I was in Anchorage recently and had the opportunity to eat breakfast at Gwennie’s Restaurant on Spenard Road. They have pictures of old Anchorage on the wall, including one of Joe Spenard, which inspired me to read about him. Doing so made me believe that Alaska should elect a governor like him in next year’s election.
Joe Spenard is the namesake of Spenard Road and Lake Spenard. He was a very colorful character from Anchorage’s early days. For those unaware of his story, Spenard arrived in Anchorage in 1916, just four years after the town was founded during the construction of the Alaska Railroad. He was noteworthy for bringing the first automobile to town, but what cemented his place in Anchorage history was his homestead and how he built the road to it.
Our state faces many challenges, but here are three priorities our new governor could focus on.
Homesteading on federal land was still allowed in Alaska at the time, and Mr. Spenard claimed 160 acres of forested land on Jeter Lake, about 5 miles from downtown. He chose this property partly because it was heavily forested, and there was a need for lumber in the growing town of Anchorage. There was only one problem. There was no road to Jeter Lake. Additionally, Mr. Spenard lacked the required permit to build a road through that part of the Chugach National Forest.
Evidently, operating on the theory that it was better to beg forgiveness than ask permission, he set out with some friends and quickly built a road from the edge of town out to his lakeside property, where he cut the trees and opened a resort. The resort was so successful that the lake was renamed Lake Spenard, and the road, Spenard Road – names they still carry to this day.
Spenard demonstrated a “Can Do” spirit to accomplish things, an attitude that our next governor will need due to the challenges facing the state and the special interests lined up in opposition. I’m not advocating ignoring state or federal laws, but we need to elect a governor next year who will find a way to get things done and not let the naysayers or minor obstacles hold him (or her) back.
Our state faces many challenges, but here are three priorities our new governor could focus on.
Alaska’s next governor needs to be willing to take on the establishment by channeling the spirit of Joe Spenard. The governor should be willing to ignore the naysayers and the obstacles being put in their way in order to accomplish great things.
First, to address the state’s budget funding shortfall, the state needs to facilitate oil development in ANWR. One way to do this would be to drill a state-sponsored exploration well in the refuge. The USGS says ANWR has the potential to hold 7.7 billion barrels of oil, almost as large as the giant Prudhoe Bay field had when discovered. The state owns oil leases in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, but it has been constrained from developing them by the vacillating whims of alternating presidential administrations. Since President Trump supports oil development, our next governor should commit to drilling an exploration well in ANWR before leaving office. If an exploration well confirms the oil production predicted from this acreage, it would facilitate the development of these resources, benefiting the state.
Second, the next governor should restore the integrity of our state judiciary by challenging the unconstitutional Alaska Supreme Court order, SCO 1993. This order made a change to the Alaska Constitution without following the required process and is therefore invalid. Former Attorney General Treg Taylor did nothing to oppose this order. Maybe he was too busy planning his gubernatorial campaign to do his job defending the rights of Alaskans. The next governor should refuse to implement SCO 1993. This would precipitate a much-needed constitutional crisis, which might cause the Alaska Supreme Court to back down, or it might require going to the US Supreme Court for the issue to be resolved. Whatever the result, by refusing to go along with an unconstitutional state supreme court order, the new governor would show that he (or she!) is on the side of the people.
Third, the next governor should take on the industrial education establishment in Alaska. Alaskans lost the majority of their statutory permanent fund checks in the last legislative session when our legislature spent it propping up the failing public education system. Educating our children is in the vital interest of the state, and should be of the highest priority, but the current system is broken, and the liberals in the legislature are too partisan to figure out how to fix it effectively.
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There is no equitable explanation for why the Base Student Allotment for a kid in public school is $5,960, a homeschooler only receives $2,700, and a student in a program with a religious component receives $0.00. This is unequal treatment for school kids. In states like Florida and Arizona, there is universal school choice, and public funds follow students, even those in private religious schools. Critics will say there are constitutional issues that prevent doing that here in Alaska, but these challenges should be addressed. There is no way the education establishment can go to court and defend the unequal treatment of school kids. It is time for a brave governor to take on this fight. It is a fight worth fighting.
