Republican infighting among three mediocre candidates for governor helps JKT

If you haven’t done so already, take the time to read this column in the Anchorage Press, written by an anonymous Alaska resource industry executive who complains that Jonathan Kreiss-Tomkins, a candidate he doesn’t support, is “likely to be our next governor” because the three Republican candidates are weak.

He or she is wrong about the qualifications and skills of Kreiss-Tomkins, but he’s right about the unimpressive Bernadette Wilson, Dave Bronson and Tregarrick Taylor.

I posted this comment on the Anchorage Press website:

I disagree with printing this column without attaching a name to it. I think it sets a bad precedent that should be resisted. What is this person afraid of? Suzanne the scrivener? The party bosses? The three GOP candidates for governor are mediocre or worse. The Republican Party and those who support it under any circumstances are unable to mention this.

Nothing in this column is outrageous. A lot of it is important. Everything in it should be part of the public discussion. This moaning executive and others like him or her have contributed to the situation by keeping quiet.

I don't agree that Dunleavy did the resource industries a service by blocking any action toward a fiscal plan. He has made matters worse for the resource industries by providing no leadership, creating a risk that future tax increases will be directed entirely at industry.

JKT is not the radical that the GOP claims. The Hilcorp tax is long overdue to level the playing field. JKT has shown an ability to compromise and has legislative experience the three Republicans lack. The Anchorage Daily News has just posted a fine piece by Iris Samuels that explores some of the topics raised by the secret industry executive.

The column by the industry executive and the political reporting by Samuels in the ADN point to some of the dysfunction within the Republican Party.

In the televised debate Thursday, Bronson said that Wilson is not qualified to be governor.

“There’s three folks up here on this podium that have experience. There is one that brags that she does not. There’s three folks up here who have their personal house in order that pay their personal bills. There is one that does not,” Bronson said.

Wilson claims her lack of any government experience and her years in business are pluses. But she’s had real money troubles over the years that she doesn’t talk about.

“Bronson doubled down on the attacks in an interview with the Daily News the next day, saying that Wilson is “emotionally unfit to be in office” and criticizing the Alaska Republican Party for not vetting Wilson and other candidates before the primary.”

Suzanne Downing, the Svengali behind Wilson’s campaign, says Bronson “has gone off the rails.” She began accusing him in August of misogyny, claiming he looks down on Wilson and disrespects all women.

Downing claimed Bronson’s debate performance was a “disgrace” and she passed along a rumor that “he appears to be seeking a job with the Kreiss-Tomkins administration.”