History of the Alaska Libertarian Party
This is a History of the Alaska Libertarian Party.
May 1990
From LP News:
There is an initiative petition in Alaska for a ballot measure which would change the state’s marijuana laws by increasing penalties for certain conduct and punishing conduct which is not now a crime. Right now the law imposes up to 90 days in jail and up to a $1,000 fine for (1) use and display of marijuana in public places or motor vehicles, (2) possession of less than four ounces of a substance containing marijuana. It also punishes possession with intent to make or deliver small amounts of marijuana, or having small amounts in public places, by a fine of up to $100.
The new measure would make any use or display of marijuana subject to the maximum 90 days and $1,000 fine.
A group of "concerned citizens" in Alaska has gathered over 48,000 signatures to ensure that Initiative #88MARI has a spot on the November 1990 ballot. Marijuana was decriminalized in 1975. To date there have been no marijuana-related deaths. Alaska has, however, one of the nation’s highest alcohol-related death rates.
It appears that Alaska no longer wants to be known as the only state where the light of freedom still shines.
Should the voters in Alaska allow the passing of this initiative, it sets a strong precedent to step back for the rest of the country.
A campaign opposing this initiative will be led by a coalition formed by the ACLU, NORML, and the Alaska Libertarian Party. Financial support for this campaign may be sent care of the ALP, Chuck House, Chair, P.O. Box 61354, Fairbanks, AK 99706.
August 1990
From LP News:
In Alaska, ABATE and the Libertarian Party are supporting a referendum to repeal the recently enacted seat belt law. Alaskans are also fighting against an initiative which will be on the ballot in November recriminalizing marijuana.
December 1990
From LP News:
Alaskans voted to recriminalize the private possession of marijuana, striking down the 15-year-old law, the most liberal in the country, which allowed adults to have 4 ounces of the drug for private use. The new law, which was opposed by Libertarians, makes possession of small amounts of marijuana a misdemeanor, punishable by up to 90 days in jail and a $1,000 fine. The measure passed with only 55 percent in favor, after only a week earlier polls had shown it was favored by a 2-1 margin.
April 1991
From LP News:
Some state LP members, including state vice chair Len Karpinski, have become involved with Alaskans for Hemp Awareness (AHA). The group was formed out of the group that helped fight the Alaska hemp recriminalization law.
November 1991
From LP News:
Victory in AK. As we were going to press, the NEWS learned that Libertarian Mike Wiley was elected to the Kenai Peninsula Borough School Board in Alaska. Wiley received 41 percent in a three-way race. Also in Alaska, Lynn House made a great showing in her two-way race for the Fairbanks City Council. House received 46 percent of the vote to the Republican incumbent’s 54 percent.
December 1991
From LP News:
Alaska. Prominent GOP Activist Joins LP
Former Republican activist George W. Johnston, of Anchorage, announced in late October his intention to join the Alaska LP. Johnston’s decision came as the result of private discussions with ALP chair Mike Neligh.
Johnston brings to the LP the experience of two bids for the U.S. Congress seat currently held by Republican Don Young. He is also the author of an initiative petition to include “None of the Above” as a choice on all ballots in Alaska. The petition is currently circulating in the state, and, if successful, the petition will place the initiative on the 1992 ballot.
Johnston spoke of his dissatisfaction with the Republican Party’s opposition to the None of the Above petition and their heavy-handed tactics in opposing his challenge for Young’s seat as part of his reason for his action.
“You’ve got a member,” Johnston said to Neligh. “I’ll be down at the Division of Elections in the morning to change my voter registration.”
“I’m pleased to not only have a new member with his experience,” Neligh said, “but also at getting the None of the Above petition in the Libertarian camp where it belongs. I believe this is a positive step for Mr. Johnston, the ALP, and the state as a whole.
“It’s not like getting a legislator, but it is somewhat of a coup, and frankly, the way it ought to be. After all, None of the Above has always been a Libertarian tenet.”
According to Neligh, discussions will begin soon on how best to include the None of the Above petition in the state party strategy for the coming year.
In early October, Jake Ketscher became one of the youngest Libertarians ever to be elected to public office. Ketscher, an 18-year-old from Bettles, was elected to a three-year term on the Bettles City Council. Bettles is a small village of about 60 people in Arctic Alaska.
There were five candidates on the ballot for the city council seat. Ketscher’s vote total tied that of one of the other candidates, a federal bureaucrat, and a coin toss decided the outcome.
Ketscher is a gold miner and fishing guide during the summer, and a radio announcer and trapper during the winter months. He is working on a political science degree through the University of Alaska and hopes to study law.
Ketscher said he stressed the need to repeal a local aviation fuel transfer tax in his campaign. This tax is the city’s biggest income producer. “Being an isolated community, Bettles is dependent on aviation for transportation,” Ketscher said. “Each time fuel is transferred, even if fuel remains in the hands of the same person, the city gets three cents per gallon,” Ketscher explained. “I happen to be the only pilot and one of only two private sector workers on the council—the rest are park rangers, teachers, or weather observers. They are immune from this tax. It will be a real challenge to have this tax repealed,” he said. “At least I will be there as a voice of conscience.”
