought the conservatives would push through their main candidate, Dan Dees. But I didn’t take in consideration a couple factors. Boeve dominated Talkeetna and Willow. I should have known she would hold her home turf. In the other precincts the two conservative candidates split the vote giving, Boeve a clear and decisive victory. Even if you combine the votes for Dees and Walter Kloepfer, Boeve wins by a count of 861 to 801. Then add in the 17 write in votes and Boeve still wins. Impressive indeed.

Sumner is the Cinderella story of this election. Nobody I spoke with had him winning this one. Everyone spoke highly of Sumner, but the consensus was that Doty would win because she is so well respected and was the incumbent. Sumner’s campaigning was relentless and he had some heavy hitters from the political scene in his camp. We can all believe that partisan politics doesn’t play in municipal elections, but that would be naïve. Sumner was clearly the conservatives’ choice in a conservative district and handily won Mat-Su Borough Assembly District 6.

Now to the breast of the bird and the three propositions. I did get Prop B-2 correct but it didn’t take a political wonk to guess that one. I missed B-1, police advisory, and B-3 moving the election date.

Prop B-1, advising the borough to look into police powers, seems innocent enough, but my thinking was that the voters would want to keep the pressure on the state of Alaska to provide protection outside of Wasilla and Palmer city limits. Every precinct voted for the proposition except Sutton and Talkeetna. I should have known that the outrage over SB91 and the crime wave would carry this one. We’ll all be watching to see where we go from here.

Prop B-3 called for moving borough elections from October to November. This was a close one. Twenty-three of 41 precincts voted for the change. Only 433 votes separated the yeas from the nays. Only 13.85 percent of the registered voters participated in this election so we’ll see how much the needle is moved by the change, especially in odd year elections.

My favorite part of any bird is the thighs and drumsticks so I’ll savor those while I reflect on the school board elections. I nailed both of them, but I really had to dig deep to make my predictions. Both seats were close. Tom Bergey won by 106 votes and Sarah Welton won by 116. I’ll take it to save a little face.

How does pickled crow’s or raven’s feet taste? I have no idea but I’ll save those for last as I ponder missing on the Palmer City Council election. Julie Berberich easily leads the voting, while Richard Best and Pete LaFrance wait for the final count on Friday. Best trails LaFrance by only eight votes with 129 yet to be counted.

Need more proof that partisan politics plays a part in municipal elections? Did you see the ad with Berberich and LaFrance stating, “Will fight for our progressive values”? We are entrenched with partisan politics in this country at all levels. That’s not a criticism just a fact yet some will act offended by it.

Next up, the general elections. Hang on to your hats. It could be a wild one.