Rep. Dan Ortiz (I-Ketchikan) speaks at Ketchikan’s Cape Fox Lodge in 2019. (Maria Dudzak/KRBD)

Voters re-elected Ketchikan’s Rep. Dan Ortiz by a wide margin, returning the independent for another two years representing House District 36. KRBD looked at why the former school teacher might have performed so well in a Republican-leaning district that supported President Trump by 14 points.

Republicans split tickets

A sizable majority of voters cast their ballots for Republicans at the top of the ticket. President Donald Trump, Sen. Dan Sullivan and Congressman Don Young each racked up double-digit margins in the district that stretches from Metlakatla to Ketchikan to Wrangell and parts of Prince of Wales Island.

Theresa Darlene Heitman said she was one of those Republicans. She says she’s religious, conservative on social issues and generally fits the profile of the mainstream GOP.

“When I look at the issues, I’m all against abortion, and I’ve been Republican all my life, so I’m just kind of like going to probably do my Republican thing,” Heitman said.

She spoke to KRBD on Election Day at the polling place where she cast her ballot in person. But there was one race where she broke from her party: her local house race.

“I did vote one independent because he’s my buddy, and I know him very well. And he’s good, and the mudslinging did not change my mind at all,” she said.

“Dan Ortiz. Yeah, I really like him,” she said when prompted.

State Republicans didn’t hold their fire in this race. Leslie Becker, the conservative Republican challenger, launched attack ads — in mailers and on the radio — calling Ortiz a liberal ally of Democrats.

But those attacks didn’t seem to land with voters like Heitman. She says she’s a former Alaska Marine Highway System worker, and she sees Ortiz as an ally of the ferry.

“Because Southeast Alaska, you know, the economy is already starting — getting ready to die. And the ferry helps us a lot — all the transportation and the things that go on the ferries — people do not realize how important it is and how much it benefits Southeast Alaska,” she said.

Strength in Alaska Native communities

There was another factor in play. Becker polled poorly in communities with large Alaska Native populations. And that helped Ortiz score a 21-point victory.

He garnered about 80% of the vote in Metlakatla (84%), Hydaburg (87%) and Saxman (78%).

Metlakatla resident David R. Boxley says that’s due partly to Becker’s controversial blog posts that touted resource development as a cure-all for social ills like addiction and alcoholism in rural Alaska Native communities.

“I mean, I’d be naive to say that his opponent’s comments weren’t a factor,” Boxley said in a phone interview Monday.

Becker rejected any notion that her writings were racist.

But the Tsimshian artist says Alaska Natives didn’t just not like Becker; many looked favorably on Ortiz’s three-term track record.

“He listens to us. And he knows us. He’s known us for a long time,” he said.

‘They know Dan Ortiz.’

Neither candidate was born in Alaska. Becker moved here four years ago and recently completed a term on Ketchikan’s school board. Ortiz came to Ketchikan in 1969 as a child and has been a fixture in public life. He often addresses Ketchikan’s City Council. He knocks on doors. And he says his 21-point win — his largest margin ever in six years — speaks to the power of being close to his constituents.

“District 36 voters know who I am. I’ve been here a long time. They know Dan Ortiz. And, evidently, from what they’ve seen so far, that they’re relatively pleased with the service I provided,” Ortiz said Monday via phone.

And as a corollary, Ortiz says his choice to run as a nonpartisan independent makes it easier to reach voters on both sides of the political aisle.

In the House, Ortiz wielded influence as a vice chair of the powerful Finance Committee.

He says he’s hoping to return to that role. But it’s unclear whether Republicans will have enough members for a caucus or there will be a return to the bipartisan coalition that Ortiz has been a member of.

“I’m pretty confident that I’ll be part of a majority. But confident is different than actually seeing it happen. So we’ve got to wait and see what those two results are,” Ortiz said. Those results are expected Tuesday.

So what’s in store for House District 36’s Republican Party? It’s too early to say. Neither the local GOP chair nor Becker would comment from this story. But like most of Alaska, the Republicans continue to wield more influence than any other party: they remain the second largest voting bloc after undeclared and nonpartisan independents.

The post How Dan Ortiz fended off a conservative challenge in his right-leaning House district appeared first on KRBD.

Voting booths await early voters at Ketchikan’s Gateway Recreation Center on Oct. 20 (Eric Stone/KRBD)

The race for state House District 36 is too early to call as of late Tuesday night.

