ANCHORAGE — As the 2014 Alaska Federation of Natives convention wound to a close Saturday, attendees heard from ever-popular Sen. Lisa Murkowski, approved a slew of resolutions and voted in a new co-chair of their board.
The resolutions included an endorsement of Democratic U.S. Sen. Mark Begich, who is seeking to be re-elected Nov. 4, and an endorsement of the so-called “unity” ticket of independent gubernatorial candidate Bill Walker and his running mate, Democrat Byron Mallott. The AFN delegates also approved a resolution in opposition to a ballot measure that would legalize and regulate recreational marijuana in Alaska.
The kuspuk-clad Murkowski is not running for re-election this fall but is often seen as an important voice at the annual convention. In her speech, she, too, advocated against legalizing marijuana, saying it would hurt villagers who had less law enforcement presence in their communities than urban areas have. But Murkowski’s did not voice her support for Begich’s Republican opponent, Dan Sullivan, whom she has endorsed in other public appearances and a television commercial.
“I’m not running, thank goodness!” Murkowski said Saturday before urging the attendees to vote in the coming election. “I’m not going to talk about candidates, because that’ll get me in trouble.”
Afterward, Murkowski told a small gathering of reporters she thought Sullivan was the best candidate in the race. That was not because of the possibility that a Sullivan win would help give Republicans a majority in the Senate — and Murkowski a shot at a powerful committee leadership position — but because he was the best candidate for Alaska, she said. See Full Story at Fairbanks NewsMiner
Image Credit Fairbanks Newsminer