There is one reason that past governors have not addressed these issues, and it was covered recently in an excellent two-part series by political commentator Michael Tavoliero. He described the powerful, entrenched political establishment that neuters the effectiveness of governors in Alaska.
Alaska’s next governor needs to be willing to take on the establishment by channeling the spirit of Joe Spenard. The governor should be willing to ignore the naysayers and the obstacles being put in their way in order to accomplish great things. Our next governor will require the most precious of commodities in politicians, courage in the face of opposition, just like that of Joe Spenard.
The views expressed here are those of Greg Sarber. Read more Sarber posts at his Seward’s Folly substack.
15 Comments
Never heard of Joe Spenard.
Bernadette Wilson fits that description. 100%.
Im hoping it’s Shelley Hughes, definitely not a RINO, and has lots of legislative experience and connections by now.
Wally Hickel also built the Ice Road to the North Slope, WITHOUT asking permission. When he ran for governor in 1990, both Arliss Sturgulewski and Tony Knowles, debating Hickel as separate candidates, but both part of the uniparty of Dems and RINOs, called it “Alaska’s first environmental disaster.” What garbage! They tried to show the effects of the Ice Road, also called the “Hickel Highway”. It got the heavy equipment to Prudhoe Bay, using our winter weather as an asset, not a liability.
Joe Spenard was not exactly an upstanding citizen. Can do or not, he didn’t really care about anybody but himself. I would worry about using him as a role model.
Joe Spenard might not be the best role model but I get your point! We need a can-do Governor who isn’t afraid to fix what’s broken.
Mr. Sarber has some solid points. I like the ANWR suggestion, and our education system is rife with high costs and abysmal performance, which more money alone won’t fix. As he said, the recent changes made by the Supreme Court to SCO 1993 are in opposition to the clear text and intent of the Constitution.
Alaska is filled with colorful characters. The fact is that we are a big state, we need people to adhere to consistent values and have a track record for leading when we need them to (Alaska Reads Act), pushing back when government gets out of line (COVID), and having a plan as big as Alaska (Energy, roads, resources, lands in Alaskan’s hands). The person who has this record is Shelley Hughes, my most trusted legislator. Now is our chance with Trump in the Whitehouse and Republicans able to pass Federal legislation. It’s our last chance to make common-sense decisions. The wrong governor will lead to a very rough road in 5 years.
Hopefully all of the back the obvious front runner or we will be yet again s can do nothing but fail R party.
Shelley Hughes is the only candidate that has the ability both to cast vision for Alaska and also get the job done. As someone who has lived all over the State, she understands the unique needs of different parts of Alaska. I personally witnessed her leadership in the Legislature, where she was fundamental to getting rid of the misguided SB 91 and championed the Alaska Reads Act. Shelley is not a politician, she is a public servant who has shown through her record that she believes in getting the job done. She will work across the aisle to build commonsense consensus, but will not forsake her values. And, unique among those running for this office, if you are fortunate to hear her speak, Shelley offers very specific policy solutions with a level of detail and sophistication that is incredibly refreshing given most politicians offer platitudes and fluffy one-liners. https://alaskansforhughes.com/
My support goes wholeheartedly to former Senator Shelley Hughes for governor. I have watched many senate legislative committees and floor sessions and have noted that Senator Hughes always has the research based facts to support her position. She has the ability to work with other senators and persuade them of her policy positions. She favors a “sunset commission” to reduce spending and audit agencies to reduce any waste and irrelevant policies.
More importantly, Shelley Hughes want to put a “real” spending cap in the Alaska Constitution–something we definitely need to put guardrails on state spending. Shelley also wants to control K12 education spending by restricting the growth of school administrations and allowing districts to participate in the State’s health insurance plan. Currently, the school districts are spending an inordinately amount of funding on health insurance–money that could go to the classrooms.