That’s the seat held by Ketchikan independent Dan Ortiz. He faces Republican challenger Leslie Becker.

Ortiz enjoyed a lead by roughly 12 percentage points just before midnight, but the race is far from over. That’s because at least three precincts still need to report in: Wrangell, Saxman and a rural precinct south of Ketchikan. And there are at least 2,800 absentee ballots that won’t be tallied until next week.

Ortiz told KRBD late Tuesday he predicts a long road ahead. And he praised the higher-than-normal turnout across the district.

“I thought that was a positive thing,” Ortiz said in a phone interview. “Also feel good, obviously, to be up rather than down, although it’s certainly way too early to call any kind of race at this point.”

Becker, reached Tuesday evening, declined to comment.

Dan Ortiz has held the seat since 2014. Leslie Becker recently completed a term as a member of Ketchikan’s school board. This is her first run for state office.

House District 36 includes Ketchikan, Wrangell, Metlakatla, Hydaburg and several smaller communities across the southern panhandle.

Absentee ballots won’t be counted until Nov. 10. That means it could be awhile before a clear winner is known.

The post Southern Southeast’s state House District 36 race too early to call Tuesday appeared first on KRBD.

A screenshot from an ad paid for by an independent group called Defend Alaska targeting the House District 36 race. (Facebook)

With election season almost at a close, Alaskans are nearly done with an onslaught of political ads. Candidates for House District 36 and outside groups have put thousands of dollars to work with political mailers, radio ads and digital spots.

If you turned on the radio in Ketchikan in the past few weeks, you probably heard something like this:

“Hello, this is Dan Ortiz and I’m running for reelection to the Alaska State House of Representatives. I believe in that founding principle spoken by Lincoln at Gettysburg…” says one ad.

“Hello, this is Leslie Becker and I’m running for the Alaska House of Representatives because I’m tired of my opponent, Dan Oritz talking out of both sides of his mouth,” says another.

They’re ads for candidates for state House District 36 — independent incumbent Dan Ortiz and Republican challenger Leslie Becker. Each of their campaigns have amassed upwards of $75,000, and they’re putting it to work on the airwaves, in mailboxes, newspapers and online.

Ortiz’s biggest contributors are labor groups, plus a range of district residents and business owners, along with some individuals outside southern Southeast.

Becker has raised about $80,000. The majority — some $50,000 — comes from her own pocket.

Other contributors include party groups, Southeast residents and business owners — but also some prominent Republicans, including Gov. Dunleavy’s former chief of staff Tuckerman Babcock and Anchorage Republican state Sen. Laddie Shaw.

Becker’s campaign has sent mailers painting Ketchikan incumbent as “Liberal Dan Ortiz,” suggesting he’s out of step with the Republican-leaning House district. Asked about the tone of the mailers during a forum on Wrangell’s KSTK, Becker says she’s had to take the initiative.

“Well, I believe that my, you know, my campaign is pretty aggressive. And I’m going out after some things that I’m concerned about,” Becker said.

Ortiz rejected the liberal characterization, calling the mailers “negative” and “false.” He claims his campaign has tried to take the high road.

“So, you know, I’ve never done that. I’ve never used that against any of my previous candidates. And I have not used that against Leslie Becker as well,” Ortiz said.

But that doesn’t mean attack ads against Becker haven’t aired in the district.

“Becker promotes mine projects, like Pebble, that could hurt our fisheries, and made racist comments about our Alaska Native brothers and sisters, refusing to apologize,” says an ad paid for by a group called “Defend Alaska.”

It calls itself a non-partisan group, and it’s spent nearly $20,000 in the House District 36 race. It’s bought mailers, radio and digital ads — all  criticizing Becker’s policy positions such as her avowed neutrality on the controversial Pebble Mine near Bristol Bay.

Ortiz claims to distance himself against the group’s ads. The group says it doesn’t consider its messaging to be hostile.

“I don’t think that we are running negative ads,” said Emily Fitzgerald. She’s a medical student in Idaho, originally from Ketchikan. She’s on Defend Alaska’s board.

“I just see it as a comparison of facts,” she told KRBD.

The Anchorage-based group is working in elections all over the state. It’s backed independents, with some Democrats and moderate Republicans receiving support as well.

