Dave Bronson made a campaign stop in Homer last night, and although he said many positive things, one thing is clear. He is not yet ready for the job as governor. That evaluation is based on how he answered just one question, and this should be a lesson for other candidates who plan to campaign on the Kenai Peninsula.
Don’t get me wrong, I liked Mr. Bronson. He is a personable guy with a compelling life story. I appreciate the fact that he is a former military pilot and commercial aviator. He also has more executive experience than any of the other candidates, which would serve him well in the governor’s office. For a conservative voter, Mr. Bronson hits many high spots. He spoke out against antisemitism. He addressed the failing school system here in Alaska and expressed support for school vouchers. I could go on. In 99.9% of the subjects he touched upon, Mr. Bronson’s answers resonated with the conservative Republican audience he was speaking too. It was only when he took questions form the audience that he faltered.
The first question he received, and one that all gubernatorial candidates will face on the Kenai, is: “If he is elected, what will he do to resolve the unconstitutional changes made to the Grand Jury process by Supreme Court Order 1993, and would he support an independent investigation into allegations of judicial malfeasance it attempts to cover up?”
All of the gubernatorial campaigns need to take notice. Do not come down to the Kenai Peninsula unprepared to answer the Grand Jury question, and with no plan to resolve it.
Mr. Bronson acknowledged that SCO 1993 was unconstitutional, and that there were issues with the way the Kenai Grand Jury investigation into retired judge Margaret Murphy’s perjury charges were handled, but he gave a non-committal answer as to what actions he would take to resolve the issue. When pressed with a second question on the subject, Mr. Bronson replied that he has a crack campaign team made up of East Coast professionals who are studying the issue and that they will get back to him with a recommendation.
Give me a break.
Bronson’s chances of winning election on the Kenai died with this non-answer, answer.
The issue of Grand Jury independence is a litmus test for many conservative voters on the Kenai. We have seen how the Alaska Supreme Court has usurped the State Constitution in what looks like an effort to neuter the rights of citizens to appeal directly to a grand jury without a gatekeeper. Citizens on the Kenai take this issue so seriously they have held sit ins and street protests to draw attention to the issue. This situation is so volatile that then-Attorney General Treg Taylor held a public meeting in Kenai to try and get ahead of the issue before he declared his candidacy for governor.
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For voters on the Kenai, this is vitally important. When a candidate says his people are studying the matter and he will get back to us, that is unacceptable.
Until Mr. Bronson develops a concrete plan for how to rein in a rogue Alaska Supreme Court, he will be wasting his time campaigning on the Kenai. While he is at it, he might start to take direct control of his campaign. We don’t need another milquetoast governor that is going to wait for campaign consultants to find out what he (or she) believes in. Alaska is looking for a dynamic man (or woman) of action that is going to know their own minds and – when they take office – have a concrete plan on how to address the difficult challenges facing this state.
All of the gubernatorial campaigns need to take notice. Do not come down to the Kenai Peninsula unprepared to answer the Grand Jury question, and with no plan to resolve it. While they are at it, candidates should start thinking for themselves instead of relying on campaign advisors. They would come across as more genuine that way. As for Mr. Bronson, he seems like a nice guy. I wish him well, but today, he is not ready to be the governor of Alaska.
The views expressed here are those of Greg Sarber. Read more Sarber posts at his Seward’s Folly substack.
17 Comments
Im incredibly encouraged by the push back that was given to Bronson and his unprepared response! I look forward to seeing the same attitude towards all the rest of the dunleavy look alike! WELL DONE KPEN. YOUR LEADING EXACTLY IN THE RIGHT WAY! HEY MATSU, STEP UP AND DO THE SAME!
Thank you for sharing this information Greg. While the PFD is important to a lot of Alaskans, taking back the reigns of our court system is an even higher priority that many of us are forgetting about. The PFD topic is just candy being dangled in front of the voters.
Completely agree, Mr. Sarber. The Executive has been weak – nominal at best, the admin’s AG a political climber, the Legislative – wholly in the bag. The judicial should be our (the Citizens) last line of defense. It’s been nothing but corrupt for decades.
Gone are the days of Judge Rabinowitz!!! This wouldn’t be a reality if we had a judge like him on the bench.
As you stated Mr. Bronson hits every many high spots and comes with more executive experience than any other candidate. This alone is why I am open to supporting him. One question is not enough for me to push aside all what he brings to the table. Knowing his experience, stating he will look into it and develop a plan is the responsible approach. Anyone who spurts off a sound-byte I would be very weary of.
I agree.
It’s still 2025.
And smart, saucy sound bites aren’t what I’m looking for in a Governor, either. Bernadette says a lot of spicy things that her audience wants to hear, but I’m always left wondering, “how, in fact, does she think she can accomplish this? Does she even know?”
The fact of the matter is, governing a state requires commitment, foresight, self-sacrifice, and a level of objectivity that enables one to put together a team that will best serve our state. Bronson has those qualities. I’d much rather vote for a statesman than a popular person who’s good at making noise and attracting attention. Palin did that. I hope Alaska is over being a reality TV show.
Go Bronson!
I like Mayor Bronson, voted for him twice, but he could not handle our ANC libs at all, they owned him.
It will be the same battle in Juno, dealing w/ the libs & rinos who run the place.
I don’t think he can do it. He may have manager skills in military & private business, but ‘political’ skills are a totally different story.
I can definitely see not supporting Taylor because of this and other issues. But you want to take Bronson – who by your own admission is the strongest executive – off the table? Give me a break.
As has been pointed out countless times, the judiciary has long ago overthrown the state constitution: the definition of privacy, the power of the purse, the gov’s power to veto, the legislature’s power to override it, and the people’s/legislature’s power to amend the constitution. Then there is the 2020 violation of citizen initiatives limited to ONE topic, which gave us RCV, and another in 2024 which gave us a rise in the minimum wage. The Grand Jury issue has fortunately brought all this to the fore, but my personal warning to the candidates, to add to Mr. Sarber’s, would include all these things herein listed. The solution is not to consult East Coast gurus. OMG, that is poison to an Alaskan! The solution is to have the courage to exercise Art. 3, Sec. 16.
And spend the rest of your term and millions of dollars responding to the inevitable lawsuits? Seems like a Catch-22…
Name some Alaskan attorneys who know anything about these issues and who have the interest and are willing to put in the time to help anyone understand them or do anything about them.
I can think of .5.
Seeking help Outside makes sense to me, given the extremely limited legal resources we have in this state.
Why do we expect candidates for office to be “experts” in every topic of conversation? I have much more respect for a candidate who can say “I don’t know. But I’ll find out and get you an answer”. That appears to be what candidate Brunson was saying. It’s ok not to know everything and be able to admit it. Any other expectation is sycophantic.
You say he hits 99.9% and you are willing to give up on him on the 0.01. This is part of the reason conservatives can’t get it together politically. Division division. Then the democrats win. Great job Greg.
True story.
Let’s go Bronson 2026!
Bronson has time to get a believable effective answer to this before the election. WILL HE? WE WILL SEE!
Without a change in the way the government is working – meaning the legislative branch (due to the RINOs) castrating the executive – Bronson could have said literally anything and BEEN CORRECT!! Dunleavy has been emasculated throughout his term due to this. Unless this changes, the Governor office is nothing more than a figurehead. Candidly, the on,y Governor that probably could do something would be a leftist communist as they would have the full unflagging support of the dems and RINOs.