(Dillingham Rep. Bryce Edgmon Shakes Hands With North Pole Republican Rep. Mike Prax)
There are currently hundreds of lobbyists registered in Alaska. You can find the Lobbyists Directory online. This year, the list includes 551 entries from various companies.
Each lobbyist represents a special interest. Some lobbyists represent several and get paid by each one. Seafood companies and tourist companies both have lobbyists in Juneau.
Each lobbyist wants every legislator to vote for their special interest and to then loudly proclaim it “bipartisanship” when they do. Don’t let them get away with it.
This year, legislators voted to give $12 million in subsidies to the seafood marketing association and the tourist marketing association.
That is how Juneau uses the word “bipartisanship”. You put a proposal forward that takes money from the PFD and gives it to special interests. Then you publicly declare how “bipartisan” the Alaska Legislature is when both Democrat and Republican legislators vote for it. Then the campaign checks go out to legislators who voted the “right” way, and the cycle repeats itself again next year.
The tourist association only paid $60K to lobbyists this year. The legislature voted to send them $6 million. For $6 million in cash, that’s a pretty good return.
There’s only one thing missing from this otherwise beautiful arrangement: the public.
Lobbyists don’t advocate for what is in the public’s best interest. That’s not what they get paid for. That’s someone else’s job (you, for example). Unfortunately, if you are like most Alaskans, you aren’t in Juneau when politicians are voting on who to give money to this year.
In fact, if you are like most Alaskans, you will never visit Juneau. Legislators are perfectly ok with that.
When the governor directed legislators to meet in Wasilla a few years back, 39 legislators publicly refused and flew to Juneau instead. Legislators said they didn’t feel “safe” around members of the public. Then they punished legislators who followed the law and met with the governor in Wasilla. I was there.
Politicians coming together to protect themselves from having to conduct business in front of the public is exactly the kind of bipartisanship that Juneau is committed to.
Don’t get me wrong, partisanship in politics is terrible stuff. George Washington warned us against it. Yet, it turns out there is something even worse than partisan politics. That is when your legislators ditch partisanship and run straight into the arms of special interests in Juneau. Under partisanship, an argument can still be made that at least some members of the public are being notionally represented. When special interests run the show, the public loses even that notional amount of representation.
Bipartisanship. It sounds nice. The politicians aren’t fighting anymore. Yay.
Just know, in the case of Juneau, they didn’t actually resolve any political differences. They simply gave up on fighting for you and me, ran over to the special interests, and started spending around those differences instead of resolving them.
This is Juneau in a nutshell in 2026.
Legislators who vote with special interests get rewarded with campaign checks from Juneau at election time. Legislators who stick with the voters who brought them to the dance…don’t.
This year’s race for Wasilla’s seat in the legislature is a textbook example of this. You can find all political donations listed online, but I will list a few of them here for you.
From her online filing, some of those who have sent checks to Rep. Jubilee Underwood this election cycle include:
Laura Stidolph (lobbyist)
Kristopher Knauss (lobbyist)
Corina Mulder (spouse of lobbyist)
Doug Blumer (spouse of lobbyist)
Sarah Erkmann (former lobbyist)
Ralph Samuels (former lobbyist)
Lorali Simon (VP External Affairs)
Joe Balash (VP External Affairs)
Tara Sweeney (VP External Affairs)
Moira Smith (VP External Affairs)
Brooke Ivy (Govt Affairs)
Jason Custer (Govt Affairs)
Casey Sullivan (Govt Affairs)
Angela Cox (Govt and External Affairs)
DJ Fauske (Govt and External Affairs)
Marianna Hall (External Affairs)
Also, more than $12,000 from various PAC’s
Notably, the list above reflects the majority of the money that Rep. Underwood has raised since she started collecting donations last year. It also includes $1,500 from the seafood PAC and campaign donations from both of the lobbyists for the tourist association.
Note: It is illegal for lobbyists in Anchorage and Juneau to donate to a Mat-Su legislator’s campaign, or even to drop off a donation from someone else. Though, apparently, not everyone follows that particular law (AS 15.13.074(g)). In a pinch, “Tell them my wife gave it to you” is an easy way to eviscerate the spirit of the law while technically claiming to have followed the letter of the law.
(Judging by the latest online reports, it doesn’t appear these lobbyists will miss the few hundred dollars donated to Rep. Underwood)
By way of contrast, the number of lobbyists and PAC’s lining up to donate to my campaign is again zero (and it was the same when I ran for office as a legislator in 2024).
I had one request for those who would lobby me as a legislator. I insisted that they make their argument in terms of what was best for the public. During my time in Juneau, most of those on the list above never even tried.
They know where I stand. It’s not about what is best for me politically. I have always been willing to lose an election if need be. Doing the right thing is far more important than getting re-elected.
Those in Juneau see that as failure. According to Juneau, you are a failed politician if you don’t convince Juneau to give you money and to reward you by putting your name on bills that will pass the (Democrat-controlled) legislature. Those things have always been within reach of course, but they have never been worth selling out those back home in Wasilla.
Juneau never rewards legislators because of the strength of their handshake or the beauty of their smile. It rewards legislators based on their demonstrated willingness to vote with Juneau when it counts. And Juneau always reserves the right to determine when it counts.
Just follow the money.
—David Eastman will face off against Jubilee Underwood in November to represent Wasilla in the Alaska House of Representatives. He took an oath to support the Constitution as a West Point Cadet and is still living out that oath. Visit davideastman.org to join us in the fight to ensure that the constitutional rights of every Alaskan are protected.