Defend Alaska official purpose in its state paperwork says it supports candidates it believes serve Alaska’s “long term interests” and opposes “those that do not.”

“So I think, you know, the main focus there is making sure that we have enough funding to be able to support bipartisanship and really be able to defend Alaska and the leaders that put that aside for the well being of the state,” Fitzgerald said.

It’s raised nearly a half-million dollars this campaign cycle. Of that, some $150,000 comes from the liberal-leaning Future Now Fund.

Future Now’s spokesperson Simone Leiro said the D.C. group’s interest in Alaska is keeping the bipartisan coalition in the House.

“There’s an opportunity to advance working, you know, across party lines to achieve the goals that are most important to working families across the state,” Leiro said in a phone interview.

Other top contributors for Defend Alaska include the Sixteen Thirty Fund — that’s a progressive D.C. group — as well as unions.

Becker’s campaign hasn’t attracted as much money from Outside political campaign groups. Rather, about two thirds of the campaign is from her own pocket.

But if she wins, she could still break-even: Alaska’s legislators earn a salary of about $50,000 a year.

The post Candidates, outside groups put thousands of dollars to work in southern Southeast House race appeared first on KRBD.

(Rachel Waldholz / Alaska’s Energy Desk)

The future of Permanent Fund Dividend checks is one of the most pressing issues facing state lawmakers. Candidates vying for a state House seat in November in Southeast Alaska’s District 36 see the issue differently — but less differently than it might seem.

Republican House hopeful Leslie Becker has gone after independent Rep. Dan Ortiz’s position on Permanent Fund Dividends. The conservative Republican has campaigned on what she calls “protecting the PFD.”

“43.23.025 is the formula for the PFD. It’s on the books. It’s illegal not to follow it,” Becker said at an Oct. 13 KRBD forum.

That formula was codified as part of a 1982 law. Ortiz countered that it’s not so clear cut.

“I would say this, that we do have conflicting statutes on the books,” he said.

That’s because a 2018 law limits the Legislature’s draw on the fund to roughly 5% of its market value. And that makes the 1982 formula just about impossible to follow. Courts have upheld the lower dividend payments.

Many candidates and lawmakers around the state say they’d like a “full PFD.” Gov. Mike Dunleavy campaigned in 2018 on giving full dividend checks to every man, woman and child in Alaska — roughly $3,000. Other Republican candidates, particularly those in the more conservative wing of the party, have expressed similar views, as have some Democrats.

And voters could be forgiven for thinking a full, statutory PFD is what Becker’s advocating for, too. In July, she, along with many other candidates and lawmakers, signed a document that expresses support for “following the law regarding the traditional PFD distribution.”

“What these candidates are saying that sign this, they’re saying that there was nothing wrong with the traditional formula,” conservative activist Michael Chambers told KRBD.

Chambers leads a coalition of right-leaning groups called United for Liberty, and he wrote the document Becker signed. The second half of it expresses support for paying the difference between what the formula says and what lawmakers and the governor approved. The last dividend paid out under the formula was in 2015.

At the KRBD forum, Ortiz challenged Becker directly about that document.

“Do you still stand by that pledge?” Ortiz asked his opponent.

He said that following through on that support would cost the state upwards of $4 billion and reduce the future earnings of the Permanent Fund. And that, he said, would only make the state’s already-bleak budget picture even worse.

“Actually, Dan, I think you should read the wording on that. It doesn’t say pledge,” Becker replied.

Now, with the election weeks away, she said there’s some wiggle room. She said it’s less a document promising $3,000 PFDs and more a commitment to following a transparent formula set out in law.

“People are frustrated. So what we need to do is clean this up,” Becker said.

But in an email to KRBD, she said that’s not the same thing as supporting a full dividend under the 1982 formula.

At the forum, she said she’d support changing the formula to reflect what the state can actually afford.

“It’s time to get together, get to the — get to the table and get it resolved so we have the appropriate amount put in place, the formula is revised and whatever else needs to be adjusted,” she said.

And Chambers, the conservative activist, said that’s not contrary to the statement Becker signed.

“Like, I have no problem with the legislature going in and saying we’re going to revisit this statute, and we’re going to reconstitute a statute that derives how we’re going to pay out the Permanent Fund dividend,” he said.

On that point, Becker looks to have found common ground with her opponent.

“Absolutely, I would be in support of looking at that original statute and revising it,” Ortiz said.

