Empowering voters: Who are the principled Mat-Su conservatives running for political office?
In an effort to clearly identify the strongest conservative candidates for local office in the Mat-Su, the Alaska Watchman sent a survey to everyone running for seats in Palmer, Wasilla and the Mat-Su Borough. Our survey focused on some of the most important
Palmer Mayor wants hand recount of Oct. 5 elections to ensure vote integrity
Palmer Mayor Edna DeVries has submitted a memo asking the city clerk to conduct a hand recount of the upcoming Oct. 5 election in which two new city council members will be elected. “The backbone of our democracy rests on open, and fair elections,” the
Open letter to 4 Palmer City Council members: My opposition is not personal, but based on policy
Editor’s note: At the Aug. 24 Palmer City Council meeting, the writer of this letter, Mike Coons, raised concerns that Council Members Sebrena Combs, Julie Berberich, Brian Daniels and Jill Valerius may have violated the Alaska Open Meetings Act by
Screenshots show 4 Palmer City Council members discussing public issues in private online group
The Alaska Watchman has obtained dozens of screen-shot images showing four Palmer City Council members engaged in numerous closed discussions about local politics. The problem is that these exchanges took place in a private Facebook group, out of the public
Palmer to investigate City Council members for Open Meetings Act violations
The Palmer City Council has formally requested that City Manager John Moosey launch an investigation into four City Council members who are allegedly members of a private and exclusive online group that discusses and advocates for political topics that
Palmer residents have an opportunity to restore conservative majority on city council
Starting July 19, Palmer residents will have an opportunity to file for a spot on the city council. Liberal progressives currently enjoy a slim 4-3 advantage on the council after Linda Combs narrowly lost her seat to Brian Daniels last year. Two seats are up
Controversial scheme to incentivize COVID injections divides Palmer City Council
A sharply divided Palmer City Council voted June 8 to approve using a $30,000 state grant to incentivize people into getting COVID shots. After lengthy debate, the council voted 4-3 to give a passthrough grant from the Alaska Dept. of Health & Social
Palmer mask mandate defeated after overwhelming public outcry
After listening to 20 hours of public testimony from more than 700 Mat-Su residents over a three day period, the Palmer City Council voted down a citywide mask mandate, 4-3, on Dec. 4. Nearly 70% of comments – both in-person and written – opposed the idea
Palmer mask mandate likely doesn’t have the votes to pass
On Friday, Dec. 4, the Palmer City Council will read the final 250 some written testimonies on a highly controversial proposal to impose a citywide mask mandate. Once the letters are read into the record, which will likely take five to six more hours, the
Palmer mask mandate proposal still in limbo after seven-hour meeting
After spending seven hours reading aloud more than 250 letters dealing with a proposed citywide mask mandate, the Palmer City Council ended their Nov. 25 meeting just before midnight without voting on the measure. The meeting will be continued into its third







