Former Dunleavy aide, 'campaign volunteer,' collected $45,000 for fighting election initiative

Brett Huber, former campaign manager and aide to Gov. Mike Dunleavy, testified under oath last fall that he was serving as a volunteer in the effort to defeat the initiative to reform the election process in Alaska.

“Mr. Huber, you are about to give testimony before the Alaska Public Offices Commission,” he was told at the hearing. “Do you swear to tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth?”

Yes, said Huber, who quit his job as policy adviser to Dunleavy last summer to run the opposition to Ballot Measure No. 2, the election initiative approved by Alaska voters in November.

“Are you presently employed?” his attorney, Matt Singer, asked.

“I am currently not employed,” he said.

“What are you doing with your time these days?” the lawyer asked.

“I left my position in order to become a volunteer in this effort to pull a campaign together to oppose Ballot Measure 2,” he said.

The hearing Oct. 7 dealt with a complaint to the APOC about alleged violations of election law brought by supporters of the election initiative.

Last month the APOC staff proposed a fine of $37,000 against Huber’s group for false campaign ads that repeatedly claimed that former Gov. Sean Parnell, former Sen. Mark Begich and businessman John Sturgeon were the top three contributors, when they were not.

Parnell and Begich, who are now paid state lobbyists for the gas pipeline, deserve some of the blame for allowing their names to be used to mislead the public. They gave small change to the campaign, but were advertised as big spenders.

During that Oct. 7 hearing, Huber played up his volunteer service as a contrast to the disclosure that the pro-initiative forces had a paid campaign manager.

“Are you acting as the campaign director?” Singer asked Huber.

“Campaign manager, yes,” said Huber.

“And that’s a volunteer position?” Singer said.

“It is at this point, yes,” said Huber.

While Huber had testified under oath that he was a volunteer, he went on to hedge that statement with “at this point,” which turned out to be the key phrase.

On Nov. 14, 2020, the campaign organization that Huber was managing paid Huber’s business, Strategic Synergies, $45,000 for “campaign management.”

So much for volunteer work.

That Huber was not a volunteer was only disclosed in this report filed Feb. 15, with the APOC. The agency should follow up on Huber’s sworn testimony and ask why he testified the way he did on Oct. 7 and decide if he told the whole truth and nothing but the truth.

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