But Ortiz said it won’t be easy to change the formula.

“The problem is, you need to get 21 votes in the House, and then you need to get 11 votes in the Senate for that particular reform to take place,” he said.

Lawmakers have floated the idea before, but it’s always died before reaching the governor’s desk.

Ortiz and Becker are vying to represent House District 36, which includes Ketchikan, Wrangell, Metlakatla, Hyder, Meyers Chuck and Hydaburg. Election Day is November 3.

The post House District 36 candidates see the issue of PFDs differently – but each supports a new formula appeared first on KRBD.

Voters fill out their ballots at City of Ketchikan Precinct No. 2 in 2017. (KRBD photo by Leila Kheiry)

Alaska’s state primary wrapped up Tuesday, and KRBD is tracking results for southern Southeast.

Incumbent Sitka Republican Sen. Bert Stedman leads his sole challenger Michael Sheldon by about 600 votes. Sheldon conceded Wednesday morning on Facebook that he’d lost the primary, but suggested he might mount a write-in campaign in November as Stedman will be unopposed.

In House District 35’s Republican primary — that’s central Southeast including northern Prince of Wales Island — Kenny Skafelstad leads Arthur Martin by 23 votes with all but one precinct reporting.

That Republican primary could be decided by absentee ballots, which will be counted starting next Tuesday, August 25. About 700 ballots from District 35 had been received by Election Day, though that total could rise significantly. Ballots can arrive up to 10 days after Election Day as long as they were postmarked by August 18.

The winner of that race will face Democratic Sitka incumbent Rep. Jonathan Kriess-Tomkins in the general election.

In House District 36 — that’s Ketchikan, Wrangell, Metlakatla, Hyder and Hydaburg — Leslie Becker is unopposed for the Republican nomination. But roughly 20% of Republican primary voters didn’t vote in the race. That’s the second-largest share of abstentions statewide among unopposed candidates. Only Alaskan Independence Party candidate Greg Madden of Soldotna got a smaller share of votes in uncontested races, as of Wednesday.

But it’s not unprecedented in recent history — in the 2018 Republican primary for District 36, roughly a third of voters chose not to vote for candidate Trevor Shaw, whose name was the only one on the primary ballot.

Becker will face independent incumbent Rep. Dan Ortiz in the general election.

Neither of Juneau’s representatives faced a competitive primary. And only Democratic Rep. Andi Story in District 34 has a challenger in November: former state economist Ed King, an independent. Juneau’s other lawmaker Rep. Sara Hanna of District 33 will be running unopposed.

This story has been updated

The post Primary election results for southern Southeast: Stedman leads, District 35 Republicans neck-and-neck appeared first on KRBD.

Leslie Becker is pictured listening to public comment at a Ketchikan School Board meeting Wednesday. Becker, a Republican candidate running for a seat in the state House of Representatives, is facing criticism for writings on a religious blog that has since been taken down. (Eric Stone/KRBD)

Republican state House of Representatives candidate Leslie Becker took to social media on Wednesday to explain a racially-charged post last year on a religious blog. It’s since been removed from the web. The self-described Christian conservative says she understands why some could be offended, but blamed her political opponents for trying to distract voters in her race to unseat Ketchikan independent Dan Ortiz.

Leslie Becker’s 2019 online writings were recently re-posted on Twitter by a former Ketchikan Republican state lawmaker, Kyle Johansen.

In a post from a year ago, Becker asks God to spur mining and timber development in Alaska Native communities. She writes: “New jobs will come to their communities and hearts will be lifted from alcoholism, drugs and despair.”

An excerpt from a blog post titled “Intercession-Intercession-Intercession!” (Click to enlarge – Screenshot: Eric Stone/KRBD via Google Cache and Archive.org)

Irene Dundas is a former tribal president of Ketchikan Indian Community. She says she found the writings personally offensive.

“She clearly does not understand the Native community and what we feel about our natural resources,” she said in a phone interview.  “The fish and the moose and the deer, the plants that we harvest for medicine — she doesn’t understand those things.”

Dundas isn’t the only person who takes exception to Becker’s religious writings.

“This is the kind of stuff that makes me cry,” said Ketchikan City Council Member Janalee Gage, who, like roughly 1 in 5 people in Ketchikan, has an Alaska Native background.