Ketscher said he would like to correspond with other Libertarians. You can write him a congratulatory note at Box 1, Bettles, AK 99726.
June 1994
From LP News:
From Alaska to Florida, Libertarian Party members took to the sidewalks on April 15 to remind their fellow Americans that the LP is the only political party that advocates eliminating the income tax and abolishing the IRS.
In Alaska, Dave McGraw, Billy Toien, Damon Cruz, and state chair Len Karpinski donned costumes representing Bill and Hillary Clinton—holding signs reading “Don’t call the Libertarian Party toll free at 1-800-682-1776. They will thwart gov’t plans for you” and “Easy money, thanks chump.” The activists marched at a branch post office in Anchorage for more than two hours in the evening, and they “would have stayed longer if we didn’t get frostbite,” Karpinski reported. Their protest received front-page color photo coverage in the Anchorage Daily News.
July 1994
From LP News:
At the state convention in mid-May, the party re-elected the following officers: Len Karpinski, chair; Ed Hoch, vice chair; Debie Bloom, secretary; and Damon Cruz, treasurer. Karpinski, Eric Skidmore, and Ronda Marcy are working on an initiative to re-legalize marijuana for adults.
December 1994
From LP News:
Along with voting for individual candidates, many Americans also spoke out on Nov. 8 on a variety of ballot initiatives.
Term limits continued to be a popular idea, with approval in Alaska, Idaho, Maine, Massachusetts, Nebraska, and Nevada—bringing to 21 the number of states that have accepted the idea. Utah voters rejected term limits this time.
...
In Alaska, Measure 2 was passed adding victims' rights to the state constitution. "It's like it was lifted from part 1 of Operation Safe Streets," said Alaska LP Chair Len Karpinski. "We could not have drafted it better."
Also in Alaska, Measure 1 passed with 72 percent of the vote. It changed the state constitution's wording by adding the phrase "the individual right to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed by the state or a subdivision of the state," to the present section that "is a clone of the federal constitution's right to keep and bear sporting goods," said Karpinski. The additional phrase was added "just in case 20th century people aren't sure what the founders meant by militia," he said.
April 1995
From LP News:
The state party will be setting up an outreach table at the Anchorage Saturday Market. State chair Len Karpinski is heading up this effort, which will run for 10 Saturdays starting in June.
December 1995
From LP News:
NEW OFFICEHOLDER - Libertarian Party member Jim Hager of Cordova, AK, was elected to the Cordova City Council in early October. Hager, a journeyman power plant operator, is married and has seven children. Cordova, with a population of about 1,500, is located off Prince William Sound, north of Valdez. One of the main projects Hager will be working on is to institute a property tax cap in his city. A newcomer to political office, Hager felt the time was right to get involved in the political process.
May 1996
From LP News:
LP State Chair Len Karpinski and Billy Toien are the first two LP members certified as candidates for the state legislature in this year's election. Additional candidates are expected in the near future.
Last year, the state legislature changed the election laws requiring everyone who intends to run in the general election to also run in the primary election. For an unrecognized political party, such as the LP in the state, it means that the necessary petitioning must be done in the colder months, not in the summer as was done in the past, Karpinski noted.
"It's not surprising that the ballot access laws seem to favor the ruling Republocrat party. Look who wrote them," Karpinski said.
April 1998
From LP News:
When it comes to recruiting new members, Alaska Libertarians are working from the Outside in. They are trying to lure “active Libertarians” from Outside — the lower 48 states — by publicizing Alaska job opportunities on their web page.
“Operation Help Wanted will attempt to locate high-paying professional positions worth moving to Alaska for,” said State Chair Len Karpinski. The site will list contact information and job descriptions for companies that are hiring, or soon will be.
“We want to persuade active Libertarians from other states to move here permanently to increase membership as well as cash flow,” he said.
July 1998
From LP News:
One of the pivotal figures in the history of the Alaska Libertarian Party has “returned to the fold,” after taking a long detour through Republican politics.
Dick Randolph, former two-time elected Libertarian State Representative, has re-registered as a Libertarian after more than a dozen years as a Republican.
“This is quite the coup d’etat,” said Karen Fincher, who, with husband Gary Fincher, is running the registration drive that prompted Randolph’s change in party affiliation. If successful, the registration drive will earn the Alaska LP “major party” status for the first time since 1986.
Randolph, 62, is one of only three state legislators in LP history elected solely on the Libertarian ticket, winning election to the Alaska House in 1978 and again in 1980. He gave up his seat in 1982 to run unsuccessfully for governor as a Libertarian, before being wooed over to the GOP.
“I hope that Randolph’s new action will spur others to register Libertarian,” said Gary Fincher.
August 1999
From LP News:
Libertarians fight raid on “Permanent Fund”
Just say no: That’s the message Alaska Libertarians are sending about an initiative to curb dividend earnings.
“What the government needs is not more revenue, but less spending,” said party spokesman Al Anders. “Alaska Libertarians call on our legislators to cut government spending as the solution to revenue shortfalls.”
On September 14, Alaskans will cast their votes on a politician-backed initiative to “raid the Permanent Fund.” The fund — financed by massive oil tax revenues — doles out money to the state government and pays an annual “dividend” to every Alaska resident.
