One of the most important and yet difficult things to do in our faith journey is to trust God in all circumstances. Elections come and go but His purposes are never thwarted. It often takes loss to bring that in to clarity.

The numbers on the scoreboard Tuesday were obviously a disappointment for those of us living in the Anchorage area. At the same time, what happens here often has a rippling effect throughout the state so all Alaskans were impacted. The fact is Amy Demboski was always the underdog on this playing field, as measured by fund-raising and name familiarity.

But I am grateful that Amy entered this campaign, because she gave Anchorage voters a clear, conservative alternative to an opponent who basically seemed to be running for the 3rd term of Mark Begich.

Thankfully, Amy will remain on the Anchorage Assembly – and her role there will be even more crucial, as a conservative check against the liberal agenda of Ethan Berkowitz. I believe that Amy Demboski has a bright future ahead of her in local politics. Expect to see bumper stickers in the near future: “Don’t blame me! I voted for Demboski.”

Though the outcome was a disappointment, I’m indeed proud of the independent campaign that Alaska Family Action undertook to help a conservative candidate for mayor. I’m especially grateful to all of the donors and volunteers of AFA who made that effort possible.

Perhaps you’ve heard this saying from Teddy Roosevelt:

“Far better is it to dare mighty things, to win glorious triumphs, even though checkered by failure… than to rank with those poor spirits who neither enjoy much nor suffer much, because they live in a gray twilight that knows not victory nor defeat.”

That’s a good thought to embrace in the realm of political campaigns. Over the last eight years, AFA has been involved in numerous political campaigns, for issues and candidates alike. We’ve won more than we’ve lost – but make no mistake, we know the taste of both victory and defeat.

At the beginning of each campaign, we always start with the knowledge that the outcome is affected by a hundred different variables – and only a few of them are within our control. But the essential truth is: for those variables that we can control, we have a moral responsibility to engage. You give it 100 percent of your time and energy, you leave no stone unturned, you strive for excellence. And then the rest is in God’s hands.

I predict one of the accusations that will be made is that Amy Demboski lost the race because she and her supporters focused too much on “controversial” social issues. As usual, this is a one-sided analysis.

Andrew Halcro, when he ran the Anchorage Chamber, was constantly grandstanding about how pro-gay he was – yet nobody ever accused him of being “obsessed” with social issues. When Halcro lost the Mayoral race on April 7, did anyone in the liberal media say, “Oh, he lost the race because he was crazy-liberal on social issues?” Of course not. Such thoughts are not in keeping with the liberal narrative of reality. Yet there is no question that social conservatives avoided voting for Halcro precisely because of his liberal record, and that lack of support was decisive in causing him not to make the run-off election.

What about Ethan Berkowitz? He was endorsed by Planned Parenthood, the nation’s No. 1 abortion profiteer, and he was also endorsed by a local gay rights organization, precisely because he opposed the will of 57 percent of Anchorage voters who rejected Proposition 5. Berkowitz proclaimed, “I would like to be the first Anchorage mayor to officiate a gay wedding.” Wow – does that kind of rhetoric indicate that you’re too obsessed with social issues? Not in the view of the liberal media. You only get branded as being “obsessed” with social issues if you come down on the conservative side.

Let’s not forget Dan Coffey. Remember him? The guy who entered the race first, spent more money than everyone else, and finished dead last among the major candidates. The Republican establishment rallied around Coffey as the “electable” candidate who had the best chance of winning. Oh yes, and Coffey studiously ignored the social issues – isn’t that what “smart” candidates are supposed to do?

Coffey proclaimed at one debate, “My politics is fiscal conservatism. On social issues, what you do and how you do it is your own business. It’s not a concern of the government.” Ah yes – music to the Establishment’s ears. Yet Coffey struggled mightily to finish with barely more than 14 percent of the vote. Did you recall anyone in the political “chattering class” saying that maybe Coffey lost because he ignored social issues – thereby losing the votes of both social conservatives and social liberals? Not a chance. That would require discerning reality in a novel way, and many in the liberal media and the Republican Establishment have proven themselves incapable of doing that.

So the bottom line is: be wary of all the political “spin” that you will hear in the coming days, especially as it relates to social issues. The primary reasons that Ethan Berkowitz won this election is because he had a 2 to 1 fundraising advantage, an adoring local media, and higher name ID from running three previous statewide campaigns and serving 10 years in the Legislature. (See “Did Social Issues Sink Republican in Anchorage Mayoral Race?”, originally posted HERE)

Follow Joe Miller on Twitter HERE and Facebook HERE.

Politics is notorious for dirty tricks. But the one Ethan Berkowitz and his team pulled off last week, with the full cooperation of the mainstream media, takes the cake.

The Tuesday April 28th edition of the Bernadette Live show on KFQD was guest hosted by the former morning host Casey Reynolds. What Reynolds didn’t disclose at the time was that his long-time girlfriend was a paid staffer of the Berkowitz campaign.

Two days earlier, Anchorage Baptist Temple pastor Jerry Prevo had publicly called Ethan Berkowitz out for his public stance on gay marriage, and more particularly for comments he made on KFQD regarding his libertine views back in the fall of 2014.

During that broadcast, the Democrat mayoral candidate went so far as to say that it was alright with him if a father wanted to marry his own son as long as they were consenting adults. But at the time Jerry Prevo raised the question about Berkowitz’s statement, no one seemed to have the podcast of the radio show in question.

What came next is one of the most sinister political stunts I have ever seen.