“I mean, I’m all for finding industry, but I’m not for going backwards. I’m certainly not for — just the attitude of we’re all a bunch of drunks, and we’re all a bunch of losers that don’t know what’s good for us,” she said. “I’m sorry — our Native community is very educated, very good people and they know their land.”

Two Borough Assembly members also decried the writings, including Austin Otos, who described the prayer as “disturbing” on Twitter, and Felix Wong.

“If we can’t be open to listening to people and truly understanding their concerns, and instead assign their opposition to some notion of ‘spiritual warfare’, then there can’t be any meaningful dialog between an elected representative and constituent. That’s not representation,” he wrote in part in a statement.

Becker declined to be interviewed for this story. After KRBD reached out for comment on her blog posts, which were circulating on social media, she took to Facebook with a three-paragraph statement. It says, in part, those writings were actually transcribed prayers as part of her organization Leslie Becker Ministries.

“Nothing in any prayer is ever meant to be offensive in any way to anyone,” she wrote.

The religious blog in several instances took overtly political stances. It decried the effort to recall Gov. Mike Dunleavy. It also called for oil drilling in ANWR and offered support for the controversial Pebble Mine at the headwaters of Bristol Bay.

The site solicits donations to Ark Animals Ministries, a nonprofit set up by Becker.

The statement posted Wednesday takes aim at her critics saying, “Unfortunately, some people are distracting from the issues and seeking every opportunity to find something negative in anything I say.”

Not so, says Irene Dundas.

“There’s no distracting anything with this letter. She’s distracting her own self,” she said. “That’s not no genuine apology.”

Reached for comment, incumbent independent Rep. Dan Ortiz didn’t want to be interviewed. He says the now-deleted writings speak for themselves.

Leslie Becker issued this statement on social media Wednesday. (Click to enlarge – Photo: Facebook)

The post GOP House hopeful Leslie Becker says she understands how writings ‘may have offended some’ after pulling down religious blog appeared first on KRBD.

Leslie Becker, second from left, speaks at a Ketchikan Chamber of Commerce forum while running for school board in 2019. (KRBD file photo by Eric Stone).

A member of Ketchikan’s school board has filed to challenge independent incumbent Rep. Dan Ortiz for his state House seat. Republican Leslie Becker pitches herself as a budget hawk with private-sector experience.

With oil prices at rock bottom and the summer tourism season up in the air, Leslie Becker says the state is facing a fiscal crisis.

“Our expenses and our budget are out of control,” she told KRBD Wednesday. “We spend almost twice as much as most other states do per capita for running our state budget, and we don’t have the revenue to support that.”

She said her 35 years of experience as a healthcare executive makes her a good candidate to address the state’s budget woes. She also spent the last year on Ketchikan’s school board, though she said she doesn’t plan to run again when her term expires in October.

Becker also pointed to what she sees as the state’s mismanagement of the Alaska Marine Highway System. The fleet’s sole operating mainliner broke down in January, leaving months-long service gaps across Southeast Alaska.

“We need the ferry system, but the ferry system as it is today is not sustainable,” she said.

She said she’d like to see the marine highway run like a business.

“If your outgo exceeds your income, your upkeep becomes your downfall,” she said. “In any business in any business model, you have to have your expenses be less than your revenue.”

House District 36 Rep. Dan Ortiz speaks during a debate in 2016. (KRBD file photo by Leila Kheiry)

Independent Dan Ortiz was elected in 2014 to represent House District 36, which includes Ketchikan, Wrangell, Saxman, Metlakatla and Hydaburg.

The retired schoolteacher said he, too, supports ways to increase ferry revenue, “but it’s clear in the long history of the Marine Highway System that — particularly in the cases where they’re serving outlying communities with very small populations — it’s never going to be a system that pays for itself,” Ortiz said.

And he says making money isn’t the ferry system’s purpose.

Ortiz said he’s glad voters will have a choice in November, but he encourages residents to take a look at what he’s accomplished as a three-term legislator.

“And I will stand on that record — no question that I have a pretty effective spokesperson for the interest of District 36,” he said.

For now, Becker is the sole Republican running for the seat. Other prospective candidates have until June 1 to file. If another Republican joins the race, they’ll face off in the August 18 primary.

The winner of that race will run against Ortiz in the November general election.

The post Ketchikan school board member Leslie Becker to challenge Dan Ortiz for House seat appeared first on KRBD.