With the large number of candidates running for governor this year, it can be difficult for conservatives to know who to support. One individual they should consider is the current Mayor of the Matanuska-Susitna Borough and candidate for governor, Edna DeVries. I had the opportunity to speak with Mayor DeVries this week, and she appears to be the real deal. Voters should consider this candidate when looking for an honest conservative to replace Governor Dunleavy.
Mayor DeVries’s position on all of the issues is exactly as you would expect from a true conservative. She is pro-life, opposed to Ranked Choice Voting, supports improving election integrity, believes in limited government, and, since she has previous experience as a state senator in Juneau, she knows what a snake pit she would be getting into if elected.
Unfortunately, with at least 17 candidates currently running for the position, you can find many holding similar positions on the issues. The problem for the voters will be identifying who is sincere.
Fortunately, with Mayor DeVreis, we can judge her by using the issue that has become a litmus test for candidates visiting the Kenai Peninsula. That is their position on the Alaska Supreme Court’s unconstitutional change to the Grand Jury process, made back in 2022; SCO-1993.
Candidates have learned that this is a hot-button issue with Kenai voters. After critical articles about unprepared candidates, all the candidates now seem to have a canned answer when questioned about the constitutionality of the Supreme Court’s actions. This makes it difficult to know if they are committed to resolving this issue or are simply trying to avoid bad press.
Mayor DeVries, on the other hand, has shown interest in resolving the Grand Jury challenge our state faces. When asked about the implementation of the Alaska Supreme Court’s controversial order, she said that there was no doubt that SCO-1993 was unconstitutional and that it should have been challenged by Attorney General Treg Taylor when it was first implemented.
DeVries expressed the opinion that Judge Matthews’ actions may have been an impeachable offense, and she committed to having the next AG explore what could be done to hold the judge accountable.
Mayor DeVries discussed her views in a recent article in the Alaska Watchman. One of the things she mentioned was a meeting she attended in Kenai last year, held by Attorney General Treg Taylor, three days before he resigned in order to run for governor. DeVries and Kenai Peninsula Borough Mayor Peter Micciche attended that meeting, where local legal expert David Haeg schooled AG Taylor on why SCO-1993 was unconstitutional. I attended that meeting and can attest to Mayor DeVries’s participation in support of Grand Jury rights. The fact that DeVries took the time to attend a meeting conducted halfway across the state, before it was even a campaign issue, demonstrates her commitment to the citizens of this state.
When asked what she would do to resolve the situation, Mayor DeVries indicated that this would be a consideration in her selection of an attorney general. She would expect her AG to support her view that SCO-1993 was unconstitutional and have a plan to resolve it in court. She acknowledged that members in Alaska’s Department of Law have failed to act, possibly fearing that confronting the judiciary could damage their future legal careers in Alaska, but DeVries said we need people in that department with courage and the willingness to do the right thing.
Another important judicial issue Mayor DeVries discussed was the controversial Grand Jury report hidden by Judge Matthews after the Margaret Murphy felony perjury trial. That case was dismissed by Judge Matthews under suspicious circumstances. Matthews then sealed the Grand Jury report that led to Murphy’s indictment, hiding its contents from the public. His action is not permitted by law, but he did it anyway, putting the entire judiciary under a cloud of suspicion that a cover-up may have occurred. This left some people with the impression that the judiciary was protecting its own and circumventing state law.
ALASKA WATCHMAN DIRECT TO YOUR INBOX
DeVries expressed the opinion that Judge Matthews’ actions may have been an impeachable offense, and she committed to having the next AG explore what could be done to hold the judge accountable, including forcing the release of the long-suppressed original Kenai Grand Jury report, and potentially supporting the impeachment of Judge Matthews. This would be a needed wake-up call for Alaska’s court system and should make supporters of Grand Jury rights on the Kenai Peninsula very happy. They will never get a better champion on this issue than Mayor DeVries.
There are many conservative candidates to choose from in this race, and it is difficult to know how sincere they are on the issues. However, you can observe the integrity of Edna DeVries based on how she addressed the Grand Jury issue. Unlike other candidates who were late to take a position, DeVries was trying to do something about it before she knew it would be raised in the campaign. Edna DeVries appears to be a person of character who is committed to doing the right thing. Conservatives can’t ask for much more than that.
Alaska voters may wish to put Edna DeVries on their short list of candidates to support in this election. She has what it takes to be our next governor.
The views expressed here are those of Greg Sarber. Read more Sarber posts at his Seward’s Folly substack.