Voters will decide whether to cap the dividend payments, which politicians say is needed to head off any tax hike. But Libertarians scoff at that argument.
“What is to stop the politicians from passing these other taxes later?” asked Anders. “Nothing. Politicians need more money like drunks need more alcohol.”
Interestingly, at the same time politicians claimed the state was short of revenue, “they also approved pay raises for themselves,” noted Anders. “Does that sound like the actions of a government short on money?”
LP joins petitioning to legalize industrial hemp
Alaska Libertarians are joining an effort to legalize hemp for medical, recreational and industrial use.
On June 25, the state party announced it will join forces with the 99Hemp Committee to help collect the approximately 35,000 signatures needed to put a hemp legalization referendum on the statewide 2000 ballot.
“Our petition will give voters a chance to re-legalize hemp the way it was when Thomas Jefferson wrote the Declaration of Independence on it,” said State Chair Len Karpinski. “It would re-legalize it for medical, recreational and industrial use. [The initiative would also] clear criminal convictions, restore lost rights and set up a committee to see about returning property that was unconstitutionally seized.”
October 1999
From LP News:
Alaska registration drive sets LP record
Libertarians in Alaska have not only won “major” party status thanks to a newly completed voter registration drive — they’ve also set a new record for the Libertarian Party.
On August 26, the LP of Alaska received notification from the Division of Elections that 6,505 voters were now registered Libertarians, which was enough to earn the party automatic ballot status without petitioning.
“This means that we are now a government-recognized political party in Alaska again,” said State Chair Len Karpinski. “We hope that our regained status will enable us to run a full slate of candidates for the state legislature in 2000.”
But ballot status is only part of the Alaska LP’s accomplishments: Thanks to their year-long voter registration drive, it has also become the first state Libertarian Party to gain over 1% of its state’s registered voters.
“Of all the ballot-qualification efforts that have occurred in 1999 in the entire USA, for all parties, the Alaska LP effort is the outstanding achievement,” said Richard Winger, editor of Ballot Access News and the country’s leading expert on ballot law. “No other minor party has done anything comparable in this calendar year.”
The significance of the achievement, said Winger, is that it suggests the party may be able to break through the 1% threshold in other states, such as Massachusetts and Maryland.
“If we could ever get our registration up to 1% in Maryland, we would not need petitions for any of our candidates,” he said — which would free the LP from having to collect 26,000 signatures for statewide candidates. And “in Massachusetts, if we could get our registration up to 1%, we wouldn’t need to worry about our vote totals” — which would end the state LP’s “see-saw” ballot status.
The only states that approach Alaska’s registration numbers: Arizona, where Libertarian registration is “close” to 1%, and California, where the party had crested at 0.8%.
November 1999
From LP News:
State Libertarians have gathered more than 13,000 signatures to put a hemp legalization referendum on the ballot next year — and are closing in on the 22,717 valid signatures they need by January 10.
“Getting this initiative on the ballot will be a tremendous opportunity to educate voters,” said Al Anders, who is coordinating the project. “Moreover, this initiative could win. Medical [marijuana] won with 58% and, in 1990, keeping it legal failed with 46% of the vote. So we only need a small swing in sentiment to win.”
The referendum would legalize hemp farming, said Anders, and “has built-in protection for medical marijuana users. It will mean they don’t have to register with the state [or] buy from the black market. It will also give them some protection from federal prosecution because it instructs state and local law enforcement to not cooperate with federal authorities when [federal law] differs from state law.”
March 2000
From LP News:
State Libertarians get hemp initiative on ballot
This November, Alaska citizens will be able to decide at the polls if hemp should be legal in the state, thanks to a successful Libertarian petition drive.
On February 2, state elections officials confirmed that Libertarians had collected enough signatures to get a marijuana legalization initiative on the ballot.
“We submitted almost twice as many signatures as required,” said LP State Chair Len Karpinski, co-author of the initiative.
In December, the state LP announced that 40,865 signatures had been submitted — even though just 24,474 were needed.
The measure would make possession of hemp legal under state law, and regulate marijuana as alcoholic beverages are regulated now. The initiative also would allow the use of hemp for clothing, medicine, and other uses, Karpinski said.
August 2000
From LP News:
Libertarians blast plan to create 'Stevens Airport'
A plan to rename a major airport after Alaska’s current U.S. Senator is not just bad public policy — it’s something you’d expect to see in a “third-world dictatorship,” state Libertarians have charged.
“Is there someone other than me who thinks something isn’t right?” asked Alaska LP State Chair Len Karpinski.
In early July, Anchorage International Airport was officially re-named after U.S. Senator Ted Stevens (R) in a public ceremony. The name change was intended to “honor” Stevens for his role in bringing federal tax funds to the state.
But Karpinski said there is nothing honorable about the plan.
“This is bad public policy to engrave your name like Ozymandias on the front of any government facility,” he said. “It’s something I’d expect to see in some third-world dictatorship, not the United States. If the Senator has any principles worth mentioning, he’ll refuse to take part in [the ceremony], and try to stop it.”