Reynolds invited Anchorage mayoral candidate Amy Demboski on the show, purportedly to talk about the mayor’s race and her vision for the economic future of the Municipality.

But it appears Reynolds’ primary motive was to ambush Demboski with the incest question in an attempt to divide her base and exonerate Berkowitz.

The problem is, Demboski didn’t cooperate. Instead she affirmed that she too had heard the conversation in question, and wouldn’t presume to speak for Berkowitz.

Repeatedly, Reynolds pushed Demboski to affirm that Ethan Berkowitz didn’t really mean what he said. She continued to decline and referred Reynolds to Berkowitz for an interpretation of his own comments. Reynolds responded by accusing Demboski of implying that Berkowitz approved of incest.

The next day, Alaska Dispatch News ran a story with the headline “Demboski stuns radio host by implying opponent might approve of incest.” It was a complete fabrication.

Until the Reynolds interview, Amy Demboski had never mentioned Ethan Berkowitz’ obscene comments, and declined to editorialize on them when they did come up.

Fast forward five days. Berkowitz’ co-host on that fateful October day has now come out with an op-ed affirming that Ethan did indeed make the comments, the station manager at KFQD, Joe Campbell, has also confirmed that the conversation happened, and a number of other witnesses who recall hearing it have come forward.

And now, a copy of the podcast has found its way into the public sphere.

But the media continues to coddle Berkowitz, refusing to demand answers. A KTVA guest columnist on Sunday evening even went so far as to call his conduct in the campaign “gentlemanly.”

How is it gentlemanly to sit silently by while someone else is punished for your crimes? For days, Berkowitz was silent while Amy Demboski was pummeled by the media and subjected to verbal abuse on social media just for having the audacity to admit she heard the Berkowitz conversation, and refusing to comment on it.

The truth is, Ethan Berkowitz dragged the public through the gutter, and blamed Demboski for it.

Berkowitz has serially sought to mislead the public by deflecting, saying only that he wasn’t going to dignify the question with an answer.

When finally Berkowitz was forced out of the closet by his co-host, he would only say that he does not support father-son marriages, calling the substance of his earlier comments on talk radio an “obscene accusation.”

On the May 4th edition of Bernadette Live, Mr. Berkowitz opined, “It’s incredibly sad that people put me in a position where I have to deny things that are false and obscene, but those accusations are false and obscene.”

But who made the accusation? According to witnesses – and now the podcast itself – it obviously came out of Ethan Berkowitz’ own mouth. Not only is Ethan Berkowitz not squaring with the public, he has compounded his error by feigning virtue.

And that gentlemanly thing – apparently marriage isn’t the only thing he wants to redefine.

Where I grew up, a gentleman acted out of noble motives, took personal responsibility, and told the truth.

Ethan Berkowitz has missed the mark on all counts. Not only has he failed to do the right thing, he has sought to transfer the blame for his own words to his opponent.

It’s not for Amy to defend Ethan’s indefensible comments, as the media would have her do. Nor is it her responsibility to absolve him, as though she had the power to do it.

It’s time for Ethan Berkowitz to stop hiding behind Amy Demboski’s skirt, man up, and take responsibility for his own actions. The public deserves an explanation.

Follow Joe Miller on Twitter HERE and Facebook HERE.

On Sunday, April 26th, Dr. Jerry Prevo, the pastor at Anchorage Baptist Temple, made the comment that Ethan Berkowitz had once said on his radio show that he ‘would not be opposed to a father marrying his own son.’

Roughly 24 hours later, the fill-in for my radio show on KFQD asked candidate for mayor, Amy Demboski, to comment on Pastor Prevo’s statement.

Laying in bed with a newborn in my arms, my phone began to ring – family, friends and media outlets… ‘Ethan Berkowitz was co- hosting the show with you, you were there. Is it true?’

It was a debate I had preferred not to engage in, but a conversation I remember well and a day I will never forget.

It was Monday, Oct. 13, 2014, Columbus Day. The topic was same-sex marriage. As I sparred with my co–host Ethan Berkowitz, I brought up the topic of incest. If the argument against incest was grounded in reproduction, and if reproduction was not a consideration in a same-sex marriage, then could a father marry his son?

Yes, a father should be able to marry his son, Mr. Berkowitz informed me. Surely, I thought, he could not be serious. Mr. Berkowitz went on to explain that ‘love is love’ and if it is through a marriage that a father felt he could best provide for, and exemplify his love for his son, then who are we to judge?

After more of an explanation than I could possibly wrap my thoughts around, I interrupted him and suggested he was crazy. Not appreciating the interruption or the labeling of his judgment, my co-host, who had been a friend and confidant, got up and walked out of the studio. It was a conversation I remember well and a day I will never forget.

To be clear, we were not talking about pedophilia. We were talking about a hypothetical regarding two grown men.

Individuals will draw their own conclusions and assign motivations. Did Mr. Berkowitz mean it? Did he get too far ahead of himself? Did he choose his words poorly? Those are questions Mr. Berkowitz must answer.

I don’t doubt that the audio file from that day’s radio show has been captured. And if and when it is released, you might just realize, Mr. Berkowitz’s comment, ‘I’m not going to dignify that with a response’, probably says and explains it all right there, perhaps even better than any audio.

The comments that Mr. Berkowitz made on Oct. 13, 2014, belong to him – and only he is in a position to explain them. It is not ‘politics of personal destruction’ nor should it be below him to offer clarity to voters regarding any issue, his values or his thought process.

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Bernadette Wilson is an Anchorage talk radio host.