Alaska’s primary election: One of the most important in the history of our state, page 3

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His opponent, Roger Purcell, was the former Mayor of Houston. During his tenure, Houston politics were often in the press, rarely in a positive light. Purcell is most noted for alleged misuse of a police vehicle as mayor, including running lights and sirens while passing vehicles on a road trip to Fairbanks and attempting to issue speeding tickets while not being a police officer. Purcell is endorsed mostly by himself, by funding his campaign with over $22,000 of personal loans to his campaign. He has filed for bankruptcy twice. In 2006, he was admonished by Judge Eric Smith for being an unreliable witness in a murder trial. Purcell is fond of talking big talk about the same big projects lots of other politicians promise.

Then there’s the Lynn Gattis-Mark Ewing race. Gattis, a current School Board Member, is a successful businesswoman, a lifelong Alaskan, pilot, outdoors woman, and farmer. She is a breath of fresh air to the usual wanna-be’s that seek office in Juneau. Ewing, a current Mat Su Assemblyman, tends to be overly outspoken and does not seem to be campaigning too earnestly. Incidently, like Menard, Ewing is another candidate heavily backed by unions.

Shelly Hughes and Dan Hamm are facing off in the primary with Hughes having received the nod from the ARP to be appointed by the Governor to fill the rest of late Rep Carl Gatto’s House seat. Hamm is a newcomer and Hughes has a lot of experience in the halls of Juneau representing Alaska Primary Care Association.

Rep Bill Stoltze has a primary, but no one has seen his opponent and no serious challenge is expected.

Senator Charlie Huggins and Rep Mark Neuman have only Democrat challengers and those races will be decided in November. Huggins and Green cracked open the door to the coalition, with Huggins in positions of leadership, but the Dems threw him under the bus after the last election. Huggins lost the top cover of Sen. Green.

George Raucher, a long time Alaskan, is a strong pro-life conservative running for State House in District 6. Although Raucher has not held public office, he has been very active in his community in many areas including Lazy Mountain Bible Church Missions Board, Alpine Historical Park Board of Directors, Sutton Community Council, and Volunteer Fireman & EMT. He was also a delegate to the 2012 District and State ARP Conventions. Raucher is a contractor, carpenter, and draftsman by trade. His incumbent challenger, Eric Feige, is a pilot by trade, and is not a social conservative. But he has come up with a good approach to putting environs on the hook for damages to developers if they file frivolous lawsuits.

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