Who is behind ‘Citizens Against Walker?’

To the editor:

I was doing a little research into the newly formed Citizens Against Walker political group. Viewing information available to all through the Alaska Public Offices Commission; this is what I found:

1. The Chair is former Republican Party leader Randy Ruedrich. You may remember this name from headlines regarding ethics violations or the controversy of him being removed from Republican Party leadership.

2. The group was formed by Michael Adams from a law firm named Dinsmore. This law group has several locations across the U.S.; however, there are no locations in Alaska and no Alaska business licenses have been issued to Dinsmore. The addresses on file indicate Mr. Adams is from the Washington, D.C., office of Dinsmore.

3. Michael Adams is also listed as the group’s treasurer. No deputy treasurers are listed; therefore, in compliance with Alaska campaign laws, only Mr. Adams from Washington, D.C., can accept contributions for this group. I see no website for this group providing option to make contributions with credit cards or PayPal type options.

4. The bank account for this group is Chain Bridge Bank, N.A. in McLean, Virginia. This makes good sense because the bank should be easy for the treasurer to access. Washington, D.C., and Virginia are close to one another and many Virginians work in Washington, D.C., just as many Alaskans commute to Anchorage for work. See bit.ly/1rDzhng.

The stated purpose of Citizens Against Walker is to “oppose the election of Bill Walker as governor of Alaska.” I asked myself, why would a group be formed with less than three weeks to Election Day? These types of groups are formed when the opponents such as Walker and Mallott have approval ratings higher than Parnell and Sullivan.

I wondered why the Republican Governor’s Association (RGA) supports the Citizens Against Walker group. Other than being a registered Republican, what has Parnell done to earn its support? Why would Governors of other states want to influence Alaska voters? I visited the Republican Governor’s Association website at bit.ly/106xjVY, which states, “The RGA runs political campaigns that go far beyond simply running negative TV ads in the last few weeks before the election.” That statement provokes the question, iIs Governor Parnell a member of this organization, and if so, do Alaska’s public funds pay Parnell’s membership fees?”

Parnell is a member of Republican Governor’s Association. I certainly do not want Alaska’s public funds involved in influencing the elections of other states, do you? I could not determine the cost of membership from viewing the website; however, I’m sure it is expensive given the 29 employees listed on the website. See bit.ly/106x4dy.

Wow, 29 employees! This is interesting to me given all 31 governor members claim to be “fiscally responsible” or “conservative.” This website does provide an option for visitors to make contributions, perhaps many Alaskans and previous Republican governors visit this site to make contributions. More importantly, the report filed with the Alaska Public Offices Commission shows the Republican Governor’s Association made three contributions for a total of $1,210,000 to Citizens Against Walker in October 2014 — Oct. 23 for $325,000; Oct. 23 for $75,000; and Oct. 23 for $900,000 — to influence the Alaska Governor’s Race.

The Republican Governor’s Association membership fee is one item that can go on Bill Walker’s 16 percent budget cut list. See, we can find ways to reduce our spending; everything is on the table!

Voters must sift through these influences and select a candidate to run our great state. Parnell claims to have created jobs; from reading the Alaska Public Offices reports I agree, he created jobs in Maryland, Virginia, Florida and Washington, D.C. I will vote Walker and Mallott on Nov. 4 to support jobs in Alaska for Alaskans! It’s time Alaska!

Diana L. Straub

Wasilla