Come Tuesday, we may see former Alaska State House Minority Leader, Ethan Berkwitz, holding up another sign - Berkowitz for Alaska Governor.That will turn the Democratic Party side of the August 24th, 2010 primary into at least a 4-way race: Ethan Berkowitz, State Sen. Hollis French, Bob Poe and Rob Rosenfeld.
Of the four actual or very potential candidates on the Democratic Party side, the only one campaigning openly and full-time so far, has been Bob Poe. Poe has been making appearances at Democratic Party functions, at regional fairs and events, such as the Mount Marathon run in Seward. He's been on talk radio, and The Anchorage Press' Brendan Joel Kelley wrote a thorough profile of Poe back in late April.
Sen. French has been preoccupied this summer with his mother's illness, and stated back on July 1st, that his filing of intent-to-run papers was "just simply a preliminary step towards making a final decision but also keeping the dialogue going ... continuing the conversation I've been having with a lot of people about what sort of governor they want to have in the next election."
French has also stated that he will make a final determination "sooner, rather than later." We've invited him out to the Mat-Su Democrats' Egan Dinner, probably for September.
Rob Rosenfeld, who works as the International Policy and Development Advisor for the Yukon River Inter-Tribal Watershed Council, has been quite busy this spring and summer, as the complex 2009 Yukon River issues - the flooding, the poor salmon returns, Canadian concerns on the fishery meeting international treaty requirements, and so on, played out. He may have more time to actively campaign once the river freezes for the winter.
The only one of these four with extensive experience campaigning for statewide office is Ethan Berkowitz. And Ethan's longstanding ties with the Alaska Democrats present him an edge over the other three candidates, that will give him a distinct advantage in such a crowded race.
The combination of the late date for the primary - giving only 10 weeks for the post-primary campaign - and the ability shown in 2008 by Alaska's GOP to register new voters all the way into late October, gives whomever of these candidates wins the primary, a tough battle to defeat the most likely opponent, Alaska Gov. Sean Parnell.
image - Ethan Berkowitz by AK Muckraker
8 comments:
Poe - Good governance.
French - Anti-corruption.
Rosenfeld - Rural champion.
Berkowitz - Berkowitz.
Ethan brings nothing to the table other than a long losing streak and deep Outside pockets. That said, he well be able to buy himself a primary victory, only to be smoked once again in November.
If Ethan actually cared about the Democratic Party, he'd sit this one out and play kingmaker.
I tend to agree, I Bleed Blue.
Get the damned gas to all Alaskans, Already!
Face it Jews killed Jesus in the minds of the Jesus freaks. No one named Berkowitz is going to win any other city except Anchorage and Juneau.
I wish Crawford would run for Gov
Crawford is bigger, has an acceptable Southern draw and doesnt come across as a pussy to rednecks.
Remember, its about winning not who is smartest
Anonymous,
The Jewish thing isn't what's causing him to lose election after election.
Berkowitz' problem is the perception that he's a short, self-absorbed Outside pussy who doesn't care what he's elected to, just so long as he gets elected. IMHO, with the exception of the 'Outsider' charge, he's guilty on all the other counts.
You're right on the support he gets from the Democratic dittoheads who continue to vote for him in primaries at the expense of actually choosing someone electable.
Of the guys now running, I like Hollis the best but Poe could probably parlay the technocrat card into a victory in the General.
All of this is moot. Berkowitz will win the primary and then get sorely thumped in November. Perhaps then he'll stop wasting everyone's time and we can focus on getting a D elected governor in 2014.
Oh, and Crawford's southern drawl makes him sound like his IQ is 50 points lower than it is. I still don't think that will be enough to help him beat Don Young.
Interesting comments, up front I am glad Berkowitz is throwing his hat in. I have spoke to Poe and read his resume, Good governance is not what I walked away with, his wife is charming! Hollis has troopergate, it is always brought up and it really is a negative among average people. It is only the hard core d's that hail him as a hero on that issue. "Remember, its about winning not who is smartest" is something I really can't agree with, Sara Palin was electable but really it is about the best person for the job. Just voting based on that would set the D's back. The "short Jewish" memo is mute, no one who would not vote for someone based on that will not vote for anyone with a D behind his/her name anyway. I went and looked at the results from the '08 election and Berkowitz did very well considering the weirdness of that election cycle. I am looking forward to hearing what he has to say if he does announce tomorrow.
Hi Ethan!
checked back to see if there was any ongoing discussion, apparently not. I Bleed Blue, if you are responding to my earlier post, I am most definatly not Berkowitz, lol. Last time I checked I was a 50 something female living in the valley.
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