Shelley has the innate ability to work with the current Trump Administration to ensure that Alaska’s resources are developed to ensure Alaskans have affordable energy. And once Alaska has reliable, cheap energy, future businesses can locate to Alaska providing great jobs for Alaskans.
Senator Hughes has great talents but more importantly she reflects integrity and a “can do” attitude to overcome obstacles to achieve her goals.
We need a Governor that has a backbone.
That’s Shelley Hughes.
So glad to see Glen Biegel and David Boyle supporting Shelley. I wil be posting on this. I need to run down some facts first.
Interesting article by Greg Sarber. So some thoughts as a supporter of the absolutely, hands-down, most can-do person running for governor, Shelley Hughes.
Knowing Shelley, I bet she would support this and more importantly move on it in a rapid manner. She describes her vision as an action plan and outlines pragmatic and achievable solutions – not hopes, dreams, and one-liners like other candidates. Shelley and I have talked extensively about the oil industry, getting oil drilling going in ANWR, getting the oil industry to start refining oil here. She is huge on resource development and opening doors to opportunities and new industries. What Greg is proposing is not something that we have talked about because I hadn’t considered it to bring up the topic. Shelley is definitely the best suited to get things done like this though of all the candidates. She knows the ropes, the issues, the players and has a track record of sticking to her guns, working hard, and getting things across the finish line.
Right now I have been calling on Governor Dunleavy to put pressure on Conoco to get the rigs rolling onto ANWR this winter. Drill at least one well and start the oil pipeline to that drill pad. There is a 22 mile, 12-inch condensate/liquids pipeline that runs from Point Thomson to the Badami field and then ties into the Prudhoe Bay gathering system. So it would be possible to build from Pt Thomson to 1002 at the same time or immediately upon finding oil on that exploratory rig. Barring this not happening this coming year, to have the State do so since Conoco is unwilling to do so is a good idea. Big question is, can our government do this economically? Will Conoco and others then follow suit? We have 3 years of a totally friendly President, with a potential 8 years afterward of the likes of a President Vance. Bottom line, even if the Socialist were to win the Presidency and Congress again, possession is 99% of the law, fat chance of removing the rigs and pipeline! But again, the smartest thing to do if we want to move things quickly while Trump is still in office, is to elect Shelley Hughes to the governor’s seat.
As to the second issue. Not sure about this specific SCO 1993. This isn’t the only time the Alaska Supreme Court has harmed Alaska by deciding to be the top dog and legislate from the bench. The ruling just on past legislation on the abortion issue is one that I would and I believe Shelley would want to overrule. Bottom line is the courts do not make legislation and what they write is “opinions” only. Unless there is a direct violation of the State Constitution, to override the legislature is not in their jurisdiction.
As to education, Shelley is huge on this issue. She supports parental choice and funding for all school options. The US Supreme Court has issued a series of rulings (mostly since 2017) that have progressively weakened or invalidated the use of state Blaine Amendments when they are applied to exclude religious schools from otherwise neutral, generally available public-benefit programs. Shelley will push for full, across the board funding to follow the students. How do I know? She offered an amendment on the floor this spring to do exactly that.
I strongly believe that Shelley Hughes has the strength and most importantly the smarts to take on the establishment, the legislature and the lobbiest/unions in an effective manner. Like she has said, this next term will be a rocky road because of our fiscal situation. She is not just up to the tough task, but she is willing to take this on. She’s not doing this for her personal glory but she’s doing this for Alaskans, now and into the future.
GO BACK AND REVISIT HOW HUGHES SPOKE ABOUT DAVID EASTMAN! HUGHES DID NOTHING DURING HER MULTIPLE YEARS OF PRETENDING TO BE SELF IMPORTANT! AS A REPRESENTATIVE OF MY HOUSE, SHE IS USELESS AND FAR TOO SELF IMPORTANT!